Stalker AU - Lies of P x Fem! Reader Headcanons

Author’s Note: In short, these headcanons will go off of the Stalker AU I see on Tumblr for the Lies of P fandom, where *spoiler alert* Carlo never died of the Petrification Disease and Romeo never volunteered to be the King of Puppets (because the Puppet Frenzy never happened but the Petrification Disease still did), but I’m adding a caveat for P’s existence. Also, most of the headcanons will interconnect or they will be verbatim from the previous Lies of P x Reader headcanons I wrote that keep in line with the canon and lore of the video game. This will definitely be seen for the headcanons I wrote for Romeo and P, so I will copy-paste some of their headcanons here since they both end up with the same female readers in the same way and with the same relationship dynamics. Since Italian is used for Lampwick’s headcanons and I am not fluent in this language, if there are any mistakes, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Key:

(NAME) = Your name

(F/N) = Friend’s name

(S/N) = Sister’s name

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Interconnecting Story Lines

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Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist - Live Action Films) x Fem! Xing! Reader Short Headcanons

Author’s Note: Greetings, everyone! I just wanted to add some headcanons for the live action version of Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist since I’ve had this idea for a while but never got it down in a written form until now, so please enjoy.

God of War! Freyr x Fem! Reader

Author’s Note: This is an idea I’ve always had for the God of War video games series starting with the 2018 game, and after a while of fine-tuning it, I decided to share it now. For these short headcanons, the female reader is based off one of four great Chinese legends, The Legend of White Snake (Bai Suzhen). Also, in this retelling of the myth, Angrboda will become Green Snake (Xiao Qing) because Jormungandr came from her grandmother’s house and the Jötnar are considered demons in their world.

Author’s Note:

Greetings, everyone!

Since playing Lies of P and loving it, I decided to do a combined list of short headcanons for P and Romeo since they are my favorite characters in the game and I love the lore behind them. Due to my knowledge of one of the endings of the game (no spoilers, I promise), I decided to do a crossover between the Adventures of Pinnochio that inspired this game and my favorite fairytale, Beauty and the Beast. Therefore, the two female readers in these headcanons will be identical twin sisters who represent beauty (Beauty) and beast (Brawn) despite both girls possessing brains.

Proper credit goes to Lies of P, the original fairytale of Beauty and the Beast, & The Princess Weiyoung on Netflix for the idea behind the P x Reader headcanons. I also used Google Translate for certain Italian translations (which are notated by parentheses around the phrases used), but if anyone is a native speaker of Italian and I am incorrect, please let me know and I can gladly edit the phrases since I acknowledge I am a beginner trying to learn Italian.

Also, just as a side note, I will be taking NO requests for future works due to motivation and time constraints, but I humbly apologize in advance.

Key:

(S/N) = Sister’s Name

(NAME) = Your name

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P x Fem! Reader - 🦋

* Since the fall of Krat, only you, your younger twin sister (S/N), and the very few human survivors left found sanctuary at Hotel Krat under the leadership of Lady Sophia Monad and Lady Antonia Ceresani. With your little sister taking a quick liking to Eugénie as a new friend due to their shared interest in tinkering with and repairing machinery, you preferred the solitude of the open courtyard so you could keep abreast of your training, which mainly consisted of close-range martial arts that seemed acrobatic in nature and long-range, alchemical projectiles.

* However, you had to admit, you quite liked your found family here at the hotel since you had Sophia, who was like a mother and mentor to all of you young girls; Eugénie, who you actually enjoyed the company of since she was incredibly intelligent and had plenty of stories from her time on the outside of Krat but she was also like another little sister; and Antonia, who was like a doting grandmother who made sure everyone ate, slept, and otherwise felt safe and happy in the industry that she decided to put her name and face to since her youth. Even Polendina was a welcome sight for you whenever you would return from outside the hotel to forage for materials to make new weapons or anything else that you and the others could find useful, always inquiring about your wellbeing on behalf of his master and ensuring you got plenty of food and rest after an excursion that usually led to nasty fights with rogue puppets. It almost made you and your sister forget that you had lost your parents way before the misfortunes that plagued the city, especially with such kind and interesting people to call family and the hotel to call home.

* When you first met P, it was the day Sophia called out to him, imploring him to journey from the train station to Hotel Krat before asking him to lie so he could enter the hotel, as the defense system banned entry to puppets from the outside. After he made his way around the hotel to interact with Antonia, Eugénie, Sophia, Polendina, and (S/N), P eventually made his way to the courtyard to test out the new legion arm that Gepetto had crafted for the female armorer to gift to the humanistic puppet. Before P left her presence and your little sister offered to be a personal escort for P (especially after gasping at how realistic he was and how much like Gepetto’s son, Carlo, he looked like), Eugénie made a remark that you would most likely be practicing combat training in the courtyard and that you were always up to having a moving target should P ever require a session with a seasoned professional that was equal to him.

* But when he saw you, nothing short of awe and natural curiosity twinkled in the puppet’s eyes of Ergo cerulean as (S/N) remarked that the female combatant was none other than her elder twin sister (NAME), a Stalker who worked for Sophia as an apprentice under the title of “Falcon.” Gliding along the courtyard with the poised grace of a ballerina, the crack of a whip echoing in the air with every strike from your dominant arm, you eventually dodged a punch from one of the stationary puppets before somersaulting with backflips to throw fire or electric cannisters at another puppet target.

* With a playful cry from your sister to come meet Gepetto’s puppet, you paused in your training as you moved away from the targets before you grinned warmly and offered a gentle hand to shake with P, “Welcome to Hotel Krat. I’m sure you’ve already met my younger twin sister (S/N), so allow me to introduce myself. I’m (NAME), her elder twin. Nice to meet you.”

* Pointing between you and your sister with a perplexed expression on his face, eyes wide and lips curled in contemplation, P tried to discern the difference between you and your sister since you two were identical in physicality and certain shared interests. Sensing this newfound curiosity in P, you and your sister giggled in unison before you replied, “I can see why you’re confused, but I’ll try my best to explain. You see, my sister and I are identical twins so we look alike on the outside, but I can assure you, we are two different people. I’m the Stalker combatant and she’s the doctor and mechanic; I’m brawn and she’s beauty.”

* With a tilt of his head as he processed what you just said, P eventually felt the dots connect as the logic slowly made sense to him, allowing him to give a small nod of understanding before you remarked, “If you wanna learn more about twin siblings, I know Antonia has some books in the library on the topic. But she has books on most anything you have questions about so if you’re ever curious about something, just let me know and I’ll show you where to find it. Otherwise, I’ll most likely be training in the courtyard so if you need a moving target for practice duels, I’d be more than happy to oblige.”

* With another nod of his head, P seemed to acquiesce to your offer as Gemini apologized from the Monad lamp for the lack of emotive or vocal response from Gepetto’s humanistic puppet before you and (S/N) acknowledged that it was perfectly okay since you both could tell that P was not like other puppets in Krat. However, P seemed even more curious about you as he pointed to your feathered vambraces before he mimicked what you had just done in the courtyard as you gasped with a smile, “Oh, you like my vambraces?” This resulted in another mute nod from P before he pointed between his new legion arm and your feathered vambraces.

* Finally seeing where he was going with this, you grinned as you did your best to explain the difference between the two weapons with the utmost patience since P was like a child learning for the first time, “(S/N) invented them since she knows I’m a good acrobat, so she designed vambraces that would be able to withstand enemy attacks like a shield so I can have access to my whip or throwable items during a fight. The vambrace on my dominant arm allows me to pull enemies close to me or vice versa so I can immediately join in the fight in an ambush. The vambrace on my less dominant arm allows me to zip-line across the city so I can avoid enemies, and all I have to do to activate the features on both vambraces is to flex my pinky fingers close to my palms since there’s a thick string wrapped around each pinky. However, it’s much different from your legion arm since my vambraces are not nearly as powerful. But they get the job done.”

* Again, P carefully processed your words as he tried to make the pieces of the puzzle fit in his mind before he nodded again in understanding while you nodded along with P to show that you were pleased at his ability to learn quickly. With that first meeting filled with education and warmth, you and P forged a strong connection together as if threading a red string between your flesh heart and his mechanical P-organ.

* Over the short while you knew each other since your first meeting at Hotel Krat, it became common knowledge that you and P would accompany each other to do the following activities: Practice combat training together in the courtyard; listen to records on the gramophone in the hotel lobby; play piano and read books in the library; or go on outings together in the city to forage for materials, take down rogue puppets, and help out any surviving humans who were barricaded indoors. With P acting as the boots on the ground with his rapier and you being his hawk-eyed backup (with a peregrine falcon mask being the trademark P could recognize from a mile away) who could zip-line to the ground to join in the chaos with a crack of your whip or up to higher vantage points on rooftops to throw alchemical canisters and other items at enemies, you two seemed to make a good team. One could even say you were a “battle couple,” especially when P would take a blow meant for you by colliding his rapier with an enemy’s blunt weapon to create red-hot sparks and a stench of burning metal or when you would beam throwables at rogue puppets or infected corpses to divert their attention so they would not overwhelm your partner.

* With every outing, more and more human non-combatants and Stalkers found sanctuary in Hotel Krat as you and P gave them a pathway to hope. Eventually, one such survivor who sought out sanctuary was your adoptive father, Lorenzini Venigni, as evidenced by you and (S/N) rushing to his and Pulcinella’s side to exchange hugs and relief that no one in your adoptive family was dead. At the sight of this reunion, P could feel the Ergo and springs in his system reacting with warmth at knowing he was part of the reason why you were so happy, which caused a twinkle in his eyes and a smile to enchant his face in response. However, if P was honest and thought back far enough, his Ergo and springs had already started reacting warmly towards you since the first meeting when you welcomed him with open arms and educated him about twin siblings and your vambraces.

* But even you had to admit that there was a pleasant warmth and bubbliness in your own heart whenever you were around P, whether it was in the chaos of battle and combat training or the comfort of home relaxing with a record playing or a book to read. Unfortunately, there was a sense of hesitation from you in terms of confessing your love to P. For one thing, you saw what true love could do to a person, how you could feel on cloud nine one minute and then be heartbroken with pining and longing in the next moment, especially since your younger twin pined for Romeo, one of the schoolboys she met at Monad who later contracted Petrification Disease alongside another friend, Carlo, Gepetto’s son. Your sister prayed and wished for Romeo to come back to her since he promised to save Krat as the hero and king he aspired to be, but when days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months with no updating word of his well-being or whereabouts, you could see fear and doubt start to creep in even when she remained faithful to her first love. Another common reason you could think of for holding off on confessing was because you didn’t want the current dynamics of your relationship with P to change into a nonexistent or awkward dynamic, as you felt it was better to lie for the sake of ignorant bliss by remaining friends.

* To alleviate your anxieties and doubts, P decided to make the choice easy for you as he took the initiative. Thanks to his journey to become human and have the unique capability of free will unlike his rogue puppet counterparts who were bound by The Grand Covenant, he started to become more expressive and with these added expressions came a playful demeanor that usually led him to be very brazen and straight-forward with his intentions and actions as of recent times. Therefore, after a day of training gone well, it was no surprise that while you were engulfed in listening to the gramophone while petting Spring to relax, P kissed your plump cheek from the side before he gave a coquettish grin while pointing back and forth between himself and you as he said the words “me” and “(NAME)”, which was then followed by a gesture with his robotic and human index fingers that signified a union between you and him as he orated the word “love.”

* While you were a little caught off-guard by the kiss, as evidenced by your sudden gasp and widened eyes, you gave a small smile and a nod to P to reassure him that you felt the same way for him since the puppet looked a little confused when you didn’t say anything for a hot second following the kiss. To signify your acceptance of this newfound bond since he decided to confess first, you did the finger gestures for “I love you too” by pointing to your eye, making a heart with your hands, pointing to P, and then finishing it off with the fingers to spell out the number two before kissing his cheek back. With the intimate knowledge that your feelings were reciprocated for him in spite of him being a humanoid puppet and you being a human, P could do nothing else but smile back at you with a starlike gleam in his glassy, Ergo cerulean irises as his P-organ fluttered with the reaction of his springs whirring in his chest and a pleasant warmth when he gazed lovingly at you.

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Romeo x Fem! Reader - 👑

* Back in the days of Monad Charity House, many children from across Krat were brought here for many a reason. Thanks to the intervention of the kind-hearted and aristocratic Sophia Monad, you found yourself fortunate enough to meet Carlo and Romeo, two fellow classmates who wished to one day be Stalkers like your elder twin sister (S/N), who sent you to this place for your protection, while you in turn wished to be a great mechanic and doctor, maybe even a Stalker so you could be in sync with your identical twin. With that one firm handshake to solidify your bond, you, Romeo, and Carlo became best friends for life.

* However, while Romeo was known as a trickster and coquettish ladies man around the entire school, he was reduced to a mute when it came to you. Sure, all the girls at Monad were pretty but in his opinion, none of them could ever compare to you, especially since no one had anything over on you when it came to a amalgamation of beauty and brains.

* After months of pining over you from afar, one could say that a sassy eyeroll was performed by Carlo as he and Romeo looked at you from the staircase, where across the way, you were speaking with Sophia over a similar interest in books and cinema as you sat on a bench together. It wasn’t that Carlo was necessarily annoyed at Romeo for his attraction to you; he could definitely see all the hype and appeal and was surprised no other students of the opposite sex tried to flirt with you yet, unless it was because you were too smart for your own good and most guys could be intimidated by a perceived “arrogant know-it-all.” However, he had nudged Romeo one too many times in the shoulder with his elbow to compliment urges to “just confess already, lover boy” only for Romeo to cave into insecurity regarding comparisons of your social class and his.

* According to stories you told Romeo and Carlo about yourself before your life at Monad, you and your elder, identical twin sister once owned and worked in a book store so you could read to your heart’s content for free, especially following the death of your parents since no one else was gonna pay the bills. While taking a trip to the book store in search of the original books that inspired some of his famous works in cinema, Lorenzini Venigni asked you and your sister some of the questions he had, which led to you two rattling off this fact and that fact without ever needing to take a pause. Impressed by you and your sister’s intelligence and shared love of books and cinema, Venigni complimented your upbringing by stating that your parents must’ve been proud to have such gifted twin daughters. Unfortunately, at the sight of a duo of bittersweet smiles followed by a subtle fall of yours and your sister’s faces in response to such a compliment, all became quite clear to Venigni as he sighed a stunned “oh” before scrambling internally to find the words to soothe the old wound he had just opened up. Suddenly, a lightbulb dinged in Venigni’s head as his eyes seemed to shine like a Monad lamp behind his spectacles before he suggested for you two to come live with him as his adoptive daughters since he liked to surround himself with intellectually-stimulating company and every other famous family in Krat had children but him. Of course, Venigni gave you two time to think the decision over since he knew it would be an adjustment on your part, but in exchange for being his adoptive daughters, Venigni made a deal that he would personally buy the book store and legally keep it in your family’s name so it would always be yours even if he were to pass away, but he would also ensure you and your sister had a good childhood. After a couple days of weighing the pros and cons of Venigni’s offer, you two eventually accepted and officially became the “Brainy Venigni Twins.” Due to being daughters of Mr. Lorenzini Venigni, you and (S/N) had regular interactions with Giuseppe Gepetto but had only heard about his son, Carlo, through word of mouth until you had the honor of meeting the brunette in person at Monad Charity House. However, due to all the misfortune that Krat was struck with, your father and elder twin believed it was best to send you away to Monad since you were not a master combatant like your sister, who always was the stronger of the two of you and who was always encouraged to keep up her training by Venigni even when he always reassured the two of you that you were safe with him and his butler, Pulcinella.

* In a mental prison of his own making, the usually-confident Romeo strongly believed a high class girl would never go for an orphaned street urchin like him, even in spite of the numerous arguments Carlo and Sophia presented to refute Romeo’s thoughts. For example, you, a high socioeconomic status young lady, had to teach Romeo, himself a sentimental romantic and a youth who was skilled with Fine Arts related to commanding a room with his voice and his penchant for weaving together stories by playing roles flawlessly, how to waltz properly to the beat of a gramophone’s melody by likening ballroom dancing to combat training to be a Stalker, all by counting out the beats of the song and directing Romeo on what directions to move his feet, as if choreographing a deadly dance between two armed rivals. This was all before you two playfully urged Carlo and Sophia to join in the dance, as if conducting a group dance at a festival. Even still, Carlo saw a best friend in need and meeting that need was just what he was gonna do, which is why he did not even miss a beat as he slid down the staircase and sauntered over to you after Sophia had left your side, with Romeo attempting to stop Carlo only to fail and hide behind the intricately-carved newel post on the staircase as he mentally cursed, “This can’t be happening…Dang it, Carlo, you idiot! Stupido, stupido, stupido (stupid, stupid, stupid).”

* Plopping right down beside you on the bench with a mischievous grin as you greeted Carlo with a wave followed up with a warm smile, the brunette went right out the gate with a pointed question as he addressed you with the nickname he and Romeo invented for you, “Hey, Libro (Book), I’m gonna keep this short and sweet, okay…Is there even a remote possibility that you would ever want to go on a date with Romeo?…Just asking out of curiosity.”

* “Well, I enjoy being with you and Romeo together as a trio with hare-brained schemes since you two are the best friends I could ever have. But there’s something about my interactions with just me and Romeo that really gets my heart stirring, especially when we dance together-” You started to trail on in your answer before Carlo suddenly gave you a brotherly hug with a dramatic sigh of relief, “Duly noted, thanks, Libro!”

* Sprinting back up the stairs as you were left on the bench in utter confusion as to what just happened between yourself and Carlo, the brunette boy eventually reconvened with his blonde confidant as Romeo hopped up from his hiding spot behind the newel post on the staircase, ensuring you couldn’t see or hear him and Carlo upstairs before he punched his friend in the shoulder with curses under his breath, asking him why he was so brazen to play wingman for him, only for Carlo to shrug mischievously with a Cheshire grin, “What can I say? Someone had to wear the pants in this friendship and just ask her face-to-face. You’re welcome, lover boy.” However, little did Romeo know that you DID see the banter back-and-forth between him and Carlo as they chased each other down the hall for the little stunt your brunette friend pulled on behalf of you two and the potential for a romance at Monad, which caused you to giggle to yourself at the thought of Monad’s resident ladies man and great Stalker-to-be being in love with you.

* This was exactly why you began passing notes during class to Romeo across the room by using Carlo as an intermediary, but only when the teachers and “goody-two-shoes” students were looking the other way. The contents of some notes included questions such as “Carlo asked me the other day if I had a crush on you. I do…Do you feel the same for me?” or invitations to act on the romantic feelings you held for each other with statements such as “I’m free to meet up with you this Friday. I’ll leave the window on my balcony open, so just climb up but please don’t get caught by the after-hours faculty.”

* A couple times, Romeo would blush so crimson at your handwritten notes that you were worried the teacher would think he had a fever and send him to the infirmary. But even still, he would pass Carlo a note to pass back to you, which answered all of your lingering doubts as he wrote back, “Yes, I’ve had a crush on you since day one, but I think Carlo is still an idiot for being my wingman without my permission. And yes, I’ll come by your room after curfew but leave a signal that lets me know you’re still awake, like a lit Monad lamp or something.” Reading his handwritten responses caused a flutter in your heart as you blew him a kiss from across the room, to which he pretended to catch it with his dominant hand as he held it close to his heart before giving a coquettish wink of one eye towards you. In response to this lovey-dovey display, Carlo gave a sassy eyeroll before writing notes for you and Romeo as he passed them to both of you, only for the three of you to snort out laughter under your breath as the note read: “Now I feel like a third wheel, but I still love you guys as friends. Tell you what though, any romance you plan on together, please leave me out. I’ll be trying to learn how to be the greatest Stalker.”

* During your time at Monad, you and Romeo were considered the cutest couple who constantly held hands and walked to class together, with Carlo tagging behind as a third wheel even though he was still very much included in outings with you two since everything wasn’t always romantic in nature. It was even a well-known fact among the student rumor mill that Romeo usually snuck into your bedroom after curfew by using the balcony, but only if a Monad lamp was lit in your windowsill first to let him know you were inside and awake and only after one or two rocks were thrown at the glass window to signal his arrival. During these precious moments, you and Romeo would scale down the balcony window to find a private place to train in the way of the Stalkers so you could catch up to Carlo or you would take it easy and cuddle together. Sometimes you two would even sneak out of the parameters of the school grounds to sneak into the Estrella Opera House to see the greatest plays and operas from the back of the theater, as Romeo wanted to one day be a world-renowned actor when he decided to retire from being a Stalker in future peace times.

* Even on a special field trip to the local Krat carnival organized by Sophia Monad as part of the official ceremony for all recent graduates such as yourself, Carlo, and Romeo, you and Romeo shared your first kiss under the sudden burst of colors from screaming fireworks and nightly stars while riding the Ferris Wheel, with Carlo sitting across from you in the same car. At the festival, civilian passersby and fellow graduates could do nothing but smile and laugh at the playfulness among lovers and friends as Romeo gave “his queen” a piggyback ride while he and Carlo shouted to usher their way through the voluminous crowd in search of a feast involving classic carnival food such as cotton candy, popcorn, and candy apples to satisfy your growing hunger after riding all the rides first on an empty stomach. After gorging on the food to your heart’s content, you, Carlo, and Romeo decided to compete against each other in various carnival games of strength and skill such as ring toss, balloon darts, or ring the bell to see who could win the most games in a row under the guise of “Stalker training.”

* However, in Romeo’s case, he personally wanted to win you the largest stuffed animal as a prize to commemorate your evening and make his queen happy to see her king be so strong. But to do so, he had to be the strongest to ring the bell with a mallet. Fortunately, Romeo’s Stalker training kicked in as he smashed the wooden mallet as hard as he could into the platform, pretending that the platform was a rogue puppet, which led to the bell echoing in the air as you, Carlo, Sophia, and the rest of the crowd cheered wildly with thundering applause. At once, the game operator handed Romeo a crown (since he was the only one during the night to win the game) as well as a large stuffed donkey, which Romeo promptly handed over to you as you kissed his cheek with a girlish squeak, “Oh, Romeo, you’re so strong. Thanks for winning this for me.”

* “What can I say? A Stalker-in-training needs practice. Besides, my queen wanted that donkey so I, as your king, had to win it for you.” Romeo shrugged as he kissed your cheek back before Carlo joked with a cackle, “Just don’t love that donkey more than Lampwick over here or else he’ll get jealous.”

* “Oh, this little donkey is cute, Carlo. But he’s nothing compared to my Romeo. After all, a quadruped mammal like Mr. Wick can’t compare to a golden-haired king.” You shook your head with a smile before Romeo flexed a bicep as he smirked, “And you know it, so please don’t forget it when I become a great Stalker, guys.” Laughing together after that little exchange amongst friends, you, Carlo, and Romeo continued to enjoy the rest of the field trip alongside fellow graduates and civilians as you decided to enjoy all the sights, sounds, and smells before the carnival ended.

* Overall, these moments of young love and even true friendship meant the world to you both, especially following graduation at Monad. Unfortunately, it was a very short-lived romance as the Petrification Disease and the Puppet Frenzy spread throughout Krat, claiming the life of your brunette best friend first before beginning to affect your blonde beau next. With his heart set on bringing back Carlo and taking a stand as a hero against the forces of pestilence and mechanic takeover, Romeo urged you to go back to your sister and father to ensure the puppets or the plague didn’t get you too. In exchange for asking you to leave him behind, you promised that you would wait for him faithfully since you knew he would always come for you, just as he always did on those moonlit nights when he scaled walls and avoided the line of sight of after-hours faculty patrolling the halls with lit Monad lamps to be with you or when he would always check on you whenever you were sick from school or stressed out studying for exams.

* With one final kiss to solidify your undying fidelity to him, you immediately went in search of your elder twin sister and father to see if they had survived the multitude of misfortunes that had since plagued the once-great city of Krat. You could only pray Romeo would make it out of this alive too, even after he had since contracted the disease. However, you knew Romeo to be strong-willed and stubborn as well as physically capable of handling any threats. If anyone could survive the streets of Krat and live to tell the tale, naturally, it would be him. Therefore, you had faith Romeo would return to you. You just had to believe; it was all you had left when all that was left in Krat was darkness and cold.

* But after a while of hearing nothing from Romeo, it seemed as though your prayers had finally been answered as (S/N) and her other half, P, burst through the front door of Hotel Krat with a humanoid puppet that looked very similar to P cradled in the arms of the brunette humanoid puppet. Without question or hesitation, you immediately leapt to the floor to investigate the humanoid with medium-length hair like gold as you gasped out Romeo’s name before hurriedly giving instructions to your sister and P as you tied back your hair, swiped everything off your work table to make room for Romeo’s body, and donned your apron from yours and Eugénie’s workshop, “Hurry, lift him up gently and place him on this table. Eugénie, I need you to go get any and all metal and other supplies we have since I’m gonna attempt surgery on him.” With a hurried nod, Eugénie sprinted down the hallway to grab the requested materials before your sister asked you through a whisper in your ear, “Is this really your Romeo, like Romeo from Monad?”

* “Yes, but he’s a puppet like P for some reason. Must’ve been the Petrification Disease…” You whispered back in (S/N)’s ear partially before asking your sister aloud to where all could hear, “How did you and P find him?” Within a matter of seconds, you thanked Eugénie for grabbing the materials when she came back before you instructed her to grab this limb and that limb of Romeo’s while you went to work disinfecting tools in tandem with cleaning off and patching up the larger gashes all over his body before (S/N) answered, “He fought us in the Opera House and we obviously won. But, P and I came to an agreement to take a chance and bring him back here in case he was your lost love because I remember you saying your Romeo had blonde hair. We knew you were always a good doctor, so we thought if anyone could help, it would be you.”

* “Thanks, you two. You don’t know how happy you’ve made me, but we’re not out of the woods yet until I’m sure he’s well.” You remarked before you turned to Romeo with a solemn promise, “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna let you die. But, you gotta hang on just a little bit longer, okay?”

* With three human hands on deck as you, (S/N), and Eugénie took the reins of healing this humanoid puppet with P occasionally running back and forth in the hotel to fetch materials or rush around wiping foreheads with hankerchiefs to prevent sweat from getting into your eyes, hours upon countless hours ticked by before you finally reached a point in suturing up your first love enough that he could adequately heal. After cleaning off all the tools and sending aprons off to Polendina to be washed at the behest of Antonia so dirt, soot, and oil would not be covering her polished floors, you eventually ushered everyone away from your room so they could rest after thanking them profusely for their help with tears in your eyes before pulling a wooden chair beside the bed so you could watch Romeo as he slept.

* In and out…in and out…His chest was still expanding and otherwise moving with shallow albeit persistent breaths through his nose, which signified to you that he was still here and alive. This was good news to you since you had no clue as to whether he was dead or alive for the longest time since he sent you away to keep you from contracting the plague of Krat, but now, you were thankful you got to be the one to save him this time when normally it was the other way around, and all thanks to the medical tomes you spent countless hours reading at school for fun. As long as you had Romeo by your side again, even if he was just asleep from the shock of the pain in his injuries, this was more than enough than what you could’ve prayed for. However, just because Romeo was asleep did not mean your prayers stopped since you still wanted the blonde to make a speedy, safe recovery so you could have a proper reunion. After all, absence made the heart fonder in yours and Romeo’s unique case of romance, but you could only pray in earnest humility that the absence would not be a permanent one, as you feared your heart could not bear to lose your first love.

* In spite of all the pain of temporary absence from your beloved to add onto the reality of the fall of your city, it seemed as though a force from Heaven was merciful to you once again as you were allowed to reunite with Romeo and have the chance to save his life. Now, you had the unique pleasure of being the first thing that Romeo gazed upon when he opened his eyes after days of being in a shock-induced coma, with your current form in a slumbering position by his bedside as you clasped one of his hands in both of your folded hands. With soft inhales and exhales every few seconds while your eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings against your closed eyes and the swells of your cheeks, your shoulders rose and fell with every dream in your head as Romeo darted his good-working eye (as the other eye was heavily bandaged with gauze due to the severity of his burns) around the room wildly to discern where he was since the fight with your elder twin and P ended at the Opera House.

* While Romeo’s first instinct upon waking was to fight after years of training to be a Stalker-turned-puppet, Romeo eventually realized he was in the safe presence of his first love, so his current location in an ornate bed with a physically-recovering condition and gauze on the left side of his face really made no difference in the end. At long last, he had kept his long-awaited promise to you from days past when he and Carlo first fell ill: He finally came home to you and he was still alive.

* Placing a featherlight touch to your tresses with slender fingers as he stroked a strand or two behind your ear so he could gaze upon your face better, Romeo hoarsely rasped out your name as his eyes scanned your face for signs of awakening from slumber. When that method failed to rouse you, Romeo planted his cold lips against your forehead before he gave a hoarse whisper of the nickname he and Carlo created for you back at Monad, “Libro…It’s your king. Please wake up, my queen.”

* “My Romeo…” You gasped under your breath with fluttering eyelashes blinking open as you started to stir on the edge of the bed and rub the sleep from your eyes with a closed fist. Gradually, everything that was once blurry while half-asleep started to become clearer with every second your body readjusted to the light as you aimed your gaze towards the one who called out to you. With the candlelight catching Romeo’s tresses and face just right so that both shone like the Sun, the humanoid puppet extended a gentle closed-mouth grin towards you before you joyfully gasped out Romeo’s name while embracing him close with tender arms slung around his shoulders, silent tears pooling in your irises as the occasional sniffle exited your frame and your lips pressed barrage after barrage of kisses against Romeo’s neck to ensure he really was here.

* In return, Romeo cradled you against his chest with both arms encircling your waist before he matched the energy of your feverish kisses with some of his own against your neck and lips. With tears forming in his own eyes at being reunited with the one person he has left who cared for him since he became an orphan, the one pleasant reminder of his past when he was a human with dreams of being a great Stalker, Romeo could not believe his luck as you and him squeezed each other tighter before he pondered aloud, “I don’t understand. How am I still alive?”

* “My twin sister (S/N) and her lover, P, brought you back to Hotel Krat from the Opera House since you were still clinging to life. Had it not been for your strong will, my king, I wouldn’t have had the chance to save you with my medical skills and the help of my sister and our friends.” You answered before Romeo gasped, “You saved me?” Feeling a nod against his shoulder, Romeo smirked as he did in the old days of his youth before he remarked, “Just my luck…My queen saves her king from certain death and we both kept our promises to find each other…”

* “I’m just glad you’re back, Romeo. I prayed every day for you to come back and for you to recover. Both times, my prayers finally got answered.” You confessed as Romeo made his own confession, “I’m glad I’m here with you as well, Libro, and I don’t plan to go anywhere anytime soon.”

* “Good, because I and Mr. Wick won’t let you.” You chuckled as you grabbed your treasured donkey plush from the opposite side of Romeo’s pillow to playfully shove it in your beau’s face before he inspected the large toy and noticed only some small patchwork here and there, mainly around the left eye, as he smirked out a laugh, “I see you still kept the donkey I won you at that graduation carnival…Poor thing has surprisingly held up well, all things considered in this city.”

* “Of course he looks fine, because my king won him for me. Just a couple scrapes here and there, no different from you.” You giggled as Romeo matched your gentle laughter with his own, the tenderness of the hugs and cuddles between lovers making a welcome comeback in your bedroom upstairs in the hotel as you set Mr. Wick down on your bedside table and allowed Romeo to pull you against his chest so he could feel your breathing and heartbeat close to his own. Within seconds of being close to each other just like your school days at Monad, you and Romeo found it easy to fall back asleep in the safety of each other’s arms.

* With the occasional checking in from P and (S/N) in the doorway to make sure you gained nutritional sustenance after days without much food or rest and to ensure Romeo was recovering well, you and Romeo were left alone in your bedroom for the most part unless your sister woke you up to offer to watch over Romeo and introduce herself to her “future brother-in-law” while you bathed and changed clothes. By all accounts, it seemed as though your sister and lover would get along just fine based on shared interests of being Stalkers and their mutual love for you. Even you and your sister had to notice that P and Romeo eventually struck up a mutual truce on behalf of the respective twins they chose to partner up with, which was a bonus all around.

* Closing the chapter on the good old days at Monad, you and Romeo started a new chapter at Hotel Krat, starting with a tender reunion that eventually led to a new life of hope and happiness together as Romeo passed himself off as an injured Stalker who continued to wear the gauze on his face while simultaneously donning human clothes similar to P, especially as he had reservations about a certain inventor finding out he was still alive and seeking shelter in this hotel. Thankfully, you, P, (S/N), and the others were willing to keep Romeo’s presence a secret, as no one really knew who he was other than Sophia, who seemed to be wiser than most in this sanctuary, and you played off your gasp of your beloved’s name on the day you saved his life to others as having mistaken an old Monad classmate for Romeo since they both had blonde hair (which was actually not a total lie, but it seemed to do the trick since you used a makeshift alias for Romeo, Figaro, and the nickname Romeo gave only you and Carlo to use for him back at Monad, Lampwick). In addition, you only ever used Figaro and Lampwick for Romeo in the public areas of the hotel except in the privacy of your upstairs bedroom, where his real name left your lips once you two were sure you were alone without any nosy eavesdroppers. All things considered though, you and Romeo were finally together again and that fact meant more to you two than anything else in all of Krat.

Zhou Zishu x Fem! Widowed! Reader Request

* Young Lady (Name) of the well-renowned Xi Clan…That was your first title when you were the only granddaughter of Xi Song and the daughter of eldest son Xi Cheng and his wife (and also your lovely mother), Wu Di, better known as Lady Xi Di. Being the youngest in the family next to two elder brothers and one older, male cousin who was adopted by your parents after his mother passed away and his father died honorably in war as a general, you were regarded as the heart and glue of the family since you could keep the boys together and in line by acting like a second mother when the adults were away while at the same time, you could also be the little sister who could have fun with them and let them have their chance to protect you like chivalrous gentlemen.

* But since you were betrothed to a budding military officer from the Chiyun Clan when you both were only infants, your new title was to be Lady Chiyun (Name), the young military wife of Chiyun Zhang. However, from the start of your courtship as childhood friends and neighbor, Zhang was a true gentleman who genuinely loved you as you were, a kind soul who had a strong sense of justice and even stronger sense of wit and knowledge of the battlefield due to your militaristic background as the granddaughter and daughter of famous military officers. Zhang was also so sweet in nature when he wasn’t on the battlefield, always giving you handmade gifts that he carved from wood and even saving up money for the occasional big gift for your birthday or special festivals in your city. Therefore, you and Zhang had no internalized qualms about the betrothal since you and him got along just fine ever since you two first met, and more importantly, your families never had any issues since your parents and grandfather got along with Zhang’s parents and grandparents. In addition, Zhang was a perfect addition to the small group that consisted of your brothers and cousin since they all liked to hang out together in the woods to practice sparring or play children’s games in the lake. In fact, Zhang wanted you to have the best possible wedding, which was why he saved up so much money from his work with the military in order to provide enough so you could get the dress and other accessories you wanted. Though you and Zhang were so young, you both were involved in such a joyful marriage that eventually, you had no choice but to surprise your husband with the revelation that you were carrying his child. Oh, how you remembered the ecstatic shouts of Zhang, especially as he zoomed through the house at high speed before returning to your bedroom to gently lift you off the floor in a sweeping embrace that had you spinning in circles with the way he twirled you!

* Never before had you seen a man cry until the day you married Zhang and were allowed to be alone after the wedding ceremony. But when you suddenly told Zhang that you were pregnant with his child, you knew from his reaction alone that he was so excited to be a father as tears streamed down his face to match the joyful tears that gathered in your eyes. But you and Zhang shed the most tears during two events of your pregnancy: The first was when your baby first kicked your gargantuan belly enough for both you and your husband to feel it against your palms at the seventh month mark, which caused you both to giggle and kiss each other’s lips despite the nervousness of what would transpire during the actual birth. The second and most important was when your child was finally presented to the world and was revealed to be a son, which made you and Zhang cry tears of joy since the Chiyun bloodline would carry on through the clan’s surname while your bloodline would carry on since your son had all of your traits in terms of physical beauty alone.

* And, oh, how beautiful of a baby Chiyun Shao was! Zhang was constantly attentive to his son, from changing his diaper to feeding him when he knew you were tired to do so, even if he himself returned home from a full, tiring day of training with his men from the military. In the same breath, motherhood suited you quite well since your son was instantly attached to you from the first glance as he stared up at you while you held him in your arms after birthing him for many painful hours of labor. Even your brothers and cousin joked that dealing with them since childhood gave you a lot of practice for having a son; you giggled in agreement since your son was quite a handful due to his seemingly-endless capacity for energy and bubbling laughter.

* Sadly, your new happy family was about to become broken when another war threatened the homeland, with the battles becoming more bloody and gruesome and more impassioned men, young and old, enlisting to defend their families and country. Due to being a high-ranking general in spite of his documented youth as well as his naturalistic tendencies to help those in need (especially after the town close to yours and Zhang’s childhood home was decimated in one night by fiery arrows and savage attacks that even claimed the lives of women and children without mercy), Zhang had no choice but to return to the battlefield to quell the fury of war to allow for some form of diplomacy from the emperor and the leader of the other nation to take place. Although Zhang did not want to leave you and your son alone after only knowing his son for a year and even though you didn’t want your husband to leave for war, you knew that protecting his people was what he loved to do so you couldn’t take that away from him by choosing such a selfish way of life. However, Zhang reassured you with his embrace and words that he would return to grow old with you, help you raise your son properly, and live long enough to see his son get married and have a family of his own. And you believed this to be true as Zhang mounted his steed to head for the training fields where the new recruits would be before the next battle of the war…But this swift return was never meant to be…

* Within three months of fighting, a knock came at your door as your brothers, cousin, and all of their wives were visiting you and your son. Swinging the door open, you believed it was your husband coming home to keep his promise after he had helped win the war as a hero. You thought this was a surprise homecoming since letters from the frontlines indicated as such. As soon as the wooden door stood ajar, seeing the solemn albeit professional visages of two officers of the military, with their gold helmets removed and secured under the crooks of their arms, implied everything you needed to know before the words ‘Lady Chiyun, we’re so sorry to inform you that your husband, General Chiyun is deceased. We thank him for his service and he died as a hero’ left their lips. With a hand over your mouth as your one-year-old son was still cradled in your arms, your eyes wide as your pink lips gaped open, your knees went out from under you as a strangled wail exited your throat to match the perpetual tears that streamed down your face in heavy wave after wave. With your brothers, cousin, and in-laws offering comfort to you the best they could given the circumstances, you accepted their physical embraces and kind words even though it did nothing to quell your grief since you knew your husband was never coming back. But then your mind began to race with anxiety as you thought of Shao during your visual and auditory display of grief. Your infant son would never know his father aside from stories of old recounted from word of mouth or the solitary portrait that was painted of all of you together as a family, but your son would always grow up without a positive role model such as his father because you believed you would never get remarried since you and Zhang had so much history with each other despite being so young, a history of which that could never be replicated with just any man. Therefore, at age eighteen and just two years into your marriage, you were now a grieving widow and your son was now a fatherless infant.

* But exactly one year to the day after Zhang’s untimely death at the hands of an enemy general (where he died honorably to the last breath as he took the general down with him according to the anecdotal evidence of his men and comrades), your grandfather had a solution to the issue of you being widowed and Shao not having a father. According to your grandfather, Xi Song, there was a high-ranking official who was a cousin to the emperor in the North. By a stroke of good fortune, this male cousin before his untimely passing had a son around your same age, a prosperous male in his prime who was a famous martial artist that came from a good family but was without a wife or any heirs as of yet, making him a worthy candidate for marriage to you. With you coming from a militaristic background by virtue of your upbringing in the Xi Clan and your marriage into the Chiyun Clan, your grandfather saw a political advantage in this marriage since this young man, Zhou Zishu, was a high-ranking official in Prince Jin’s court due to being the leader of Window of Heaven, an underground assassination and espionage organization in service to the throne. In addition, the Zhou family also had a multitude of financial and political influence and power, especially since Zhou Zishu was the eldest and only son of a personal advisor to the throne on top of being the leader of his master’s martial arts home, Four Seasons Manor. Therefore, your dear grandfather’s solution to your grief and your son’s potential upbringing was to bring another man into the picture and that man was Zhou Zishu.

* As soon as the suggestion even left your grandfather’s lips, you immediately protested because it felt like you were replacing Zhang as if he meant nothing to you as a husband and father to your son, Shao. In addition, you also retorted that your grandfather seemed to be more concerned with wealth, power, and prestige for the Xi bloodline rather than the true happiness of his family, and you were just a pawn in his scheme. As a swift counter-argument to you, your grandfather coolly reminded you of your duty for the good of the Xi Clan, as you were the only female of childbearing and marrying age due to your newly-acquired status as a widow and mother of a male heir to the Chiyun Clan. Not wanting to disappoint your precious Shao by refusing him the right to grow up with a father and not wanting to dishonor your family by turning down such an auspicious proposal, you decided to listen to your grandfather’s advice as you accepted the marriage to Zhou Zishu, your second husband. Nevermore would you be known as Xi (Name) or Chiyun (Name). From now on, you would be Lady Zhou (Name), the wife of the leader of Window of Heaven and Four Seasons Manor.

* On the day of your second wedding, you and Zishu seemed to be happy for this union alongside your respective families. Your grandfather would be satisfied with you marrying up to a youthful male with plenty of political, financial, and personal backing from his followers to go around, which would help the Xi Clan in the long-term. Your parents, brothers, cousin, and multitude of in-laws were relieved to see you happy again in another marriage so you couldn’t be lonely and lost as a widow and single mother without your precious Zhang. Even Zhang’s family (who kept in contact after losing their only child since they adored you and Shao) was happy for you because they believed that their grandson would have a good father in his life and that you would have a second chance at being a mother and wife with a complete family…At least, that was what your happiness appeared to be on the surface…

* But inside your already-broken heart, you felt like you were disappointing your son Shao and first husband, your first beau, Chiyun Zhang, by marrying Zhou Zishu. For one thing, it felt like you were replacing Zhang with Zishu like a family of parents and children who lose a pet before the parents insensitively buy another pet for the children without properly going through the arduous yet necessary experience of processing the grief. You had only lost Zhang months ago and your grandfather was now asking you to move onto the next marriage for the sake of the Xi Clan, as if your relationship with Zhang was not special. But if your family and Zishu’s were happy with the end result of you being Lady Zhou and your son being a member of the Zhou family, then what choice did you have but to swallow your feelings and go through with the marriage? Secondly, Shao would be growing up with a man who was not his blood-related father, which made you fearful that maybe he would never accept Zishu as his father even if you asked Shao to. Personally, you could understand where your son would be coming from in that situation since he was about to receive a stepfather from this new relationship, but that poignant understanding still failed to quell the anxiety in your heart in regards to the relationship between your son and your new husband. Thirdly, you worried about your marriage to Zishu and what kind of man he would be. What if, on the surface, he was a perfect gentleman to impress you and your family right now but then behind closed doors, he performed a three-sixty and suddenly became physically and verbally abusive to you and your infant son? If that happened, there wouldn’t be much that could be done on your end because your grandfather already commanded you to marry the young man for the survival of the Xi Clan and for the sake of Shao, the heir to the Xi, Chiyun, and Zhou families. All in all, you only had a few handful of meetings with Zishu, but from all anecdotes and personal experiences, he seemed like a kind-hearted yet somber, stoic individual. However, you couldn’t help the anxiety that stirred within you as your mind reeled around in circles of ‘what if?’

* During this current second wedding, sitting in that sedan chair on the way to Zishu’s home never felt so arduous and somber, almost as if you were being carried to a funeral chamber for a family member so your weary legs wouldn’t give out during the journey. Even walking down to the end of the aisle so you and Zishu could perform the formal rituals in front of close family and friends in a small ceremony made you feel like you had walked hundreds of thousands of miles barefoot without any rest, water, or food for days.

* But in your lonely mind as you remained in your own little world of numbing cold to block out all of the pain you felt in this short amount of time, you did not realize that your new husband showed an obvious air of concern for you after seeing something in your shining eyes that your lips and face would never express. While it looked like a bride’s joy to others who were unsuspecting, Zishu could see hidden sadness from you that indicated that you were a bride who had no choice but to give her son a father figure and to make a good name for herself and her family. As sad as it made him to see you, his bride, this way, Zishu could not do much to stop the ceremony since he understood the feeling of being forced to do something against your will, as he too was pushed into the marriage by his elder cousin without much of his own input about the topic. But if it had been in his power to stop all of this to prevent your suffering, as you were a young dame who had been through a lot and didn’t deserve this choice-less existence, Zishu would have immediately acted to help you since he cared even while only meeting you one time.

* After the formal ceremony and surface-level joy of the festivities were completed, you and Zishu retired to the privacy of your bedchamber so you could lay your infant son down to sleep for the night in his cot while you politely asked your personal servant to retire for the night since you were pretty low-maintenance despite always hailing from an upper-class military clan. With a kind smile and a whisper of ‘Wǎn'ān, (Name)-Xiǎojiě (Goodnight, Miss)’ exchanged with you as your offered the same, the only difference being that you addressed your handmaiden by name out of respect for her sweet nature towards you, the young lady departed from the room to return to her chambers so she could get well-deserved rest after assisting in the preparations for your wedding today. In the meanwhile, after kissing your son goodnight, you sat down on the edge of the mattress so that the formal ritual of Zishu lifting your sheer, vermillion veil could be performed to finally complete the wedding ceremony. Once the veil was lifted, Zishu gazed upon your face for the first time in months since he last saw you for the first time for only a few seconds, and with all things considered, Zishu believed that you were very pretty even though he could tell that you were faking joy long enough so you could quickly retire to bed and shed your growing tears in peaceful silence.

* With a soft smile towards you as he sat down beside you on the bed, Zishu was ever so polite with you as he asked, “Would you like me to pour you a drink of the marriage wine? It’s okay if you don’t, but I just wanted to offer in the event you did.”

* “Ummm…Yes, please…” You nodded as Zishu nodded back to you before turning around so he could reach for the wine and cups. Pouring both beverages slowly, Zishu handed you your cup first before gripping for his cup, which led you both to maintain shared eye contact with soft nods as you both gave a whisper of “Gānbēi (Cheers).” Sipping the cool beverage quickly, you and Zishu savored every bit of sweetness in the marriage wine as you maintained your façade of completing all of the wedding rituals until your second husband surprised you with a subtlety in his voice that put you at ease as he shook his head softly, “Xi-Gūniáng, you don’t need to put on an act for me. I know how you truly feel about this union, and I don’t blame you…”

* At this revelation from Zishu, your doe eyes of brown blinked rapidly as you lifted your head and thin brows so you could properly gaze at your second husband. With a rapidly beating heart as Zishu’s eyes of shining expresso brown-black remained glued to yours, somehow, you felt more at ease with this young man because he understood you and your feelings. Rather than discount or diminish your feelings in favor of making the Xi Clan more prosperous in the future, Zishu adequately acknowledged your true beliefs and feelings as he uttered out loud what you could not to avoid rocking the boat or dishonoring your family. For what it was worth right now, Zishu actually seemed to comfort you with his words as he reminded you of your first beau, Chiyun Zhang, because he quelled all of your anxieties and allowed you to be your true self with all its positive and negative traits and other qualities. Instead of coming across as patronizing with his suggestion that you didn’t have to lie to him, Zishu actually incited a feeling of relief for you because you felt like you could put everything out on the table and just be honest with yourself and others for the first time in months since your husband died on the battlefield. But it was only because you and Zishu were now away from the judgemental eyes of others, so you both never had to answer to anyone else except each other in this marriage. Therefore, you had no problem listening intently with all honesty towards Zishu as he continued with his observations of what he believed you were really feeling but could never utter, “Xi-Gūniáng, I know I can’t do much about this current situation right now, but what I can promise is that from now on, I will protect you and your son with my life if I have to.”

* “But what about you? If I don’t give you an heir to the Zhou family, then-” You countered before Zishu stopped you with a gentleness in how he gripped for your hands so he could give both of your hands a reassuring squeeze, “Then what?…Like I said, I won’t let anyone hurt you or Shao, even if it means going up against my family or yours. Even if you will never love me or want to be with me as a wife under the title of Lady Zhou, I will respect your decision without complaint. I can tell from your eyes that you don’t want to be in this marriage as much as I do and that you felt just as powerless as me to stop it in the first place…In all honesty, I don’t expect your love in return and if you want to leave this place to be in peace with your son, then I’ll help you escape when it’s safe.”

* “Zhou-Gōngzǐ…” You gasped softly under your breath as warm tears gathered in your eyes at how kind-hearted this second husband of yours really was behind the scenes, which caused Zishu to reach out for your cheek to catch the cascading droplets as your whole soul poured out to him, raw and bare after years of bottling in your grief over Zhang and how you truly felt about this marriage to Zishu. Without having to say anything to offer any more comfort to you as your lips jutted out into a deep pout that started to quiver, Zishu pulled you into his muscular arms and just held you in silence as you gripped his vermillion and gold-embroidered robes, breathy inhales and exhales originating from your throat as you kept your sobs low while your shoulders quaked violently. With his dominant hand stroking through your waist-length tresses of ebony before stopping every so often on the small of your back to offer gentle pats to your emerald and vermillion wedding robes, Zishu allowed you the chance to let everything out in an environment that would not hold you to a high standard in order to be seen by others as a person who deserved basic decency and respect.

* Gripping tightly to Zishu’s robes as he continued to hold you in his arms, your soft cries persisted in the starry night while your son slept peacefully in his cot. The minute Zishu embraced you, you could have sworn that the tender-hearted spirit of Chiyun Zhang complimented the already-kind spirit of your second husband, Zhou Zishu. In all honesty, it was as if Zhang had joined the tender embrace with a telepathic whisper in your ear that it was alright to let him go and even urge yourself to love Zishu on your own if you so chose, all so that you could be happy for yourself and for your son. And with that small gift of permission from Zhang for you to find happiness, a sense of tranquility filled your heart as a gargantuan weight was lifted off your shoulders, which allowed you to inhale and exhale harder than you had ever done before since losing your first husband and marrying your second husband.

* With a soft smile against Zishu’s shoulder as he continued to hold you and ask if you were alright, you eventually lifted your head to acknowledge him as someone worthy of your respect. Nodding towards him solemnly to indicate your response to his inquiry of your well-being, you remarked that you felt better now that you knew you had an ally like him on your side before the young man smiled at you and pecked your forehead sweetly with a tender kiss, “Then, if you’re alright, I shall leave you alone so you can sleep for the night.” Getting up from the mattress to secure extra bedding, blankets, and pillows, Zishu pulled everything from a wooden trunk at the other side of the room before you shuffled around on the mattress in your wedding clothes as you questioned, “Wait…If you’re going to get all that from the trunk, then where will you sleep, Zhou-Gōngzǐ?”

* “I’m used to sleeping on the ground for missions on behalf of my cousin. You can take the bed since it’s more comfortable, Xi-Gūniáng.” Zishu shrugged as he played off this idea as nothing more than business as usual since he knew you both didn’t want this marriage but had to play along in front of others to avoid aroused suspicions of you trying to escape from your family with Shao or Zishu disobeying his cousin by refusing your hand. However, you could not stand by and let Zishu choose your comfort over his own as you protested, “Zhou-Gōngzǐ, can you please stay with me tonight?…It’d be unfair for you to sleep on the floor while I sleep on the mattress since this was your room first before marrying me. As much as I don’t want this marriage with you, we both have no choice right now, so it’d be very rude to take your things as my own without permission. Besides, you comfort me a lot more than most and I trust you, so please don’t sleep on the floor for my sake.”

* “Are you sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable at all.” Zishu asked kindly to reassure you that he would respect you regardless of your decisions in regards to him while you shook your head with a closed-mouth grin, “Quite the contrary! You’re a kind individual who genuinely cares for the real me, and you’re a true gentleman who respects others, especially women.”

* “Well, if you say it’s alright, I guess I can’t argue with my wife.” Zishu shrugged with a chuckle under his breath towards you as you smiled at the man, who was now removing his vermillion and gold wedding robes and taking down his hair from the leather guan that held it up in a topknot, all so that he was more comfortable in only his red under-robes while his hair was free to flow down his back. At the same time, you removed your emerald and vermillion, gold-embroidered wedding robes along with the cosmetics that accentuated the delicate features of your visage, with both of your hands later taking out your various wedding decorations for your hair so that you could loosen every individual lock and massage your sore scalp so your tresses could flow freely down your back. Once you were down to your red under-robes with your hair down, you slid into the mattress beside Zishu, which caused the young man to scoot over to the side in order to give you plenty of room so that there was at least twelve inches between your body and his. Laying on your sides so that you faced each other, you and Zishu exchanged cordial whispers of goodnight with each other before both falling asleep at the same time.

* At some point in the night, you could hear the familiar cries of a small infant in need of a parent. Since you had been a mother for at least one year, you could tell the difference in your baby’s needs based on such cries, especially since they were differentiated on the grounds of how many seconds separated one cry from another: 10 seconds apart meant that Shao was in need of something immediate in order to quell his hunger or thirst…20 seconds apart meant Shao was in need of a clothing and diaper change…30 seconds apart meant Shao was upset or scared and just needed comfort in the form of someone rocking him back and forth while a story or song was orated to this sweet baby. From Shao’s current cries, you discerned that your son was upset or frightened. However, after all that you had been through in the past few months since Zhang’s death, your body had been under much stress from being a recent mother who was grieved by her status as a widow who was forced to marry another man so soon. Therefore, even when you knew your son needed you and you always dutifully answered the call for help with no strings attached and no complaints, it really did take a toll on your body and mind since you did not have your husband around to help you around the house.

* As soon as you lifted your body to exit the mattress and tend to your son, your feet had not even swung over the side before Zishu immediately stayed you with his open palm as he shook his head with a grin, “No, you’re exhausted, Xi-Gūniáng. I can tend to Shao as his stepfather while you sleep. I got it…” With an immediate response towards Shao’s cries, Zishu dutifully took on the duties of fatherhood usually reserved for Zhang as he fluttered to the crib with the softest of coos under his breath and a genuine grin lighting up his youthful visage, “Hello, Xiǎo Shao (Little Shao). What seems to be the matter? Let’s get you situated so your wonderful mother can sleep.”

* With your doe eyes of brown gazing upon Zishu as he cradled your son against his bosom, you kept a careful vigil over both men as Zishu checked your son twice over to ensure that he did not require a clothing or diaper change. When that option was ruled out, Zishu began to rock back and forth on the balls of his light-weight feet with your infant son in his muscular arms as he continued to coo, “Alright, well, maybe you’re a strong, growing boy who needs some food. Let’s see if we can get you some milk.” However, you stayed your second husband’s quest for nourishment for your baby with a gentle wave of your hand and a revelation from your lips, “From my son’s cries, I know he’s not hungry. He’s probably scared or upset about something.”

* “Oh, I did not know that.” Zishu gaped with a chuckle under his breath as you giggled into the curled fingers that you placed at your bottom lip with a witty comeback, “Well, now you do, Zhou-Gōngzǐ.”

* “Well, if that’s the case, then I shall comfort your son so that you can rest properly, Xi-Gūniáng.” Zishu promised as he sat down with your son in the seat by the windowsill, cradling the infant against his bosom so that Shao’s head rested in the crook of Zishu’s elbow. Rocking your son back and forth as he continued to stare down at him just as he had done since first holding your son tonight, there was just something about Zishu’s gaze towards your son that held a warmth and gentleness, a love even, that you had not seen in a year since Zhang’s passing. But then, again, Zishu had always been gentle with you and his subordinates despite his outer appearance of cold indifference like a continuously-sneering feline.

* However, Zishu surprised you the most on this night when he decided to comfort your son with a lullaby that was worthy of Chang’E’s praise. Rocking Shao back and forth in his arms as he sang, Zishu’s tenor vocals echoed in the room to put the sobbing baby’s mind at ease as your son reached for his stepfather’s face with a pair of chubby hands, a look of utter awe in his shining orbs of ebony at the marvel that was your second husband as well as the voice that soothed his innocent heart like Zhang’s voice once did for you and your little bundle of joy. And in this moment, you knew that everything would be alright because like Chiyun Zhang, your first beau and late husband, Zhou Zishu made you and your son feel no other emotions but those revolving around the idea of true peace. Seeing your infant son steadily drift off to sleep in Zishu’s arms as he continued to sing and rock him back and forth, it only made your once-heavy heart flutter with a warmth of love for Zishu and his kindness towards you and your son. All in all, in this moment, the actions of Zhou Zishu towards you and your son got you thinking about yourself and Shao in relation to the young master of Four Seasons Manor and leader of Window of Heaven.

* …Perhaps, maybe a marriage with Zishu wouldn’t be so bad after all…Perhaps it was all meant to be…Maybe, just maybe, a piece of Chiyun Zhang’s spirit resided in the autonomous spirit of Zhou Zishu in order to provide unconditional love and protection to you and Shao despite Zhang’s absence due to an honorable death on the battlefield…And as you saw the warm demeanor in which Zishu addressed your infant son in both speaking and singing tone, his chocolate eyes gleaming bright at the joy your son expressed in his round visage towards his stepfather attempting to comfort him, this fact of Zhang’s memory living on was confirmed by Zishu’s current kindnesses towards you and your son, especially on this wedding night.

* After lulling your son to sleep with his song, Zishu fluttered back over to the cot to lay Shao down with all gentleness to avoid jostling the peacefully-slumbering infant. Tucking the baby back in with the softest blanket before kissing his index and middle fingers so he could press the warm fingers against the baby’s forehead, Zishu wished your son a soft ‘goodnight and sweet dreams, Xiǎo Shao’ before he rejoined you in your mattress. With a soft smile that gave more gratitude to Zhou Zishu than words could ever express from your heart to your lips, your new husband accepted this outward display of warmth from you as he stroked your cheek with his index finger before leaning over as the mattress creaked, a gentle kiss from Zishu being planted onto your forehead with the exact gentleness that he had shown your son. With widened eyes at the sudden contact and a gasp bitten back by you forcing the sounds to remain deep in your throat, you eventually closed your eyes in response to the forehead kiss as you smiled to yourself at Zishu’s unconditional love for you before he wished you a ‘goodnight, Xi-Gūniáng’ under his breath before you stuttered out a whisper of ‘goodnight, Zhou-Gōngzǐ’ under your breath, which caused Zishu to chuckle at the cute nature of your red-cheeked bashfulness before you closed your eyes and pretended to fall asleep first. But as you cracked one eye open to sneak a peek at Zishu, you noticed the peaceful ebb and flow of his broad shoulders as he held you close to blanket you in a shield of protection and warmth despite the gargantuan amount of space between your slumbering bodies. At this, you grinned lovingly at Zishu as you felt completely safe around him before you eventually fell to sleep for the night alongside him.

* Perhaps, maybe a marriage with Zishu wouldn’t be so bad after all, and after seeing the young man’s actions towards you and Shao tonight, you knew for certain that he would always look out for you and Shao, regardless of whether you loved him or not. But after tonight, you felt a stirring warmth in your heart and it gave you hope…Hope that Chiyun Shao could finally have a father and a normal childhood, hope that you could finally be truly happy with a man who absolutely adored you after suddenly becoming a widow…With Zishu, you felt that love and safety existed, and due to this realization, you believed that staying with him as a wife would not be so bad. As long as you had him and your precious Shao, then all was perfect in the world for you…

Zhou Zishu x Reader - Mafia AU

* In the mafia, there are several rules that must always be followed, which encompass the following: 1.) If you’re a male, never flirt with a female family member of the boss, 2.) Never steal money or other valuables from the boss, and 3.) Never betray the family, especially by being a rat or turncoat. If you follow these rules, you can survive for long and make it far up the ladder.

* This was why you, (Name), were a high-ranking member of Scorpion Sect known as “Sly Fox,” for your quick wit and expert handling of all of the family’s finances from investment to making sure that not one penny was missing due to your thorough record-keeping for the boss, Zhao Jing. However, you mainly worked alone with no subordinates to lead over except everyone that wasn’t within your rank. All in all, you were of equivalent rank on the second to last rung of the ladder just like “Scorpion King”, whose real name was Xie Wang and who was best known for being the family’s top assassin and muscle behind the scenes, where poison and sharp knives were his specialties. Fortunately for Xie’Er, he had four such subordinates to rule over after proving himself to be the strongest warrior in all of Scorpion Sect. However, he never had to use them against you because you were loyal to his foster father and Xie’Er himself loved you wholeheartedly as his “Shījiě (Senior Sister).”

* Currently, your precious Scorpion Sect to the South and a rival mafia family, The Window of Heaven to the North, were in a turf war due to the high potential for cash that was in a designated area of unclaimed ground within the martial arts world. In general, these two families had been at war for years before either you or Xie’Er were ever born. Now, the wars were full-blown to the point that if a member of one family saw one member of the other family, there would be instant death marked on the fate of one or both individuals…But this rumored course of events never happened to you, even when you met a member of Window of Heaven for yourself and he saw you with his own eyes.

* …You can remember that first meeting now…It was a cool yet sunny autumn day, where the leaves were just starting to turn red as they fluttered from the branches and the Mid-Autumn Festival was just right around the corner. In all actuality, you were traversing the woods alone to scout out the territory that was so coveted in this turf war to see the economic potential, but you were warned by your Xiǎo Xie (Little Xie) to be careful in case a scout from Window of Heaven was nearby. Seeing as your little adoptive brother rarely ever got upset except when it came to your safety since you always cared for him, you promised him that you would come back safe since he taught you how to take care of yourself out there.

* On this fateful day, you were dressed in the typical Scorpion Sect uniform of purple and black as you wore a dress of your own design, with a couple tiny strands of your hair braided by your Xiǎo Xie and decorated with silver beads to match the permed curls of your ebony locks. With a loaded revolver on a lacy band around your upper thigh and plenty of poisonous daggers at your disposal, you were dressed and armed for success if a fight did break out.

* As for the man you saw, he was dressed in the typical uniform of Window of Heaven, with blue and black acting as the main palettes of his silver-buttoned, tailored suit and his long hair slicked back with a black fedora as his decorative element. Armed with a loaded revolver at his side and an attractive albeit icy visage, this young man was also ready for anything in the event a fight occurred.

* But as you two locked eyes of brown onto each other and recognized that you both were members of the opposite families based on appearance alone, you and this young man were surprised to see that nothing happened…No revolvers drawn, no lunging forward for a physical brawl, no curses scattered into the wind to reference the opposite party…Instead, the young man asked in a concerned tone as to why you were alone in the woods since it wasn’t usually safe for a woman before you smirked with crossed arms and your revolver cocked in one of your hands that you could take care of yourself against wolves like him. This only made the man laugh gleefully at your joke as he gave off the brightest smile before he joked back that since you were a lady with a loaded gun, you must have been a cunning fox who could really take care of herself.

* And just like that, you and this young man clicked in terms of interpersonal relationships with just that one, sarcastic joke and that one, bright smile. Not long after you two exchanged such jovial words, you and this young man introduced yourselves as if you weren’t members of rival families. As soon as you heard his name of Zhou Zishu, you knew immediately that he was the second-in-command of Window of Heaven and the assassin muscle behind the scenes under the command of his cousin Boss Jin, just like your Xiǎo Xie to Boss Zhao Jing. When he heard your name of (Name) “Sly Fox” (Surname), Zishu knew you were the financial, intellectual backbone and one of the second-in-commands of Scorpion Sect, but not once was he the slightest bit deterred by you nor was he looking for a way to use you to his family’s advantage as nothing more than a bargaining chip. Even after learning each other’s identities and affiliation to each other’s respective mafia families, you and Zishu maintained a close, civil relationship with one another.

* In fact, for many months starting from the incident in the woods to the present day, you and Zishu were engaged in a secret courtship, which was all similar to the infamous tale of Romeo and Juliet that you two had read in school since you were Scorpion Sect’s brains after being formally adopted by Zhao Jing and Zishu was a highly-educated boy from a high class family before joining his cousin’s pursuit of wealth and power. Being ever so careful to ensure that you both were not being tailed by your coworkers during your public outings and that no telephone or handwritten letter correspondence was ever discovered by the eyes and ears of others, you and Zishu were never once found out by anyone. Although, the only confidant you and Zishu ever remotely allowed to know of your relationship together was Han Ying, a subordinate of Zishu’s who looked up to your beloved as a big brother figure. Even when coming in contact with you on the first meeting, Han Ying was the perfect little brother figure because he was staunchly protective of both you and Zishu to the point that he would come up with the best alibis for the two of you so you could date in peace. However, you all knew that the presentation of alibis would eventually fail and courtship secrets would soon be discovered if you three did not think fast. Therefore, you began to cook something up in your mind as you dotted all I’s and crossed all T’s to account for any and all possible pros and cons of each contingency plan. Going through all the checklists in your head, some plans fell apart before you could bring them further into fruition, even when they seemed promising at first glance. But other plans continued to stew, low and slow, in your mind as they seemed more promising than the first. At last, one plan in particular illuminated like a lightbulb over your head and the more you went through all possible pros and cons in your head, the more this plan seemed to be the one. Enlisting the help of Zishu and Han Ying, you brought this ‘what if’ scenario into current reality as you gathered the necessary tools one at a time over a period of months in preparation for the grand finale, the big show for the great families and the entire martial arts world to see.

* On the pre-planned day, you began phase one as you and Han Ying broke the bolted chain and lock on the front door to your flat so that the average cop or person would think you had been broken into on first glance, which would rule out anyone in your mafia family as a prime suspect since there would be no signs of forced entry if you had known the perpetrator. But with the presence of forced entry at your apartment, a stranger or member of the opposite mafia family would be the prime suspect. Next, you and your little brother figure rummaged through the apartment, dumping out drawers to make it look like the intruder was looking for something to rob. At the same time, you two knocked over chairs and tables to make it seem as though you put up a fight against your intruder to stop them from attacking you or escaping with your family’s money (which only Xie’Er, Boss Zhao Jing, and yourself knew was kept in a locked box in a large book where all of the pages had been cut out by you). With you and Han Ying even going so far as to punch each other to make the theory of a fight breaking out during a home invasion turned robbery look more believable, blood samples from you and Han Ying were left around the flat to further lead to such a conclusion. After stealing your mafia family’s money and ruining the inside of the flat before stabbing a handwritten note into the back of your front door with a pocketknife, Han Ying asked you to crouch down in the floorboards of the back seat of his car under a giant, black blanket so that no one would see you around town with him, a low-ranking member of a rival family. With that, the two of you drove towards a pre-determined location to meet up with Zishu to finish out phase one and move onto phase two.

* Sure enough, at the same time that you and Han Ying pulled up to Zishu’s car at an abandoned parking lot overlooking a lake, Xie’Er was expected to visit you so you could go over business and then get some hot pot at a restaurant that was regarded by both of you as your favorite. But as the young man in a black suit with a purple tie rounded the corner to see your front door left open and signs of forced entry within, your little adoptive brother feared the worst as his eyes widened to the size of baseballs. At once, Xie’Er pulled his loaded revolver and did a quick sweep of your flat like a cop on the hunt for a criminal on the loose, turning left then right to ensure that he checked everywhere for you, as he asked, “Shijiě (Senior sister), are you in here?! It’s Xie’Er! If you’re here, please answer me.”

* No answer…Just dead silence…

* Xie’Er immediately knew something was wrong when you didn’t tap on something or shout back. But then again, if drawers had been rummaged through and there were signs of struggle in the apartment, then clearly, you had been fighting someone off or had been trying to prevent them from getting Scorpion Sect’s bottom line. In addition, maybe you had been incapacitated somehow by the assailant and could not answer, especially if you had been heavily beaten or knocked unconscious. Continuing to still sweep the various rooms in your flat with his revolver still drawn, Xie’Er still couldn’t find you or hear you moving about anywhere inside, which worried him immensely because you were expected to be home at this time. But if you really were incapacitated somehow, then surely he would have seen you somewhere in the apartment during his thorough, meticulous search for you, the money, and/or the assailant. But after spending countless minutes that seemed like the slowest of hours searching for you, Xie’Er was left with nothing but a trashed apartment with visible signs of forced entry and missing money from your makeshift safe to match little to no sign of you aside from signs of struggle during a possible fight and the faintest trickles of blood that could belong to either you or the assailant.

* Standing in the middle of your flat with his hands dragging heavily through his thick hair of ebony, the young man’s heart began to race like a pounding drum in an echo chamber as his gargantuan chocolate eyes slammed shut to ward off the worried tears that so desperately wanted to fall down his plump albeit chiseled cheeks. After all, you were his big sister figure and you had always looked out for him within the Scorpion Sect family whenever he was injured, ill, or just wanted to have a good time at a restaurant or movie. But with your apartment ransacked, the family’s money seized, and you missing, Xie’Er felt weak because he couldn’t protect you from a malevolent entity who wished to harm you and steal from your shared family.

* However, what really clued Xie’Er in to the possibility of both you and Scorpion Sect’s money being gone was the presence of a handwritten letter stuck to the back of your front door by a pocketknife. Removing the note from the door without damaging it too much by ripping it apart by pulling against the weight of the knife, Xie’Er’s eyes scanned the contents of the letter as it read as follows: “To the one known as Scorpion King: We took your cash and the Sly Fox for good measure. You want her back? Then kill one of your own men in exchange for her and the cash within one hour or she will suffer a brutal fate and we shall keep your bottom line for ourselves. A life for a life for taking many of ours. - Signed, your rival, The Window of Heaven.”

* Upon finishing this comprehension of the letter’s contents, Xie’Er immediately seized your rotary telephone from your living room table as he frantically dialed the number for Scorpion Sect’s headquarters before a female voice on the other line answered coquettishly, “Hello?”

* “Evil Bodhisattva?” Xie’Er asked as he recognized the tone of voice before a chirpy tone complimented the coquettish quality to the feminine vocals, “Oh, Boss! How are you?…By the way, when are you and (Name) meeting up with me at the hot pot restaurant? You both are late for our usual reservation and we have much business to discuss today. We have to report a summary later to the boss so we need to really-”

* “(Name) and the recent business transactions are missing and her flat’s been trashed! Window of Heaven left a note claiming they took her and the money and that they’d kill her and keep the cash if I didn’t kill one of my own men!” Xie’Er blurted out all of a sudden as his baritone vocals indicated a reasonable level of panic to his tone before Du Pusa gasped, “WHAT?! Sly Fox and the money are gone?! And wait, did you say Window of Heaven?!”

* “Get the others to investigate the flat so we can find her and the cash. And prepare some poison and other weapons. This time, we’re going to war, with or without prior approval.”

* “Right away, Boss.” Du Pusa saluted with her fingers against her forehead on her end of the rotary telephone call as she quickly hung up while Xie’Er hung up your rotary phone. Then thinking quickly even with his mind racing out of worry for you, he made another phone call to a rank-and-file subordinate, Song Huairen, to ask him to meet up somewhere remote so that they could canvass the nearby forests and lakes for you in the event Window of Heaven was watching or was planning to not hold up their end of the bargain in regards to your safety. With Huairen acquiescing to the meeting with Xie’Er since he was best at working in the shadows, your younger brother figure smirked on his end of the phone call before running out of your apartment just as some lower-rank members of Scorpion Sect began gathering physical and trace evidence to aid in finding you and the cash.

* With some fingerprints and blood being lifted from various locations in the apartment for analysis (which you knew would later be revealed to contain your DNA and an unknown male sample), Xie’Er left your flat to meet up with Song Huairen to begin a thorough sweep for you and the cash. However, Xie’Er’s suggestion was all just a ruse to satisfy Window of Heaven’s bargain in exchange for the life of you, his precious Jiě, by sacrificing Huairen’s life and making it look like the young man was a double agent who set you up and assisted the rival family in stealing Scorpion Sect’s cash. Acting with the notion that he was being watched by Window of Heaven, Xie’Er conducted his actions very carefully in the shadows but made sure that if someone from the rival family was indeed looking, they would see it and be able to report back to their boss so they could release you and the money within the hour since Xie’Er kept up his end of the bargain. So surely, he would see you again and then everything would go back to normal even after this little scare…or so your little brother figure thought.

* Just as he had predicted while preparing for every eventuality, Xie’Er was soon met with sad news as he returned back to base and was informed by a subordinate who was by the phone lines that Pretty Arhat was asking for him. Snatching the phone from his subordinate as he waved everyone out of the room, Xie’Er wasn’t sure if he heard the whole string of sentences from Pretty Arhat, but he was pretty sure he could make out the words “Sly Fox has been beaten to death” and “Window of Heaven broke their agreement. We just now found her body in a shallow grave where they claimed to have dumped her.”

* As soon as those words left Arhat’s lips and entered Xie’Er’s mind, the young man immediately slammed the phone multiple times back onto the rotary receiver that was laying flat on the table with several metallic clanks. With several grunts and huffs under his breath that turned into full-bodied screams as Xie’Er began damaging his office by throwing various knickknacks and papers off his desk and onto the floor, the young man struck fear into the subordinates who were outside his door as they slunk away quietly on tip-toes to avoid the wrath of their boss. However, after the storm within Xie’Er had been unleashed so that the calm eye could take over, the young man slid down the side of his desk so that he could sit on the floor as he shivered with unadulterated rage, tears of grief beading down his cheeks. Punching the floorboards with one drawn fist to the point of his knuckles going red with blood and broken skin as he buried his face in his other hand, Xie’Er was completely in denial over your fate as his mind continued to race. He could not believe that you, of all people, would be dead since you were the strongest of them all next to him and you were the only orphan of Zhao Jing’s that the young man actually adored without a hint of jealousy since you kept to yourself by rarely ever taking away his foster father’s attention. So why? Why you? Why did the rival family have to go after you? What had you done to deserve this other than be the financial brains of Scorpion Sect with no history of attacking any member of Window of Heaven?

* But with this newfound knowledge of your death confirmed by Arhat’s words as Xie’Er’s prime interrogator to corroborate the photographs of your “corpse” that were later sent to Scorpion Sect’s headquarters in a Manila envelope by Han Ying (which showed physical signs of you being beaten on your face and body, as you had photographed yourself with the injuries that Han Ying had given to you), Xie’Er and the rest of the families in the martial arts world believed you to be truly deceased once a body was found in a shallow grave after an anonymous telephone call claiming to be Window of Heaven revealed the location of your “corpse.” Therefore, a funeral was in order on behalf of Xie’Er to you since you were a high-ranking member of the family and you were his beloved Jiě.

* On that rainy day of your “funeral,” you, Zishu, and Han Ying watched the melancholy processions from a distance to avoid being discovered, which involved you wearing a “Sunday church” hat with a black veil over your face to match a black dress and black heels, all with the intention of hiding your face while you disguised your voice manually in the event you were ever approached so that your meticulous plan wouldn’t be ruined by one tiny anomaly. Fortunately for the three of you, no one noticed the presence of either one of you. However, it did pain you to see your Xiǎo Xie so torn up by your “death,” even though the corpse he was currently getting choked up over was a recently-deceased body from the morgue that was in your age group, a young lady who died in a car accident and who voluntarily donated her body to science at the request of her family if there was even a remote chance that her internal organs could be used for something good (who was later disguised with your facial likeness through means of skin-changing masks thanks to Zishu and thrown into a shallow grave by Han Ying).

* But you knew things had to be this way because The Window of Heaven and Scorpion Sect would never let you and Zishu be together in peace. And if Xie’Er ever found out, he would kill you most brutally and then tell Zhao Jing that you were a turncoat. To avoid either terrible outcome from occurring, you HAD to come up with this plan with Zhou Zishu and Han Ying as co-conspirators and accomplices to make sure that people believed you were dead so you wouldn’t have any qualms about being out in public with your beloved or his most loyal subordinate. Therefore, the day you as the Sly Fox “died” was the day you were born anew as Zhou (Name), wife of Zhou Zishu, after being married in a small church ceremony with a priest that agreed to keep the records private.

* But torn up by your sudden death, Xie’Er’s heart hardened without your warmth and unconditional love for him as he instituted one new fundamental rule for all current and incoming recruits, which went as follows: From the first day of initiation, all members were instructed to take a brown pill that seemed harmless to outsiders but which actually contained a slow-acting poison that would kill the person from the inside unless Xie’Er gave them a temporary antidote to keep the toxins at bay. All in all, this was a sure-fire insurance policy to ensure that no members could voluntarily leave and take Scorpion Sect’s secrets with them, all because the poison would kill a person within a month without Xie’Er’s ‘antidote,’ which required a person to constantly check in with the organization in order to preserve their own life. In addition, Xie’Er used Huairen as an example for what happened to those who were non-compliant with the new rule, which scared a good chunk of members into silence and strict obedience. But in his own bizarre way of thinking, the new rule also allowed Xie’Er a do-over to ensure that not one more person would ever leave him so soon again like you had.

* In spite of this new rule to Scorpion Sect, which saddened you when you saw your little brother figure go down this path, you and Zishu both got what you wanted. You both found a new marriage partner and confidant and in return, Zishu helped you free yourself from the chains of Scorpion Sect that threatened to bring you down should yours, Xie’Er’s, and Zhao Jing’s secrets ever be discovered. So leaving behind your old life in Scorpion Sect as Zishu made current plans alongside you and Han Ying so that he and his subordinate could finally abandon The Window of Heaven, you embraced your new identity and happily became Zishu and Han Ying’s accomplice in this current plan. It was NOT going to be easy by any means, going up against The Window of Heaven. But if anyone could do it, the three of you could. So there was some level of hope in this plan even if the outcome seemed unknown or even bleak at first glance. Therefore, the three of you believed you could escape a mafia family for a second time as you prepared to enact the second plan, which would culminate in the main goal of allowing you and Zishu to live together as husband and wife in peace similar to the famous married couple within the Four Sages of Anji.