Wash my mouth out with soap (TigerxVex)

[wolf.]

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Stephen Barrett

Corville was a large kingdom, spanning several miles in each direction. Being one of the larger kingdoms in Esnington, its a basic metropolitan area with lots of people and things to do! Most people live in the outskirts of the kingdom where there is plenty of soil to be farmed upon whilst having so much other opportunities for other professions within the city. Bustling along with newer technology like horse drawn carriages being replaced with bikes, some steam powered engines and overall seemed like a vibrant, lively city. Corville, while unlike the other kingdoms, was run by the Barrett family. A long-standing family that had been there for hundreds of years; since the very beginning of Corville some would say even. A heiarchy of well off people, strong and always putting the contents of the kingdom first before anything else. This allowing the kingdom to expand, but what was unknown to them was how poor some of the sections where.

Thus began the families monthly outings into the kingdom. To sort of bond with their citizens, to see what could be improved and listen to concerns and the like. That day happened to be the day; a festival had been thrown up in the kingdom at town square and the family decided it was the best chance they had. Plus who doesn't love a bit of fun every now and then? Though one of the Barrett members was a little less than thrilled about it as they had more important things to do than indulge in such nonsense. Stephen Barrett was the next in line for the crown; a prince through and through. Though lately he seemed to concern himself more with that of politics and his soon to be crowning than that of the citizens. Which was lack luster for the rest of the family as the citizens is what gave the kingdom and them their prowess.

Sophia, his mother, and Stephen Senior, his father, had brought them here to hopefully pull Stephen from the worries of kingdom life. Enjoy his young adult life, have some fun and maybe even meet other people besides those in the castle. The festival was to celebrate the Harvest Moon, and the family had been enjoying themselves for some time. Though Stephen eventually got very bored of the activies and had wondered off, not that his parents would stop him, and more so was just- browsing. Watching people talk in large groups, drink mead, eat fried food and sell their hand made items. It was an enjoyable time, about two hours ago, but now Stephen just wanted to return to castle. He had to be ready for some meetings in the morning and this had waned in the fun factor.

Though he had to admit, seeing the citizens was sort of sobering in a way. Seeing their lives outside castle walls and courtrooms; just normal every day people. Stephen paused by some woman who made her own satchels and purchased a lovely black one from her. Thanking her for her kindness before continuing on down an alley where a few shops had began to close up for the night. It was peaceful, quiet and the sun was starting to go down. Suppose his parents had been right about something; the kingdom was beautiful.

For Some Reason You Chose Me

Code by Jenamos

 

[Howaitotaiga]

Anastasia still felt like she was in a nightmare. She kept praying she was going to wake and be her beautiful and massive dragon self, living her solitary life outside of the humans civilization. It had been about seven days since it happened, and she was not warming up to the idea any better than she had before. She had stumbled into this kingdom earlier in the day, and the people had taken pity on her and given her some food and water free of charge. It seemed she came on a good day for such things, as they were having some festival. She noticed that the people eyed her curiously, as she stood out amongst the crowd in many ways.

The first was that she had bright white hair, something she noticed that only elderly humans had. The second was the style of dress she wore. She had somehow found her way into the lower end of the kingdom, where people wore worn out clothes that had darker shades of cool colors. Her dress was white, with some dirt and grass stains, and it had gold that wrapped around her neck. She looked like a young nobleman's daughter, and it was partly because she stole this dress years ago because it was really shiny. Not that she knew what significance her clothes would have to the people. She wouldn't understand anything significant in the social workings of humans as this would be her first time in a long time interacting with them.

She had wandered around town all day, taking in the sights and exploring what humans had to offer. She was much too overwhelmed to actually stop and interact with someone. The look on her face was enough to say she wasn't sure of herself, and that is precisely why three men decided to target her. They followed her for hours, until she suddenly seemed to notice them, and she took off down an alley in her attempt to get away from them. What she didn't know was that escaping like that was much less likely to yield success because the confusing nature of the alleys would lead her to a dead end where they would corner her.

Reaching the dead end, Anastasia glared up at the wall in front of her. She cursed this weak human form and it's lack of wings. She cursed the wall for being so tall she could not climb it. Most of all, she cursed that cruel mage for having cursed her for simply wanting to do as a dragon would do. Slowly, she turned to the men that stood behind her all grinning in a sinister manner. None of them were particularly attractive, each varying in height and weight and hygiene, but all appearing to be large and had an odor to them.

"Looky here boys, we caught us a beauty!" The short, red haired one said with obvious excitement in his eyes.

The second man who had black hair and smelled like he rolled in trash approached her and grabbed her waist. "Oh yes, she certainly is a rare beauty. We should take our time with her," he said as he ran a finger over her cheek. His breath was just as rancid as his body, smelling of garlic and years of not brushing.

"I wonder what we should start with," the third that wore an eye patch said.

"Let me go you filthy swine!" Anastasia said in a melodic voice and she slapped the one holding her. This reaction elicited a laugh from the men. She was small in frame, which deemed her not a threat to them. If she had any of her dragon powers they would have been sorely mistaken, but the mage had taken those too. She was exactly as she seemed, a weak human girl.

"A fiery one! I like it when they fight back," said the first man. Her eyes grew wide and she finally showed fear. She wasn't sure she could escape this on her own,so she did the only thing she could do. She screamed. It was loud and shrill, and it hopefully would get someone's attention and help would come.