Self Para? - Blog Posts
Five Years Later
Harper wasn’t one to talk much about her parents or their passing. It sometimes came up in business, but thankfully most people knew better. Mostly through common courtesy, though a rare few because they knew her. These past five years were supposed to be some of the happiest years of her life, beginning with with graduation from Hogwarts, and consisting of living it up and making the most of the rest of her young adulthood. But instead, they became the most stressful and lonely.
At the time, the summer of 1973 seemed to both drag on and fly by; but looking back, it was more fuzzy than anything.
Planning a funeral was hard to begin with. Planning a joint funeral? For your parents (who died the night of your graduation)? While also taking over their hotel empire and handling all of the complications that come along with it? Despite not even being 18 yet?
For most, it would be impossible, but Harper knew she had no choice. For her parents and their legacy, for herself and her safety.
The funeral was sad but beautiful. Being planned by Harper and for her parents, there would be nothing less. She spoke in front of the large crowd that attended, remaining composed yet letting the appropriate hints of raw emotion through. She only broke down, herself, once everyone had left, and she was left truly and remarkably alone.
Harper wasn’t one to mind being alone, but this was different. It wasn’t just alone in the sense of “being by herself” or “not with other people,” it was Capital A, Alone, as in not having other people; as in being on her own... For the foreseeable future. A vast sense of isolation set in soon after, and still affected her deeply. Being Harper, of course, she did everything in her power not to let that show, mainly by channeling it into maintaining her reserved, witty, sophisticated, and at times, icy, demeanor. And when Harper put her all into something, she was successful...
Even if the voice inside her warning that it could actually be to her own detriment still hadn’t gone away, five years later.
a q u e e n ' s c h o i c e
in the dimly lit chamber, heavy with the weight of anticipation the wisdom’'s voice bore the burden of grief as he delivered the dire news to the king of the north. “only one of them can most likely live your highness. i’m so sorry.” throughout the evening, the stone walls of the castle reverberated with anguished cries, marking the onset of labor for the next child of house stark. but this time, the arrival was fraught with unforeseen complications. owen, somber and resolute, settled by his wife's side, his hand seeking hers in a silent gesture of solidarity. together, they listened as the sage relayed the harrowing choice that lay before them: the life of the queen or that of their unborn child. in a heartbeat, rosalyn, with unwavering resolve, voiced her decision. her gaze met owen's, her eyes a reflection of unwavering maternal love and sacrifice. "our child, owen. we must choose our child," she declared, her words bearing the weight of an unimaginable sacrifice. rosalyn knew the risks of what she choice. what it meant to have them focusing on saving the childs life. but she would willingly surrender her own life a thousand times over to safeguard the future of her children. if it meant they had a chance. she had known the risks everytime she laid down in the birthing bed. every woman did. and so she choice their child. with a heavy heart, rosalyn embraced the risk inherent in her decision, knowing full well the perilous path ahead. yet, she harbored no hesitation, for she would willingly surrender her own life a thousand times over to safeguard the future of her offspring. as their children were ushered into the room, rosalyn savored a fleeting moment to shower them with kisses, her heart heavy with the bittersweet knowledge that these may be her last embraces. alone with her husband in the quiet before the storm, rosalyn clutched owen's hand tightly, her tear-filled eyes. "don't let them forget me, promise me. please," she implored, her voice choked with emotion. "i won't. i promise you, they will not forget you," owen vowed, his own grief mirroring hers. even he knew the likely outcome of this. grasping onto the flickering flame of hope amidst the encroaching darkness, she spoke quietly to her husband "you are a good man, owen stark. you have a good soul. you doubt yourself i know you do…" she whispered, her voice trembling with conviction. "promise me you won't lose that." rosa could swear she saw a tear moving down his cheek, “i wont.” he promised, his voice tight. quiet and solumn as he made his promise. and so, as the night wore on and the castle fell into a hushed stillness, the cries of a newborn babe pierced the air, a beacon of life amidst the shroud of sorrow. the child was saved, but queen rosalyn was lost to them, her sacrifice felt by all those around her. the child that survived has been named rosalyn jeyne stark. a baby with red hair like her mothers. queen rosalyn will be buried in the crypts of the north, in the customs of the land she had gotten to embrace and call her own. @owenstark
TITLE: Fool Me Twice, Shame On Me. LOCATION & DATE: Arlo’s Place & Early New Year’s Day (1/01/19) SUMMARY: After a night of drinking and getting high, Ben gets busted. However, that doesn’t stop him from resisting. AKA Benjamin Vanderbilt is an idiot. TRIGGERS: Oding, mentions of drug use, mentions of arrest and jail
It was destiny that he had run into Chessie or Arlo. Or rather, that they had ran into him. Or met him in the same room. Whatever. And now he was feeling this high all over again. It felt like wind on a crisp fall day to him. He felt something he hadn’t felt in two years. He was pretty damn out of it but it’s not like he really knew that. He thought that he was completely coherent.
Then when Chessie went down, it didn’t hit him much. It should’ve brought him back to reality. Instead, he just saw her go down without it registering. He then spent the rest of the night, away from others. With a little baggie tucked away in his pocket. How it got there, he wasn’t sure but he knew he’d save it for a good time.
When uninvited guests made their way in, Ben tried to quickly get up from the floor but pretty much stumbled over.
“Hey, hey, hey. What are you doing?” He asked, his words completely slurred. Next thing he knew he was against the wall with his hands behind is back.
“If you fellas wanted some too, all you had to do was ask.” He announced as they searched his suit. Fuck. The counsequences of his actions weren’t something he was really thinking about, his thought process was blurred but he knew that this probably wasn’t good. He should’ve just fucking left with King when they were talking about it. Now Ben was stuck in a god damn mess with no one to save his ass. Talk about being a Damsel in Distress.
“We were making it snow since it’s not even cold outside!” He exclaimed, not helping his case. He was told to be quiet immediately but he couldn’t shut the fuck up. The adrenaline rushing through him was warping his judgment completely. Maybe this was a nightmare. Maybe he was dreaming. That could be the case. He was a heavy sleeper. This could’ve just been his guilt. Yes, that made the most sense. This couldn’t have been real.
“Can Olivia Benson at least arrest me?” He asked one of the cops as they took him off the wall. The Miranda Rights being read to him were muffled. He couldn’t hear shit. It sounded like a bunch of idiots in a room talking. “These handcuffs are really tight.” He made it seem like he was talking to old buddies. There was no filter. He was just blurting whatever the hell he was thinking. Next thing he knew, he was being led by a police officer out of the building. It felt worse than the walk of shame. At least with the walk of shame, you weren’t being carried out by police officers. Fuck this.
The worst part was getting booked, and telling him that he had one phone call. He couldn’t call his mom, he hadn’t spoken to her in two years. He couldn’t call his sister. Besides, he knew he was going to call King. However, he wasn’t sure what the results of his actions would do to her or them. They were here for Ben to make amends, not to get actually arrested this time. But he had to suck it up to get the fuck out of here. That meant putting on his big boy pants and calling his wife.