How to clean vivienne westwood necklace

I am 8 months postpartum and a full time working mom. My work timings are 11.30am to 8.30pm. I go to office thrice a week and work from home for 2 days(Saturdays and Sundays are off). On the days when I have to go to office I login from home and then go to office by 12pm to 5pm. I come back early so that I can login from home to attend all the evening meetings from home and spend some quality time with my little one. I have help for everything starting from cooking, cleaning etc. Also planning to hire a nanny for 12 hours to take care of the baby. When I am away we have little one's grandparents who look after him. My baby is still breastfeeding and gets up twice or thrice at night for feeds which does interrupt my sleep but then I try to sleep early when my baby sleeps. I haven't lost much weight after delivery till today. I consulted a dietitian who is also a lifestyle coach for getting fit and gaining back pre pregnancy energy levels. The dietitian asked about my lifestyle and how my day looks like and what is my sleeping pattern. After getting to know everything that I mentioned above she was of the opinion that I have too much on my plate and that I should leave my job and focus on my baby and my wellbeing. She was highly opinionated that I should leave my job and take a break from work. When I mentioned that I would still like to continue working and manage home and office she rudely suggested why would I want to work-- even your mom must have not worked and focussed on you- so you can leave your job. I found this quite rude since I am the one who is ready to manage both home and work duties. I even mentioned that I am ready to squeeze out some time for my exercise to which she replied you don't have any time how would you manage and asked me not to focus on it much and just take 10 min walk after each meal. After discussing with her I was highly demotivated and couldn't sleep well thinking is it really too much for me.. am I really exhausting myself. I know all the mothers out there are juggling duties like me and managing it so well.. I am sure not all the mothers have the privilege to leave their jobs and sit at home. I am quite ambitious and like to work. I am not doing it out of any financial burden or pressure. It gives me pleasure to work and I was really excited to resume work even after delivery. Now my question is should I still continue with this dietitian. She is well renowned and has a huge number of followers on insta.. but the way she demotivated me makes me doubt the decision of continuing with her.

Learn how to remove mold from concrete surfaces. Get rid of moldy items, wear protective gear, clean affected areas, and prevent infections. For more info, call us at 888-617-3786 today.

Her mom pays her rent. She doesn’t want to work, or have a car. No one in the family wants her so she was passed to us. I’m tired of her not doing anything. Like cleaning up after herself etc. I don’t want her using my car anymore. I feel bad but she needs to start moving on with her life. I don’t know how to bring up these issues with her ?

Hi, I am the co-founder of a data and data services marketplace. Currently we help match users that have storage needs with storage providers that can help store data. I realized a lot of the public datasets we matched between data communities and storage providers are actually datasets that are helpful in building AI models. In short, on our platform, our users collectively have datasets, storage, computation capabilities already. Therefore, I am wondering what are the other ingredients people will need for building a MVP AI model. For example. would people appreciate someone helping to clean up the dataset?
Building an AI model and running it is a lot of work and potentially expensive. I am looking for people who are directly building AI model to share with me their pain points and I love to explore and see how we can help.
We have no charges on our marketplace. I am currently more interested in matching data services that everyone is looking for / actively providing, efficiently, resulting in lower operating costs.

I moved into a new house 6 months ago and it has Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP) flooring throughout. I've never had LVP before so I'm unsure how to clean it. I bought a mop with a reusable two sided microfiber pad. One side is for sweeping while the other side is flat for mopping. Following the advice of Angela Brown, I've been using a mixture of hot water with a little bit of dawn soap. Recently I came across and article that says that the soap may build up and trap dirt. It recommended a 1 part white vinegar 5 part water solution. After mopping twice using a solution of one cup water 1 tablespoon vinegar I noticed a huge difference. The rooms I used vinegar in, I could feel the texture of the floor more starkly. It was like the rooms that I used soap in the grain of the wood was dulled and overall the floor felt sticky. The vinegar side felt much cleaner under bare feet.
This is all great but I want to know if vinegar could strip the finish of the LVP. I know you can't use vinegar on gradient so I want to make sure that it is not the same for LVP. Does anyone know if vinegar is safe? Does anyone have recommendations for a cleaner I can buy. I would rather use a simple clean solution because I walk around my house bare foot and have little kids.

So my sleep schedule is a bit... messed up? I'm pretty sure I have some undiagnosed insomnia but I typically go to sleep around 4 or 6 AM and wake up around 1 to 3 PM. Yesterday I slept at 10AM and woke up at 1PM because I just couldn't sleep... I'm on day 37 of my cycle and I still haven't gotten my period, my last cycle was 40 days but my typical is usually 35 days. Other than my sleeping patterns, I'm healthy and as clean as a whistle. I read up on how sleep can effect reproductive hormones and thus delay regular ovulation thereby delaying menstruation; can anyone confirm this?
Also, I'm kind of freaking out because my period is late again. Other than bloating I have no PMS symptoms. I hate the feeling of unease I feel whenever my period is late, and no it's not because there is a possibility of me being pregnant.

Her son destroyed our playroom and got paint everywhere. My husband went to upstairs to clean up the room as I ushered the kids outside. She went to "help" clean up and once everyone was gone she suggested to my husband that they meet up without the "baggage". My husband stormed down the stairs and threw her purse outside on our front yard then after she left he told me what happened.
No she wasnt a long time friend or anything like that and she never met my husband until we had the playdate. She was a mom I met whose son was in my kid's preschool class, we SEEMED to hit it off really well. Did I mention I also have a two month old? The whole year while I was pregnant during our kids drop off she asked me how I was doing and seemed pretty caring. Fuckin shady
Im done trying to make friends yall...Im just gonna keep to my damn self. I really feel like I cant trust people anymore, Ive been burned so much lately.
Who hits on a married man, during a PLAYDATE when their wife had a baby a couple of months ago...she married with 3 kids...wtf

I have been a host for 2 years now and maintain a rating of 4.8/4.9. I have hosted people in my apartment from all over the world and never ever has a guest complained about something. On the contrary, everyone has been impressed by the property since it is a very cute, well-equipped, clean one-bedroom apartment. Currently I am hosting a family originally from my home country but they have lived in the US for over 10 years and the communication before they arrived was great,super smooth. Now every single day the woman who made the booking complains about something. And she made the booking for 2 months. I am scared at how this will go because truly, the last guest before her left 5 star review and he didn't mention any of the issues she is suddenly having. I work in customer service, I am usually very good at handling sensitive customers like that but I am on the edge of my nerves here. She booked one additional night before her actual booking and because of all of her complains, I jist decided not to accept money for it but I don't know what else to do.

I'm about 8 weeks, almost 9. I have literally had every weird symptom in the book. The classic nausea + vomiting was rough but suddenly I've been experiencing that nasty metallic taste on and off. Not to mention the pregnancy rhinitis. The post nasal drip HURTS and my nose is so stuffed up I've become a mouth breather for the past few days. I've also been feeling so depressed which I've read is normal and I'll definitely mention it at my first prenatal appointment on Thursday. The random leg cramps, the food aversions (i hate everything except mcdonalds fries and mashed potatoes, and apples and pineapples). My nose has been bugging me so much and I sleep with 2 fans on because I sleep super hot, but the dry air is NOT helping at all. I wake up every hour to pee and dry heave. When I lay down I bloat IMMEDIATELY.
I used to be a big drinker and it was honestly a social crutch for me at times (most times). Without it I feel less interesting and very left out in social situations. I've been DD for my partner and his friends a couple times and while we were out at the bars I literally went to the bathroom and cried because I felt so left out.
This sucks ): And my partner works long hours so I feel very alone during the week. My living situation also sucks because I was the only person cleaning (my partner helps of course) but the other people in our house are complete slobs and the smells make me want to cry and throw up every time I walk into the house. We're currently looking for apartments but we live in a very expensive area and I only work part time.
I just wanted to get this all off my chest because I feel like no one understands how horrible I've been feeling.

How to clean honey from the bottom of shoes?

For the record, I've never seen termites irl. I've heard they burrow in wood but I've never seen them until now.
So there was this mould like thing growing on my wall at home which I just brushed off as fungus and left it for another day without looking at it then and there. I cleaned off the top which came off like mud/dust and I was like alright that's it telling myself I'd go get it checked out, but you know how that ends up
Fast forward to today - I realised its fucking termites. They are all over. And to get a pest control service in at this level of damage is gonna cost me a shit ton of money
so reminder to all you girlies - If you've been meaning to follow up on something you don't know much about, do it RIGHT NOW. Don't be like me & put it off just to find some eldrich horror in your wood

Have you smelled human flesh on the spit?
How would I have?
I know the smell.
You have been to and fro in the world.
It pleased me to find out.
Well, then. Fine.

Spits

Don't you want to wipe that off?
...No?

Spits

You would regret my coming back and finding that you had cleaned your face.

Since we're talking about A Constant Throb.

TW: animal scat, mentions of temptations of vomiting and bulimia
i’ve been fighting the pull of bulimia for maybe a month now and tonight just made it so much worse. i walked into my dark bedroom and started undressing and dropped my white skirt on the floor before putting my foot down and realizing it was wet. at first i thought i’d spilled water again but no, my dog had gone into my room specifically to get rid of his diarrhea, which i’d just out my favorite white skirt and left foot into. i then cleaned it up, almost throwing up three times, and still felt so gross that i wanted to take a shower. my shower was unable to be used because a clog had spewed some gross black stuff all over it and also there was still the drain snake on the floor, so i headed upstairs
on the way up, i heard my dog (the culprit himself) barking and whining to go outside, like dad had told my brother to before going to bed (he didn’t). i tried letting him out in case he was still diarrhetic but it was locked so i had to pound on the door until my dad, who was sleeping, yelled at me for waking him up. i explained and he went back to bed, but my brother never woke up. i just got out of the shower and i still feel the wetness of the floor on my foot and hands and every breath in, every rumble in my stomach reminds me of it.
i’ve been feeling very sensitive to dirtiness lately. it started with a staph infection or ingrown hair (we couldn’t figure it out) on my chest, which was both gross and painful. it made me realize how unsanitary everything in my house was, especially in my bathroom. my toilet is gross, my sink is gross, my walls and floor are gross, the only way i can shower is with the lights off. i don’t like going outside anymore because of the dirt, i dread doing the dishes or taking out the trash, and i am currently sick so my sleeves are wet from coughing into them. all this paired with the sudden, unexpected nausea i get after my first bite of every meal, tempts me to purge my body of all the scum and bacteria. it mama me wish, for the thousandth time, i was a robot with no immune system, programmed code, and a sterile environment
at this point, the only thing keeping me from bulimia is the knowledge of what it does to your body. due to a separate personal situation. happening, i’ve been seeking catharsis in some form (usually movies), and i can’t stop thinking about how satisfying it would be to just get rid of it all
i mostly wrote this to get it off my chest, but also how do i deal with this? cleaning just makes it worse and i’m worried that if i tell my parents how i feel they’ll think i’m just trying to get out of chores (i’ve been manipulative like that in the past). i have a therapist but our next appointment isn’t for another week or two so here is really the only place i can talk about it. i’m sick of feeling sick all the time

My(19F) Dad(52M) has always pretty much been very sociopathic. The argument with my dad started about my dogs.
I've loved animals since I was a kid. I got that from my mom as she is very much an animal lover too. My mom and dad both had their own respective dogs before getting married so naturally I assumed that my dad is an animal lover too. But he isn't. He always brags about how our dogs are 'his daughters' on Facebook but he never takes care of them, cleans their poop or pee,groom them, feed them, etc.
I didn't mind since my mom helps with the tasks and I don't need him to complain about each and everything I do.
Well about 2 days ago at night, my dog accidentally peed on the stairs(as she is still a puppy and isn't fully potty trained yet). I was in my bedroom so naturally I didn't know about it. My dad started yelling my name as if a thief had entered our house. I ran to him and asked what happened.
He started telling me in a very loud voice to clean up the pee because he wants to go down the stairs and can't because he's digusted by it. Now, I would've just quietly cleaned it up but when I started putting soap and water on the mop to clean it, he started yelling at me to "hurry the f up" and that I'm too slow at work.
I got very annoyed and told him to do it himself. I then went to my bedroom, locked my door and went to sleep.
The next morning I heard from my mom that she had to clean the pee because apparently he " can't clean up MY dog's sh*t ". I felt bad for my mom and apologized to her because she has arthritis and it hurts to bend down too much.
I then went to my dad and yelled at him about making my mom do the work and that of he can't clean up MY dog's pee then to not call them HIS daughter on Facebook.
He got angry and left the house( don't worry he came back at night) . He's still very upset with me and I think maybe I should've just shut it because he doesn't do the works ever so maybe I shouldn't have expected him to do it this time . So, AITA?

My mum is the problem. My dad just allows the behaviour and has been absent on multiple occasions to just avoid fighting in my household. These days I notice he just says things to me to keep my mum not wanting to burn the house down because of my behaviour. They have two different parenting styles and both of them clash and I am the one who ends up at the brunt of both of them because I am always in trouble for something. I always get confused because my parents say one thing, I do that and then suddenly they change their mind and its against our culture. My mum constantly changes her mind every day and I feel like Im walking on eggshells with her. She uses me as her therapist and now that I dont talk to her, she uses my brother.
I would like to know if I just gaslight myself and I am experiencing something or I'm just a bad kid. I dont know how to stand up for myself and it seems like every decision Ive made so far is just a result of pleasing my parents or a result of my parents control. I also have been with my boyfriend for the past year and my mum does not respect me or my relationship because she keeps talking about my marriage to other people. The way my parents treat and talk to me, and the rules they have enforced on me is affecting my relationship. My dad said to me today that my parents will choose who I am marrying. But I want to marry my boyfriend. So im at a loss of what to do without losing my family. But I am aware I might have to go NC in order to be happy. For some context this is what I do in the house or did until I told my mum I wanted some boundaries. I vacuum the whole house (double story 5 rooms) and mop the floors. Make the lunch for me and my brother (M16) when school is on. Study all day every day and come home by 4pm in weekdays. I hardly went out before I had a boyfriend and now he helps me go out every weekend to experience new things. I help with dinner always. I use my petrol to do her little drop offs to whoever she needs to drop things off at. I don't talk back. I don't make noise. I pay for my petrol. Now I just vacuum and mop, make my own lunch cos my brother is 16 so why should I. Still study however extremely burnt out with my grades slipping because of this every day stress and overthinking/anxiety, still use my petrol. But now I’ve added clean the toilet me and my brother share because he pees on the seat. Here is a list of things I have done since turning 18 that have enraged my mum - got my own bank account - got a long term part time job - got my license to drive without a supervisor - got a MacBook with my own money - bought new clothes with my own money - received a scholarship that paid for my years tuition + accomodation (which she told me to decline so I did) - put my food in the fridge cos I couldn't finish it - text my friends on my phone (she must know every person I text) - FaceTime my friends during covid lockdown - see my childhood friend who lives down the street - didn't talk to her after she told me my friends are trash and that she wants me to retire her and finish paying her mortgage - didn't talk to her after she told me I have no focus on life or vision or any ability to get into the course I want to because im dumb and don't take her advice - suggest to swap something she bought me for something my preference (which was cheaper so she would get a refund too) because she bought me something not my style even tho she said she always thinks about what I would like when I have never owned anything like that in my life - go to my cousins house for a family get together she didn't want to go to but I went with my dad - ask her to pay me back the $400 she owes me that she used from my savings for idk what (she has also kept my tax refund for the past 2 years and I just found out (almost around 600 dollars) - tells me I dont spend time with the family but when I come down to spend time she falls asleep or plays on her phone - tells me my friends wont help me and they are just driving this family apart because they are brainwashing me -got my first boyfriend at 20 who is 26 and has a well paying job, has a car, a really really nice lovely family who always includes me in all their family functions, always is kind and respectful to my family. He has absolutely no red flags, but he is Korean and my parents hate him because of his age and he is not indian. To be fair I have done some things which weren't too good and broke my parents trust however, its been exactly two years since and they havent communicated to me about what I should do to help them trust me and I dont know what to do.
Things I have done include - snuck a boy into my house multiple times - hung out with my high school friends that they didn't like -left all those friends and now just have my boyfriend so when I hang out with them my mum asks why cant I spend time with my friends -got into a second year course which gives me job security when I graduate, I will be employed from final year -tell my parents the day of that im going out -turned off my Find My location -dont tell them about my life or talk to them -vaped Im tired of standing up for myself because I keep saying the same thing and nothing changes. I am 20 so I dont have to live here and I dont know what I am scared of. I think I am just scared of not knowing how to move out. Or scared of how to tell my parents Im leaving. I financially support myself in my house, I pay for my petrol, my education, my lunch and all school resources. I do not ask for money or any kind of assistance the only thing my parents provide me is with the car they gave me, dinner and the house over my head. I have about 10K in my savings with 2.2K in my spending. How do you guys suggest I go about navigating this situation

Hey everyone, Apologies for the long read, I am on day 13 of symptoms, so almost two weeks. And everyone’s posts of recovery and what they did to aid that helped me so much, I wanted to add my own for those just being diagnosed and looking for help, hope and support. This illness is scary, painful, and exhausting. It is genuinely, by far, the worst thing I have ever been through. This isn’t going to be true for everyone, as this illness affects us all differently, but I wanted to share.
May 24th, I noticed my throat felt funny. I looked at my throat with my phone flashlight in the mirror and noticed my tonsils were a bit swollen, wasn’t concerned, I had just traveled to PA from Fl for a wedding, was having allergy issues all week, figured it was from that.
Went to work the next day, was completely fine, tonsils still bugging me but didn’t check them again until I was home. Vastly more swollen, plus some white on them now, slightly concerned at this point. But strep had just gone through my office at work.
I had Friday off, assuming it was strep, went into urgent care to get antibiotics and be on with my life. (Little did I know) The assistant swabbed my throat, Doc comes in, feels my lymphnodes, looks at my throat and goes “we’ll finish the test for strep, but I’m telling you now I think it’s mono” PANIC. Mono? How do I have mono?? Strep is negative. They do a monospot. It’s positive. Leave urgent care a wreck and go to my boyfriends as planned. Tell him we can’t kiss or share anything even tho I kissed him two days before I got diagnosed lol but better to try to be safe from here on.
Saturday - Monday I stayed at my boyfriends, progressively getting a worse and worse sore throat.
I go home Monday night, and I am MISERABLE, my parents bring every trick in the book for things for me to take, gargle, etc.
Tuesday, feel worse, I go to urgent care AGAIN, tested for strep and mono AGAIN. Test positive for only mono AGAIN. Get prescribed 5 day oral steroids. Miserable. No sleep.
Wednesday. Home alone, crying, in pain, panicking, just wanting to eat something, talk to my parents, talk to my boyfriends mom (who had mono as a kid), talk to my boyfriend, end up going back to my boyfriends city (an hour and a half away) to go to the ER. ER tells me the same thing as everyone. Mono, it sucks, suck it up and suffer for 2-4 weeks, we can’t do anything.
Thursday - Sunday, the throat pain got worse everyday, I’ve barely slept since Monday, I am crying everyday, can barely drink water, drooling at night (threw said pillow away) because I can’t swallow any spit without physical flinching from how bad it hurts. Gotta throw in some cred here to the bf tho, he was an absolute God send through all of this. Thank God mono isn’t super easy to transfer as long as you’re careful about saliva and whatnot, because he would hold me while I was sobbing because it hurt so bad. Brought me tea with honey several times a day. Got me soft foods, popsicles. Took absolutely incredible care of me and I can’t thank him enough.
Saturday by far was the WORST day for me, convinced myself I had an abscess in my tonsil bc the pain got so unbearably bad. I think I cried for 4 hours straight. Called my mom sobbing. Never in my life have I been on the ground crying in pain just saying “make it stop” over and over again. Told my bf we’re going to the ER again the next day and I slept on the couch that night, took 2000MG of acetaminophen, mentioned the couch for a reason… I let myself drool as much as needed that night, and forced myself to sleep. I got the more sleep that night than I had in 9 days.
Finally, wake up feeling somewhat better, It still hurt, but my pain went from a 12/10, to about a 7/10. Swelling in my tonsils had gone down. I could drink water again without physically recoiling in pain. Slept a few more hours throughout that day. Slept ANOTHER full night that night (less drooling lol)
Today (technically yesterday as it’s 1am) was by far my best day. I was able to go out to eat with my boyfriend, ate soft tacos!! Did some small tasks around the house to help clean up after literally laying in bed for 6 days straight. I’m not sure if it’s from lack of sleep or if the fatigue is kicking in (I’ve seen a lot of people say they get the fatigue once the sore throat clears up) but I’d do one task and then go lay down. But I’m also being VERY careful to not overdo it and make myself go backwards until I’m 100% again.
I’m planning to go home tomorrow, and back to work Wednesday.
As for treatments and advice in pain management and help for symptoms, here is what I used;
Salt water 1/2 tsp, apple cider vinegar 1 tsp, 8oz of warm water (I never measured lol) gargle this ever hour if you want to, I know I did. I only did salt water until Friday though, my dad told me about the apple cider vinegar.
Virgin coconut oil, again didn’t measure, people say 1-3 teaspoons, I used one scoop of a regular spoon mixed into warm water to melt it, I tried to just use it but the texture was gross. I would take one swig and gargle for as long as I could, then drink the rest of the cup, 3 times a day. Started this on Thursday. Although Saturday was my worst day, I do credit this a lot.
PROTEIN SHAKES, my boyfriends parents got me protein shakes delivered to the house bc I literally stopped eating. I was drinking those religiously. They (somehow) hurt less than water and saliva going down and gave me some strength. Premier protein vanilla shakes taste amazing, 30g of protein per shake, plus immune support. They were a life saver.
Acetaminophen, 3000mg per day is the recommended technical limit, I was in so much pain I didn’t care, I am NOT recommending you od on painkillers. But I was taking 2-3 500mg pills, every 4-6 hours, they’d help, somewhat.
Throat numbing spray, this genuinely only helped for max 10 minutes, but it was something when the pain got really bad.
Brushing your teeth/mouthwash, not sure for how many others, but when the infection on my tonsils was at its worst thurs-Sun I could actually TASTE it, it made my mouth feel and taste disgusting. I found brushing my teeth and swishing/gargling with alcohol free mouthwash a couple times a day helped a ton with this.
Looking at my throat just a little bit ago, the swelling has drastically gone down, the white is nearly gone, and the pain is a 2/10. I know I’m not out of the woods yet, bc this is a tricky virus but I’m planning to take it easy and keep eating healthy and keeping up with treatments for at least another week or so. I’m so grateful to people in this forum and the people around me who helped me get through this. And to anyone who’s reading this, you got this, you WILL get through it and it will be okay. This too shall pass as my dad always says. I wanted that as a tattoo before but I really do now lol. If you made it to the end of this novel thank you, and I hope whoever’s reading this, it helps, and that you start feeling better soon! If anyone wants to chat I am more than happy to, I know I needed people who’d been through this pain to talk to/hear from when I was dealing with the emotions from this 🖤

Hello Everyone,
I recently won a car at auction (clean title) and I plan on leasing it to a family member (not purchase as I got it at a good price *I feel* and after the lease period ends, I plan on sending it to Mexico when I go to vacation there but TMI) so how would I go through insurance?
I already drafted a lease-only agreement and would require them to get comprehensive along with state minimums. So my question is because this would a lease-only deal (at arms-length - they are family but I'm still profiting over 100% during the course of 18 months so nothing fishy) would they be able to get comprehensive insurance without putting my name on the insurance? The title will go to my name first but after I get everything resolved (like fixing the car up, doing any necessary repairs and etc...), I would then switch title to my sole prop company (doing business as BOB COMPANY).
Maybe I'm too excited right now but basically would they be able to insure the car if I lease them "my" car (as under the law, a sole prop is indistinguishable from a person - basically the same entity). According to draft rocket lawyer lease car agreement (that I'm using as a template), it says:
"The Lessee is responsible for insuring the Vehicle based on its full value. The Lessor will be named as the registered owner and as "Additional Insured" and loss payee in the insurance policy." - Does this mean when they get insurance, I tell them to add my company (BOB COMPANY) or my name (BOB JONES)? Hopefully I got my point out lol.

I am a 31 year old female. My ex partner is also female. We discussed having a child together as we were with each other for a few years, but I did not want to at the time. I already have a nearly 11 year old son who has SEMH issues and I myself have several mental health conditions that I am working on.
Stupidly, at a low point in the relationship, I got close with someone else and ended up cheating. I don’t know why, and I felt guilty and hated myself after. By this point in the relationship, it was already going downhill, communication was scarce, physical activity was scarce, I was severely depressed, felt alone, unwanted. So to feel desirable again, I wanted that. I needed that. This person ruined a lot and I had to drop out of uni because of this person and they were extremely toxic. They had a huge grip on me and I’m not sure why but I guess sometimes I can be quite vulnerable.
I came clean to my partner and we were going to work through it, but we were stuck with a dog from the person I had cheated with (he got dumped on us), I absolutely hated this dog and he was not a good fit for the house and our other dogs. My partner however loved him and I tried for months to make it work. After one particularly bad fight between two of the dogs, I told my partner they would have to go and stay somewhere else with the dog until he was rehomed. This was discussed a lot and he was going to stay with her dad. We live at opposite ends of the country. So she leaves. There isn’t really any animosity, but we can’t have the dogs attacking each other.
We continue to talk, text, FaceTime etc. After a few weeks of heavy discussions we decided to call it quits for a bit as something clearly wasn’t working in the relationship. At the time I was addicted to prescription medication, self harming, slipping back into eating disorder behaviours, and just generally severely depressed. After two overdoses and another stint in hospital for self harm, I decided to get myself help. My best friend was very supportive. Not long after I got into ‘recovery’ which really was just methadone and not a whole lot else apart from being on waiting lists and trying to just get through the days really. Fast forward and me, my ex, and my best friend fall out. I suspected they were talking about me being my back and I found out they were after seeing the messages. This immediately vilified my feelings of paranoia as I originally put it down to my mental health.
We fell out, I spent hours deleting every single picture of any of us at all on every social media and cloud backup I have. I’m very good at cutting people off and didn’t really bat an eyelid, as much as I did miss them I didn’t even think of them at the same time?
Subsequently I ended up talking to them both again, mainly because of messages that needed to be sent. We all sort of moved on and all was fine. The past two weeks I have been unwell due to starting and then coming off a new medication. I also had a major mood dip and went from ‘okay’ to extremely suicidal in a matter of minutes for days. This is pretty normal for me, so I tried to just ride the waves. Still speaking to my ex everyday, talking about how we could make it work, what could we do to make it work etc. I made sure I kept on track getting better for my son and with the thinking that eventually me and my ex would end up back together again due to the numerous, extensive conversations we had had. I always knew she wanted a child, I told her it wasn’t the right time for me and I was unsure, but at the same time we spoke of all different scenarios of us pregnant and how it would work.
Fast forward to this week, my friend shows me something on her phone and I see my exes picture there. Normally not a problem except that my ex said she doesn’t speak to her so instantly my head went into overdrive thinking they were talking about me. I asked my best friend about it and she said ‘Oh, we talk all the time’ which was a lie right to my face. I called her out on it and said well that’s not what my ex says etc. The rest of the ride home I feel really uncomfortable because I feel paranoid and I know something is happening.
Later that night, my ex texts me and tells me she’s pregnant. She hadn’t even told me she was trying. Turns out my best friend knew before me, and had been keeping it from me. I get that it wasn’t her news to share, but considering she is meant to be my best friend, she should’ve known how upset I would be. I flipped. I was livid at my best friend for lying to my face and keeping that secret from me. I text my ex congratulations but in reality I think they are now dead to me. I have told my family and other associates of my ex that if I see or hear of her or the baby they will also be out of my life. I do not care if it is a boy or a girl, I never want to see a picture of it or my ex again.
In my opinion, me and my ex were going to make another go of it and I was actually planning to surprise her when my son finished primary school (6 weeks left) by potentially relocating. This was another factor in me trying to get better, as I wanted to BE better for us. I believe we would’ve eventually had a child as we had spoken about it in depth but as I had said it was not the right time.
I feel extremely betrayed by both of them and the anger is like something I’ve never felt before. I feel so upset and hurt and confused and every single emotion there is except happy and full of joy for her.
My best friend thinks it’s pathetic that I’m pissed at her but she literally lied to me and knew it was coming and knew I was already in a fragile mental state. She does not understand how I feel betrayed and I asked her several times to leave me alone as I wanted to be alone but she kept pushing the argument, so I blocked her. Oh, my best friend is also a mental health nurse, so you’d think that having a best friend with EUPD plus other things would maybe make her think ‘yeah she probably will be more upset than the average person’ but no. I’m just pathetic. I haven’t spoken to my ex as she is on holiday and as much as she has betrayed me when I thought we were working towards being together again, I don’t want to spoil her holiday. Since my best friend called me pathetic etc and basically insinuated that I was over reacting, I want to know if I am over reacting?

I’ve been collecting a lot of gear since I started as a teenager 15 years ago getting into photo/videography but lately I haven’t been using much of anything at all because I prefer convenience nowadays… my dji osmo pocket has been more enjoyable than anything else I’ve ever owned. However, would love to eventually try getting one of those mini ronins for my cameras if I ever decide to up the quality.
I just hate carrying a lot of heavy equipment when I don’t have anything to take videos of. No plan. (e.g. I used to take my dslrs everywhere I go like Comic Cons but mostly record footage of the events with no dialogue at all just cool stuff I saw along the way). But that gets boring. I barely ever go to those events these days so now Idk what to shoot anymore. It sucks to be an introvert who likes cameras. I thought buying a dji mic wireless microphone would help me but I brought it on my trip recently and didnt feel like using it at all because I didnt know what to make so I just left it in my luggage since the case was heavy in my shoulder bag along with my portable powerbank. The weight of things kills me.
Instead of having all this gear I’d rather just have fewer things that I’d actually use but with more modern tech.
How do you figure out the best prices to sell your things? return policy (worried about this because I take good care of my stuff and don’t want to have conflicts) - usually people say no returns… and where? How do you ship it and what if you dont have original box?
Unfortunately last year I wanted to clean my room and i kept all my boxes of everything but threw most of them away because I have so much clutter. No room to receive any more… just piles up.
I never use my Panasonic G7 and lenses anymore… barely ever used it… never use my canon rokinon lenses anymore… messed up the viewfinder years ago so i cant sell that t2i I have so it’s just a spare now. I mostly use my phones these days and camcorders since they get the job done and aren’t heavy. 😆
Only thing lve been using out of everything other than my Osmo is my Sony A7 with tamron 28-75mm lens (i think thats the focal length). I love photography as well but it really sucks when it comes to low light and stabilization is non existent. At times, my iphone and s22u produces way better results with no effort at all so I end up just leaving it at home.
Im trying to get back into making videos for social media but it’s been really difficult having the “push” or “enthusiasm” to make anything these days with my heavy azz camera gears.
I have no friends nearby that share the same interests to make things with other than myself. Everyones too busy. Before I used to make videos with my classmates for projects at film school and family members for youtube for fun but after I graduated and everyone grew up with their own lives I have done NOTHING related to videos especially since it happened right during the pandemic. Therefore my gears just sitting there like trophies lol…
Usually these days if I dont see a purpose i dont want to take videos of anything. When I first started out I wanted to take a video of every single thing going on like freakin flowers, sinks, random stuff with no point… test videos for youtube. Now I’m like “no one wants to see that stuff!” Until I have a plan like I actually have a script together I’d probably want to make something … or a travel video. 😆

Anaw, Anaw such a goofy little fella.
Thanks, u/SpacePaladin15 for the universe
And u/VeryUnluckyDice for implanting a tumour into my brain. Also thanks to u/Xerxes250 and u/Thirsha_42 for proofreading this chapter.
[First]-[Prev]-[Next]
—--
Memory transcription subject: Anaw, Venlil citizen
Date [standardized human time]: October 24, 2136
Working as a waiter at Café 5 Claws was usually a pretty simple affair. I was good at talking to customers, taking orders, and keeping them happy when needed. Occasionally send a drink over to whatever band was performing. Unfortunately today my mind was on one thing, meeting Colton.
Near the end of my work claw, I sent a direct message to Colton asking him to come to the cafe after my work claw was over.
I am going to meet with a predator. Face to face. I am actually insane.
Distracted, I tripped over a table and spilled the tray of drinks I was carrying, landing right on my face. It was definitely gonna leave a bruise. Luckily none of the glasses broke so I didn't get sliced up. I had avoided the worst outcomes, or so I thought, as I felt the familiar feeling of frone juice seeping through my fur.
Now I’m going to meet with a predator while also being delicious. I’m definitely going to die.
I got up while trying to collect all the drink glasses. I missed several times and even knocked one over a second time. My hands were shaking as I put the glasses back on the tray. Once I collected everything, Including myself. I apologised to the customers that I was meant to be serving.
“S-sorry about that guys, I’ll be right back with new drinks. I promise I’ll be as fast as I can”
I nearly sprinted to the kitchen, only slowing down so I wouldn't trip a second time.
Why am I so afraid now? I was perfectly fine last paw. Why is now, different?
Maybe a full night's sleep is all I need to realise how deranged I am?
“Anaw? Are you alright? You look like you just saw an arxur.”
It was Vemly, She was one of my co-workers but she worked in the kitchen rather than the front of the house so I don't really get to talk to her as much as I would like to. Her Wool was Almost all white except for a large splotch of black over her front. Imagine a cloud that got dipped into a pool of ink, that's what her wool pattern looked like.
Or maybe it's the fact that I’ve made myself look like a fool in front of the girl I like. Maybe that's why I’m feeling like this, so… afraid?
Trying to choose my words carefully so that I could recover any drop of coolness that I had left I responded. “Y-yeah I u-uh saw a predator but scared it away with my… uh… cool… abilities?”
Vemly laughed. Grabbing a towel and guiding me to the wash station. “Yeah, I'm sure your cool Frone Juice-throwing ability really got the vicious predator shaking in fear; And that high-pitched yelp. I'm sure that was the predator too.”
I'm gone. Any chance I could have had is gone. I'm an idiot. A dumb, stupid, idiot, moron. Is there any hole around that I can crawl into and die?
“You saw?” I asked, the words threatening to catch in my throat.
Vemly laughed again, as she started patting me down with a towel. “I did, I can smell it now too, and I don't even have a nose.”
As she said that she brought her face in closer to imitate the action of ‘air tasting’ that venlil pups sometimes do before eating a tasty piece of food.
She's so close…
My face bloomed bright orange. She laughed again making me beep in embarrassment, which only served to make it worse. My brain completely froze up, being close to Vemly always does this, drains all my thoughts, and turns me into a fuzzy mush, but it had never been this bad before.
“Anaw, seriously though, You’re usually pretty confident at the front of the house. What's got you so stressed?” Vemly moved to put the now also sticky towel away. she didn't manage to get all the frone juice out of my wool, I would have to take a thorough shower to get it out properly. I would have to talk to Colton while marinated in juice. Cleaning took so long that the work claw was probably over by now.
If he eats me then at least I won't have to live with the embarrassment.
I decided the truth was the best course of action, there really wasn't a way I could make this worse.
“I-I’m meeting a human after this.”
Vemly looked surprised at this and before I could continue she started bombarding me with questions.
“A human? Here? Where did you meet? Was it the exchange program? Have they told you about-”
I hear the front door of the cafe open. I peeked through the kitchen doorway and saw that it was Colton. He didn't see me and instead just went and sat down at the table. He looked at the four-piece of venlil at the front of the Cafe seeming interested in their playing. The band faltered a little bit but overall remained professional. They’ve probably performed in places where humans are more common.
No point in hiding, I should accept my fate with dignity.
I stepped out of the kitchen and made my way over to Colton. He spotted me and waved.
“Hey Anaw, who's this?” Colton gestured to Vemly who had apparently followed me.
I opened my mouth to speak but Vemly responded first by sticking out her paw.
“I'm Vemly, it's nice to meet you.” she introduced herself as Colton shook her paw
She seems much more comfortable around humans than I expected.
We both sat down at the table. Colton pulled out his pad and tapped the screen a few times.
“You wanted to learn about human music?”
I flicked my tail in affirmation.
Colton continued.
“Well, I thought maybe you'd like to start with a classic?” I hope Predator music isn't super loud and violent or anything.
​
[First]-[Prev]-[Next]

Cover Art!
Just because you’re transported to another world, doesn’t mean you’ll escape from your pain.
Abused by her parents, thirteen-year-old Frances only wants to be safe and for her life not to hurt so much. And when she and her class are transported to the magical world of Durannon to fight the monsters invading the human kingdoms and defeat the self-titled Demon King, Frances is presented with a golden opportunity. If she succeeds, Frances will have the home she never had. If she fails, Frances will be summoned back to the home she escaped.
Yet, despite her newfound magic and friends, Frances finds that trauma is not so easily lost. She is dogged by her abuse and its physical and invisible scars. Not only does she have to learn magic, she has to survive the nightmares of her past, and wrestle with her feelings of doubt and self-loathing.
If she can heal from her trauma, though, she might be able to defeat the Demon King and maybe, just maybe, she can find a home for herself.
Teaser: The fall of the Traditionalists
[The Beginning] [<=Chapter 189] [Chapter Index and Blurb] [Chapter 191 on June 12 or now on patreon]
The Fractured Song Index
Discord Channel Just let me know when you arrive in the server that you’re a Patreon so you can access your special channel.
The flares had gone up, but the gates remained shut. Martin hadn’t stopped staring at them since the troops had moved into position. He’d only paused to blink.
It was unlikely they’d been betrayed. The Water Tower had fallen to their forces after all. That being said, there were always delays in military operations—
Martin blinked. The gates were swinging open.
“Alright everybody! Up and at them. Mages, smoke us up! Musketeers suppressing fire!”
Cheers rang out along the line as puffs and clouds of mist and smoke began to shroud the Lightning Battalion. Horns blared as the wave of soldiers charged.
Martin was at the head of them, shield raised. He knew his kit was a little archaic, but frankly he could use the extra protection at the moment.
As they neared the gatehouse, Martin could hear sounds of battle within. As he made it over the drawbridge and into the building he could see a ring of soldiers marked with blue and red armbands trying to defend the opened second gate against a flood of soldiers coming from the main castle building.
“For Erisdale!” Martin bellowed.
He and the Lightning Battalion plunged into the melee with troops flooding through the gatehouse,.. Martin managed to slam his shield into one of Darius’s soldiers and stab them, before stepping back to look around.
Already he had teams of soldiers rushing up to help with those fighting in the gatehouse proper. Musketeers were taking position and the mages they had were casting spells at the incoming reinforcements.
There were a lot of Darius’s troops coming, though. They were rushing out of every door, and from every tower to concentrate on the breach.
Martin grimaced. He was sure that he was going to break through at some point, but it would take time. The rest would have to be up to Jessica’s team.
“Come on! We’re nearly there,” said Elizabeth.
Leaning heavily on her, Leila limped as fast as she could. They’d healed her as much as they could but she was still exhausted from the ordeal she’d suffered.
“Why don’t you just carry me—” Leila cut herself off with a Word of Power. Several soldiers were running down road leading to the Citadel, trying to intercept the pair. A fireball erupted from in front of them and smashed into the unfortunate enemies, blasting them off their feet. Leila waved Elizabeth’s arched eyebrow off. “Nevermind. Give me a moment.”
“Yeah, hard to cast if you’re being carried.” Elizabeth paushed to look behind, down toward the city. The way the Traditionalist defense line had been structured was that it left a protected section of the city between the Citadel and the Water Tower.
Before her eyes, Erlenbergian ships were pulling into the harbour, disgorging hundreds of marines and mages that stormed into the city. The Traditionalist forces that had been attempting to retake the Water Tower were now flanked. It would take time however, until they could take control of the area and make their way to the Citadel.
But at least at this moment, the gate that led up to the Citadel proper was unguarded, the drawbridge down. The soldiers having been stripped to defend the city and the main gatehouse or try to secure the harbour.
“You ready?” Elizabeth asked, glancing at Leila.
The Otherworlder shook her head. “Nope, but I need to be at Janize’s side,” she croaked out.
Elizabeth giggled. “Well, since you are hopelessly in love with her. Let’s get you there.”
Leila rolled her eyes. “Fuck you,” she stammered, but she was unable to help herself from smiling.
Scarlet was damn good and tricky to fight against. The head of the Red Order had stored a number of spells into her magical rings, which she used to vary up her arsenal. Fireballs would be followed by vines sprouting from the ground. The earth would suddenly ice up, followed by gusts of wind that would try to knock Ayax off her feet. She was also very fast, and Ayax found herself dancing around Darius’s garden, using whatever cover she could and shields to keep herself safe.
The problem was that as the fight drew on and Scarlet continued to keep throwing spells, the outcome of the fight became clearer and clearer.
Ayax was not the head of a mage order. She didn’t quite have the extensive magical equipment that Scarlet had in her possession. Scarlet also had a powerful magical gift and the cost of it was not a mobility impairment. Leila had told Ayax that Scarlet was missing an eyeball, having replaced her missing eye with a glass replica.
That pupil-less eyeball now glimmered at Ayax as the troll returned Scarlet’s fireball with a larger fireball of her own, forcing the mage to take cover behind a statue of a knight that was blasted apart. Scarlet stepped out to cast, but Ayax was faster, she had already thrown several magical cards. They slammed into the red-robed mage, crackling and popping, smoke and sparks blinding the woman. She barely managed to get a shield up but instead of hitting her again, Ayax paused for a split second before throwing more cards.
These hit Scarlet clean again and she screamed as she staggered, firing magical bolts wildly. Ayax practically just sidled behind a tree and watched the mage pant as she gathered her own power.
No, Ayax had none of Scarlet’s money or ability, but she did have years of seeing the most intense frontline combat of the Great War. She had trained against the most powerful mages of her time, Edana and Frances Windwhistler. She was a gifted mage in her own right with unparalleled athleticism and grace. And to top it all off, she had read Scarlet’s rhythm of casting and was now very much in it and messing with her.
Oh and she’d exhausted Scarlet by making her cast all the spells she had.
So when Ayax threw Frances’s lightning spell over her shoulder, Scarlet only barely blocked it. The woman was knocked backwards and slammed into the perimeter wall of the mansion.
Ayax was soon charging after her. Scarlet managed to fire a torrent of water at her, but the troll sang, drawing up a wind that lent speed to her step and pulling up a mound of earth that blocked the jet. She ducked under the woman’s clumsy attempt to cast a slashing spell at her, and slammed her staff into Scarlet’s head.
Blood poured from the cut across her skull, and the woman crumpled to the ground. Her glass eyeball popped out from the force of the blow, rolling onto the glass. For good measure, Ayax grabbed Scarlet’s wand and pocketed it. She also cast a binding spell that would stick the woman’s arms and legs together so she couldn’t get up.
Then she stared.
One of her parent’s killers was lying in front of her, unconscious and helpless. Scarlet wouldn’t even know if Ayax cut her throat with a dagger. It was more mercy than she deserved.
Biting her lip so hard Ayax thought she was going to cut herself, she turned on her heel. The troll forced marched herself away, thinking of her dear Elizabeth and how she needed help.
Step after step turned into a run and soon Ayax was racing down the city streets for the gate leading to the Citadel.
As she rounded a corner, she saw a column of soldiers fast-marching, also towards the main castle.
“Ayax!” called out a very filthy red-haired woman.
The troll ran up to her friend. “Ginger, oh dear, that was a horrible trip wasn’t it?” Ayax asked as she took in Ginger’s odor.
“Yes. I strongly advise you don’t touch me,” said Ginger. She tilted her head to another approaching mage, whose orange dress quickly gave up her identity.
“Ophelia Voidsailor, good to see you in person!” Ayax exclaimed, clasping her fellow Erlenbergian’s deformed hand.
“Ayax Windwhistler. We never settled who won the Winter Tournament did we?” Ophelia asked.
“I conceded to you if I recall.”
“Bah! That doesn’t count! I want a rematch once this is all over!” Ophelia giggled. She coughed into her fist. “We’ve secured the harbour and the Water Tower. The Traditionalist’s remaining forces are running to the Citadel.”
“Excellent, lets hope Janize holds out long enough for us to get there,” said Ginger, starting to jog again.
It was terribly un-queenly behaviour and perhaps didn’t do the best for the morale of her soldiers, but Janize decided not to sit in her throne. Rather, she was using the very large chair as cover and had opted to sit on a simple wooden chair.
Even then she wasn’t entirely safe and despite herself, she couldn’t help but hold onto a bunch of her crimson hair, as she desperately attempted to keep her breathing level.
Erisdale’s throne room featured the standard long hallway leading up to an upraised dais and two thrones. It also had a second-level gallery meant for nobles to be able to gather and watch the proceedings. This gallery comprised of two large rooms open to the throne room itself. Sculpted stone railings kept the onlookers safe. Underneath the upper galleries were two covered hallways which functioned as ways for people to go up and down the the throneroom without just walking through the main hall.
Normally, there were ways to get to the upper galleries, but the soldiers loyal to Janize had barricaded these entrances. They could not however, barricade the stairways to the entrances that were near the throne room’s main entrance and led up to the galleries. Their defense relied on them holding the throne room’s main front.
Naturally, that had been the focus of the assault by Darius and his soldiers.
“Master George, I distinctly recall you informing me the Throne room was the safest in the Citadel?” Janize mused ass stray bullets whizzed over their heads.
Crouched down beside her behind an upturned table, George smiled wanly. “Yes. It has enough space to hold the soldiers loyal to you, and the entrances can easily be blocked off. The other barricaded entrances can also be opened if we want to make a break for it. So yes, this is the safest place when you consider the other option is your personal chambers which can’t hold all your guards.” Fluidly rising to his feet, George fired a musket down and reloaded. “Hang tight, I’m going to check on the other barricades.”
Janize nodded slowly. She was getting a bit better at not wincing at every crack and whine from the spells and bullets that were sailing through the throne room door. That had been the first to fall and followed by a charge from the Traditionalists. However, the numerous barricades of tables and furniture that had been stacked to form several lines had checked the enemy’s advance.
So a vicious melee had developed at the entrance, with both sides firing guns and spells over the tops of each other’s heads. Janize was no military tactician, but she knew that if Darius’s soldiers gained the galleries, they were in deep trouble. They were also losing those galleries.
Elizabeth arched an eyebrow at Leila. They were now in the castle proper which was unsurprisingly deserted. The non-combatants having fled or hid. “Leila, where are we going. The throne room’s front door is not this way.”
“Yes, but unless you want to get completely fucked by the mass of troops probably fighting there, we’re going to have to break in to help them—” Leila stopped so quickly, Elizabeth nearly dragged her forward.
A column of soldiers were spilling out from one of the corridors into the hall. Their boots were caked in indescribable brown stuff and from this distance, Leila and Elizabeth could smell where they had come from.
At the head of the group of soldiers was a blonde woman with a cat mask. Thier were both Alavari and human and they all had light-blue armbands or hauberks emblazoned with a silver lightning symbol.
“Jessica?” Leila whispered.
“Leila, it’s been a long time.” The masked Otherworlder’s reply was cool. Elizabeth did notice a tremor in her voice.
“Jess, I’m so sorry. I was an idiot and I—”
Tearing off her mask, Jessica took several long steps to Leila and seized her in an embrace. “I missed you.”
Leila couldn’t help but cry. “I missed you too—OW!”
Jessica had flicked Leila’s forehead with a finger. Smiling, crying and scowling at the same time. “Also, fuck you for trying to blast me, several times.”
“Sorry,” Leila croaked.
Jessica gently stroked Leila’s hair. “And I’m sorry for calling you a monster.”
Leila managed a watery giggle. “I deserved it.”
The pair laughed and let go of one another. “Right, which way to save your queen? Also, you alright? You look like a wreck,” said Jessica.
“This way.” Leila said, leaning on Jessica’s shoulder for support. “Oh wow you really did crawl through a sewer.”
“Eat shit, or did you already?”
Jessica snorted. “Fuck you.”
“Glad to see you getting along, but how are we going to make sure we take down a barricade without getting shot at?” Elizabeth asked.
“You’ll see!” warbled Leila.
After dispatching a band of Traditionalist soldiers, they’d come to a doorway that looked fairly ordinary but as Leila laid her hands on the wall it shimmered. “Yo, George! Don’t shoot! Reinforcements are here!”
A slot in the door opened up and there was quick peek. From the other side they heard a great sigh of relief.
“Thank God, get in here.” Their was some scrabbling and the door swung open to reveal the blonde-haired Otherworlder warrior. “They’re making another push. Good thing you remembered the designated escape hatch.”
“Ah, you left an emergency exit, a sally port. Good idea,” said Elizabeth. “Musketeers to the galleries and check your powder before you start shoting. Jessica, Leila, get to the queen. I want a section to guard the sally.”
There was a thunderous bellow from the outside of the throne room. Then another louder one.
“They’re hyping themselves up. This is it!” George bellowed. “Leila get to the queen!”
“Holdup.” Jessica picked Leila up and leapt off the railing. Her friend screamed as they dropped down, only slowing at the last minute due to Jessica’s spell.
George stared at the pair for a moment, but Elizabeth had grabbed onto him and was dragging him. “Let’s get to the front, hurry!”
Janize peaked behind her throne. “Leila!”
The queen was soon embraced by the shaking Otherworlder. “I’m sorry. This is um, Jessica.”
“A pleasure I’m sure, but we are in a dicey spot.” Jessica ushered the pair behind the throne and began casting. Leila soon joining her.
A flood of armored knights had forced the throne room’s entrance. The sheer mass of the column was overwhelming the defenders at the entrance. Leila could see George and Elizabeth fighting furiously back to back against the tide. Elizabeth’s war hammer taking out a knight with every swing, whilst George’s spear flickered into weakspots and gaps in enemy armor like a snake. Far above on the right gallery, the Lightning Battalion’s musketeers were raining musket and magefire down on them.
Yet Darius’s troops were forcing themselves up the staircase to the left side gallery, which didn’t have the additional Lightning Battalion troops.
“Jess! Left side!” Leila hissed.
“I know, shit!” The pair turned their attention to the gallery on the left, unleashing fireballs and bolts of magic. That kept any attackers and musketeers who wanted to shoot back pinned down, but they had a mage on the left gallery that kept shielding their attacks.
It also meant the flood of attackers pouring through the throne room doors only increased.
“Elizabeth where the fuck are your troops!” Leila screamed.
Ayax knew she wasn’t going through the front door, but after running around the throne room’s upper galleries she was wondering if there was any other way in.
As she hammered on a final door, a familiar human face peeked through the slot.
“Captain!”
“Helen, good to see you!”
“Get in here and duck!” Ayax’s adjutant opened the door and lead the troll into the throne room. She instantly could see that things were not going well. Musketeers filled the gallery opposing them they were ducking behind a black-haired mage’s shield due to Leila and Jessica shooting at them. However, that meant Jessica and Leila weren’t casting at the knights charging through the throne room.
Ayax could glimpsed Elizabeth locked in a duel with another knight that she dispatched, another Otherworlder protecting her flanks. The pair were pulling back, though and the Lightning Battalion soldiers trying to come down the gallery stairs were forced to come in single line
And Traditionalist forces kept pushing. No matter how many were shot dead, the armored men and women were storming forward, stepping over the bodies of dead comrades with a desperate, furious pace. At the centre of the column was a man surrounded by the biggest and burliest knights Ayax had ever seen and with gold-trimmed armour.
It was Darius and he was in her sight. Ayax blinked, started forward and shook her head. He wasn’t the priority. He couldn’t be the priority. She could see black magic leaking out from her hand, but she forcefully kept her gaze on the gallery.
Taking a deep breath Ayax bellowed, “Clear the way!” Running forward, Words of Power pouring from her lips, she leapt over the railing.
Elizabeth was very nearly distracted by a glimpse of her girlfriend doing a superhero impression as she flew across the top of the Throne Room, carried by her magic. Ayax, her staff punched forward like a spear, slammed into the first musketeer she saw. The Traditonalists ran, trying to make space but that also gave space for Ayax to run after the panicked looking black haired mage.
Whirling her staff around, she slammed him so hard he crashed into the wall with a sickening thud. Then she was hitting the musketeers, sending them flying with her strikes. Even so, musket balls screeched by her, nearly missing her. More musketeers were pointing their weapons at her.
A massive fireball slammed into the railing, setting enemy uniforms aflame. Ayax glanced over the railing to see Leila give her a brief wave before turning back to keep firing at Earl Darisus’s guards. The troll blinked, but there was no time to contemplate, she had to keep fighting. Leaping forward, she sent another human soldier flying. Torquing around, she ducked under a bayonet stab and punted a human woman into a wall.
When she turned around to look for another opponent, Ayax froze. The remaining musketeers were fleeing, retrating down the gallery stairs and away from her. However, there was a blonde haired woman on the gallery with a fox-fur lined coat. She was aiming a musket, but not at Ayax. Instead, she was pointing it toward the dais of the throne.
Ayax’s eyes immediately took in the trajectory of the musket and the scowling dark-haired Otherworlder she was pointing it at. Leila, while taking cover from the bullets and bolts of magic from the main entrance’s direction, was exposed to the woman’s shot.
I could let her. It wouldn’t be me. It’d be an accident. Janize can’t blame us for a battle. We’d still have her surrender.
Besides, Leila doesn’t deserve to live. Why should she live after all the wrongs she’s committed? Why shouldn’t I just let her die.
Nobody would know. Few would care.
Ayax glanced down at her hands and at her staff. There was no black magic pooling around her. It was just her. Her decision to save or let die, the woman who killed her mother.
This was a woman who’d apologized and promised to let her do whatever she wanted to her. Who sought not her own safety but to protect the life and the child of the one she loved.
Ayax bit her lip and charged the enemy musketeer. However, her hesitation had cost her. She could see the musketeer pulling the trigger. There was no time for a Word of Power. Ayax slammed into her the musketeer. The weapon cracked, the bullet whizzing off course as Ayax pushed the woman over the railing.
But the screaming woman now grabbed onto Ayax and the troll found herself tumbling over.
Acting on instinct, the troll seized her enemy with both hands, her cat-like tail twisting to try to direct their momentum. The pair fell down, but Ayax was managing to get her legs atop the woman. Acting more on instinct, Ayax leapt off the musketeer, slammed into a Traditionalist knight and rolled clumsily over the ground.
Dazed by the impact, her sides and wrists screaming with pain, Ayax could just hear a stomach-churning thud. She chanced a glance and immediately looked away. The woman was very clearly dead, having hint the stone floor headfirst.
It was then she saw that standing over her was the heavily armoured Earl Darius halted dead in his tracks. He lifed his visor, and Ayax could see that despite the sweat that trickled down his face, his eyes remained wide with horror and rage.
“You killed her. You killed my daughter!” Roaring like a wounded animal, Darius swung down at Ayax with his sword. She managed to get her staff up, the metal chomping into the wood. Again and again the Earl brought his weapon down. Aching, exhausted and far far too close for comfort, Ayax scrabbled back, trying to escape. But the earl was possessed with grief and fury and the desperation of a cornered animal.
“Die! Die! Die and join your father and mother!”
Author’s Note: Oh dear, so Ayax has gotten over her anger, but… she pissed off Darius anyway!