#akwrites

Attending a ball at the king's palace is the last thing on 17 year old Briar's mind. But the king's decree was absolute and so her whole family heads to the capital to prepare.

The ball is hotbed of political activity, with several of the king's foreign allies in attendance. The ball is a ruse to marry off the daughters of his court to strengthen his alliances, and Briar and her sisters are married off the same night.

Briar finds herself married to the general of a foreign army, called the Kitsune General. He has a reputation for cruelty and heartlessness, as well as cleverness on the battlefield. He has bee married almost a dozen times, and his wives have all died mysteriously shortly after their wedding.

Briar is swept away from her home and into a foreign country where the traditions are different, no one speaks her language except her maid and her mostly absent husband, and there is something decidedly strange about the people who make up the Yokai Kingdom.

If all of that wasn't enough of an issue, Briar has to find a way to keep her deepest secret from her husband...Briar is a young man, forced to live as a woman...if he's found out his entire family will be slaughtered.

Excerpt:

Briar trembled slightly as the brilliant blue wedding dress swirled about his ankles. He clutched the bouquet of white flowers, grateful the veil hid his expression.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to get married. He never should have been selected from the pool of noble daughters to marry the yokai envoy. He honestly shouldn’t have even been in court. His father and stepsisters had insisted on coming; he had no option but to attend as well.

There was no way his deception would survive a wedding night, particularly not with the fearsome Kitsune General. He had heard the rumors spread by the court ladies. The Kitsune General was apparently brutal to his wives. He would be discovered, undoubtedly, and then not only his life but the lives of his family would be forfeit.

Peering through the veil his eyes darted over the people sitting in the aisles. Most were strangers, members of the king’s court come to see the Kitsune’s latest bride, the veil obscuring them to giant blobs. Towards the front his family were seated, he could not see his father’s face, but he recognized the stony set to his shoulders. His stepmother and stepsisters tittered and hid their faces behind their fans, unaware of the doom he would bring down on them.

Standing on the far side among the servants was Nona, his nurse and handmaid, wringing her hands in nervousness and fear. Her life would be forfeit as well, when his secret was found out.

His knees trembled as he continued up the aisle, but he forced himself to put one slipper-clad foot in front of the other. The flowers in his hand trembled, and he tightened his grip to hide his shaking. He approached the dais at the front of the chapel, the general stood there waiting, his expression unreadable.

Briar approached the altar and knelt on the cushion waiting there for him. The general remained standing, although the ceremony called for him to kneel. He refused to bow to the foreign god Briar’s people worshiped, and he was favored enough to be allowed the privilege.

Briar knelt on his cushion, his mind racing over how he had wound up in this insane situation, trying to find a way out.

End Excerpt

Summary:  “Do you have a Walmart Rewards Card?” The beautiful man - Todoroki, his name tag read - continued, voice tired from having to say the same scripted words over and over again. Izuku could relate to the feeling.

“Yep!” Izuku said, rummaging through his pockets in search of said card. Perhaps he related to Todoroki a bit too much, because as he handed over his card, he asked the poor cashier in his most cheerful, counter service worker voice possible, “Would you like any dipping sauce with that?”

“...What?”

Word count: 1,196

Rated: G

Chapters: 1/1

It's not fine 😭 But cover up my heart And I'll feel so fine Cos I got love Yeah, I'm OK Time lapses anyway Once, I had sweet love When I was young Right now, it’s a lonely night And I need love in colour Like fire Or an eraser Cos I've had enough of time spent walking through memories.

It is easy to give love but not as accepting love, accepting love requires accepting yourself worthy of love.

Before accepting someone else love you must offer & give it to yourself.

As human nature we are made of abundance of mistakes and yet we strive becoming better by resolving the issue of our characteristics.

we need to wide our perspective, as reflection comes first within yourself.

✒️Ak