Romance

The importance of authenticity: His true power returns when he sheds the foreign influences and reconnects with his roots.. Content Warning. AI-Generated.
The importance of authenticity: His true power returns when he sheds the foreign influences and reconnects with his roots.---- The Priest-King loses his connection to his power and his land by embracing foreign objects and practices (the throne, crown, clothing, marble floors, and even the blood ritual itself). His brother, the High Priest of the Dark God, helps him realize that true power comes from being rooted in his own land and identity.----It all started with a dizzy spell. One minute I was the Priest-King, crown on my head, performing a ritual, and the next, I was almost on the floor. My ornate crown clattered away, making a racket. Just as I thought I was going down, a hand grabbed my arm, pulling me back up.
By MD Melon10 months ago in Chapters
Dueling Kingdoms - Part 6
Here are the previous chapters if you haven't checked them out! While Kris subtly held her lower abdomen, the earth-shattering reality of everything became unbearable and her world began to swirl. “Roy..” a mere whimper escaped as Kris’ vision began to blur. “Woah! Kris! Easy there, you're alright. I got you." With concern on Roy's face he gently guided Kris towards the ground in an empty meadow. As Kris came through the fainting spell, she erratically pushed back screaming “Don’t touch me!” As she brought her knees to her chest. Scared he might feel the subtle changes happening in her body, she couldn’t risk him finding out, not yet anyway. “I…forgive me Kris, I merely wanted to make sure you’re alright.” “I’m fine, I just stepped wrong.” Although Roy was skeptical, he dropped the subject, and asked Kris to expand on her thoughts of her royalty. “You said earlier you believed you were, or are, royalty? Enlighten me Kris, why do you believe this?” “Surely you must know?” Roy laughed in bewilderment, “I can attest to it that I haven’t the slightest idea.” Roy’s eyes glistened with curiosity and had depth to them as if he wanted me to share my thoughts openly. Yet, here I am hiding my abdomen and being hypervigilant about everything. Clearly I wasn’t off to a good start. “Kris?” Roy called my name as if pulling me from troubled waters, “Oh right, my apologies. I discovered this tale of two kingdoms, one between your parents prior to their divide, and Kingdom Haus, who now reside on the far side of the mountain. Does this tale sound familiar?” “I’d be lying if I said no.” Dropping his eyes, Roy broke eye contact, taking in a shaky breath and rubbing his knee as if a secret had just been exposed. “So you knew?!” Kris rose to her feet, anger sputtering through her body, trying to breathe steadily to avoid another fainting spell. “Kris, please…” “After all this time?! I trusted you! I’ve freely put my life on the line for you and the Queen! And for what? To be your puppet?” Kris felt betrayed by Roy, perhaps Prince Coy spoke plainly, albeit deceitful in his tactics, but at least he spoke plainly! Coy tried to show me the truth about my true identity. I was just too stubborn and blind to notice! I could only see him through my bias as a vile monster, oh what a fool I am! “Kris, I can explain.” “Now you want to explain Roy?! No! You don’t get to just talk your way out of this!” Before Roy could respond, Kris quickly spun on her heels and ran into the depths of the forest to be alone in her thoughts. Most of all she needed a safe hiding place as she knew Roy would surely look for her.
By Sibley Shamra10 months ago in Chapters
The Locket
The Locket How many days have I waited? And now, I realize not one of them was in vain. Not a single tear wasted. In just a few hours, she’ll be in my arms again — and I have no doubt this will be the best chapter of our lives. Her room is almost ready, just as she remembers it: open and airy, quietly inviting, with the soft hum of traffic and voices rising from the street below. I smooth the sheets one more time, then pause at her desk, her sacred little space, to adjust the flowers. A tender arrangement of yellow and cream roses, soft pink peonies, delicate ranunculus, and tiny waxflowers. I’ve framed one of her favorite quotes and selected a few pens from the stationery store. And now, the afternoon light filters through the window, casting a dreamlike glow over the room.
By Emma10 months ago in Chapters
What I've been unexpectedly looking for.
I never know where to start with stories like this. Love always feels like a fairytale at first—everything painted in soft, rose-colored light. You laugh more, dream more, and for a while, it feels like nothing could ever go wrong. But eventually, the colors begin to fade. Sometimes it’s because the relationship becomes too intense, too quickly. Other times, it’s because of poor choices we make along the way.
By Betsy Sanchez10 months ago in Chapters
Part 3: “The Note in the Fold”
Frank returned to the café the next morning. Not out of obligation. Not even out of routine. But because—for the first time in months—he wanted to.
By William10 months ago in Chapters
Dueling Kingdoms - Part 5. Content Warning.
If you haven’t read the first four parts of this story, then please follow the links below in order to get proper context before reading part five.
By Rowan Finley 10 months ago in Chapters
Dueling Kingdoms - Part 4
The young knights were exhausted, dripping in sweat and famished as Kris easily fought each of them, barely breaking a sweat as she smirked at their weakness to herself, careful not to let anyone see. Kris began dismissing the young knights to rest and eat for lunch, when she was interrupted by a fully suited knight, sword drawn. The young knights seem to recognize the armored knight, and instantly knelt down keeping their eyes to the floor. Kris on the other hand, rose, as if challenging the armored knight to speak. “Come to join us?” Kris smirked, unimpressed. The knight had strong plated armor. The mask of his helmet covering his face. “I’ve come to test your might, Krisanthanese.” “I don’t respond to that name.” Kris snipped with anger, “Why don’t you take off your helmet and show yourself. Or are you always this cowardly?” Kris retorted, the young guards quietly gasping and glancing upwards to see what the knight would do. The armored knight sheathed his sword, placing his hands on either side of their helmet and as the golden locks of Coy’s hair unfurled, Kris was all the more eager to engage in a skirmish. “Ah, Coy.” “That’s Prince Coy to you.” “Call me as I requested and I’ll do the same.” Prince Coy smirked, “You know, I see why my brother is so fond of you, Kris.” He hissed my name with a petty grin. “Your ability to push the envelope on royal customs and norms is, well, admirable.” “At least I’m loyal.” “Loyal? You willingly came along with me, with addition of the Queen’s command of course. You call that loyal?” “I’m bound to the Queen, I do what she asks without question, yes.” Kris was confused by Coy’s questioning, as they began circling each other. “Ah, so you chose to follow a command, leaving your kingdom vulnerable without their most fierce knight. Most of all, you left your Prince, heir to the throne, heartbroken and in despair.” “I am simply a knight, one with great honor and skill. I am bound to the Queen, and I do not play with emotions, I have a task and I fulfill it.” “Yet, here you are, training the very kingdom that attacked yours. What loyalty?” “I have no choice.” “We all have a choice, Kris. I chose you because it was a deeper wound to my brother than any physical attack.” “What do you mean?” “The fact you don’t know is quite amusing.” “Out with it then.” “My brother is in love.” “Surely you don’t believe that Prince Roy is sabotaging his graces with Lady Helena and her father because he’s in love with me?” “It’s quite clear, and my cavalry scouts brought word this very morning that Prince Roy has vanished from his kingdom.” Vanished? Why would he leave our people? This agreement is about to get broken, or very very messy. “Ah, do you realize it now?” “I don’t believe you. Love breaks a warrior, makes them weak.” “Yes. Which is why you will be battling him upon his arrival.” My heart sank, as if completely leaving my body. It’s true I have feelings for Prince Roy, but I have trained myself to suppress them. “I’ll leave you to prepare, unless…” Kris stood in silence, her eyes on the floor, still in shock from Prince Coy’s command. “Unless, you agree to be arranged to me, to be my betrothed, and spare Prince Roy’s life.”
By Sibley Shamra10 months ago in Chapters
Part 2: “A Sip of Something New”
Frank had never been much for talking. Evelyn did enough of that for both of them. She talked to the cat, to the plants, to the neighbors, to the barista who always misspelled her name as “Eveline.” And every morning, she talked to Frank—about dreams, weather, or what her sister posted on Facebook that she “just didn’t understand.”
By William10 months ago in Chapters
When The Sky Remembers.
This story is a continuation of : There was a boy named Silas. He was the third child of five, born to a respected family in a town where everyone’s name carried weight. His mother ran the school’s administrative office. His father taught agriculture at the university. The boys in the family were raised with the usual sense of importance, like their lives were expected to mean something. Their little sister was everyone’s darling. They lived in a solid house with a fig tree out front and a well-worn gate that creaked when it shut.
By Test10 months ago in Chapters
1/0: Entries from the End Times
In the end, I walked backwards into the woods. Now, the woods were empty, starlight shimmered through the antler-like branches, and scissors hovered over my body.
By Wen Xiaosheng10 months ago in Chapters
The Cup of Coffee He Never Forgot
“She never made it the same way twice. And somehow, that’s what made it perfect.” Every morning for thirty-two years, Frank woke up to the sound of a spoon clinking inside a ceramic mug. That was Evelyn’s ritual. She never let the coffee maker handle it all. No, she had a system—brew, wait, add a splash of oat milk, stir counterclockwise three times, then drop exactly half a teaspoon of sugar. No more, no less.
By William10 months ago in Chapters
Two Shoes in the Sand
The beach was quiet that morning. The kind of quiet that only came after the storm had passed. The air was still heavy with salt and damp, and the sky, though clearing, held streaks of bruised gray clouds retreating toward the horizon.
By ibrahimkhan10 months ago in Chapters