A Voltron Legendary Defender FanFic. Modern and Animal-Human-Hybrid Alternate Universes.

Keith is a hybrid of the rarest type on Earth, it doesn’t help that his colouring is one only heard of in legends. Bullied for his appearance, he fights back but gets excluded from each school he goes to because of it. As he transfers to a new one, he meets ‘Voltron’ and is quickly let into the group due to his rarity and insecurities. Together they build friendships, relationships, face problems and bring it together throughout their time together. 

Oh and gay relationships. Homophobic people fuck off.

Whatever magic is protecting that hut, it flung me further and further away from the hut each time I approached it. Losing how many times I've been thrown back into the tree line and beyond, I've decided to move on from this sadistic magic hut. 
Pushing myself out of the most recent tree indent I've made in a innocent tree, I continue my journey in the magical forest. 
Passing through the magical forest I come upon more creatures, however something is different for the previous ones I've encountered. 
First off some of them are starting to have the same colouring scheme that the animals in my old world had. 
Second, the only sign that I'm still in a world full of magic is that these same creatures have streaks of the magical colouring on them. 
Like this brown squirrel that I'm currently in a staring contest with. Normally a wild squirrel would run away, but this guy is just starting at me. And I know he's got some magic in him since there's green dots on his hind legs like a my little pony mark. 

From experience I know that this brown squirrel has some wind element in him, but probably not enough to make a magic script like the other magical creatures I've encountered. 
A noise breaks the staring contest from a distance away and the brown squirrel races off into the forest. With no other creature to continue my staring contest with I continue my journey in the magical forest. 
With the animals losing their magical colouring, I think I'm reaching the outer fringes of the magical forest. Since it would make more sense that the further in the forest the stronger the magical creatures. 
Another three days pass before I finally see no sign of magical colouring on the animals I catch glimpses of in the forest. They might have some magic in them, but apparently not enough to warrant any magical colouring. 
The surrounding plants and trees, however, don't seem to have lost the same lustre as the ones further in. They just aren't as densely packed as before. 
Sunlight from the two suns above breach the tree tops more easily. Until I finally see a stretch of plains through the last couple of tree in front of me. A lighter green but just as vibrant and lush as the dark green of the forest, stretches across the grass plain in front of me. 
Gentle rolling hills dot the grass plains further ahead and seem to continue until a chain of mountains blocks their path. The distance between me and the chain of mountains is probably further than I can imagine, but now I have to decided where I should go from here. 
Staying close to the fringe of the forest would guarantee me food and shelter. Since I don't need to secure a source of water because I can just generate it from magic. 
Venturing into the grass plains might provided me some food. But I would have to make my shelter out of earth spikes. And if I happen upon a road then it's would be a 50/50 chance of me actually reaching civilization depending on the direction I choose. 
But if I find a road leading into the forest that I would just have to go in the opposite direction and I'll eventually reach a town. 
With my decision made, I continue walking along the fringe of the forest.

Waking up in a magical forest with a new set of cloths and magic to boot, what would you do?

Mazikeen, aka Maze, wakes up in a vibrant magical forest with new cloths and the ability to control magic through hand gestures. Deciding to see what kind of world she woke up in, Maze decides to explore the forest where she woke up. 

Encountering the ecosystem of this magical forest and how magic interacts with the world around her, watch as our female lead learns to enjoy all this new world can offer.

"Stacy Al." A woman, that come out from the interview room calls out her name. I am pretty sure she is a secretary.
As I waited for my name to be called. I turn to see Leonardo still colouring on his colouring book. I rubbed his head softly, making him stopped what he's doing and look up at me. "You know I love you, right? No matter what." I said softly to him.
"Of course, Mommy." He said with a big smile on his face. Then he's back to his colouring book. I'm just watching him doing his creativity by colouring the book.
Sometimes when I have money, I would buy him a new colouring book or a storytelling book. Of course, he understands my situation. Him, being a good boy and not making any troubles is enough for me.
After twenty minutes, the woman comes out of the room. She had a sorrowed look on her face. I can't tell if she got the job or not. But my guess is that she doesn't or she got scolded by the boss.
"Ella Maria." The woman called my name. I straighten my back and look down to my son.
"Leo, baby. You wait here for Mommy, okay? I will be right back, I won't take too long." I said to my son, which he nodded.
I take a deep breath before standing up from the seat and make my way to the interview room.  I walked in and is mesmerized by the decoration in this room. It looks plain but elegant. All white stuff, except for the desk. The room itself looks expensive.
"Please, take a seat, Ma'am." A voice, deep and manly said. I jump up a bit, because of the sudden voice.
I looked straight and saw a handsome looking man. Wait, I thought I have seen him before.
I take a seat on the single chair that the woman, whom I forgot that is still here assisted me. I straighten the back of my skirt before taking a seat. I shamelessly looking at his face, knowing that he will be my boss soon, that if I get the job.
"You are the man that found my son earlier." I said quietly, pointing at him
"I am." He confirmed. "I believe you are here for a job." He guessed-said it.
"Yes, I am. This is my resume, Sir." I politely give him the file that I brought with me. But still, even when I have a resume, I already filled a form just outside this room.
The man in front of me checked the resume. When his focus is on my resume, I, for the second time checking him out again. I haven't really take a close look at him earlier. His jaw is that sharp, even I thought that it could cut a piece of paper.
He cleared his throat and then look away from the file. His eyes shifted to mine and we lock eyes for a couple of seconds before he looked away. I don't know why I was kind of disappointed when he looked away. Those grey eyes, I fell in love at first sight.
Today is my interview day, I need to be professional. I need to show him that I am professional enough to get hired. Because I need a job like this to establish my life back on track.
"So, this is your first job ever?" He asked.
"Yes, Sir," I said in salute.
"I've read your resume. You graduated from Asfard University. A straight A+ at accounting. That's very impressive." He said kind of amused with my grades. I smiled in stealth.
"You are more appealing to the marketing. But my company doesn't have the job available for now. But I will consider your job application. I'll see what I can do." My heart just stopped beating for a second. I was hoping that this job can be my saving grace.
I put my brightest smile. "Thank you for your time, Sir." I stand up and walk out of the room. But I can feel like someone is eyeing me. I want to turn around so baddly, but that would make me look like a lunatic.
I just put my head up while I walk out from the interview room. I don't want to make other applicants feel more nervous than they already are.
I walk straight to where my son seated. He is still there, sitting with his colouring book.
"Come on, Leo. We are going to leave now." I caress the top of his head slowly.
"Okay, Mommy." He put his book i to his bag and slung his bag to his shoulders. He gets off of the seat and then I take his little hand in mine.
We walk side by side, making our way out of the building.
I sigh in defeat, but I won't give up just because one of my interview is being turn down. I still can find a job somewhere else, as long as it can pay my bills.
"Let's go," I said. I tug his hand and motion for him to follow me. We walks following the alley. I don't even know where I want to go. Going back home isn't going to solve the problem. So I just walked, hoping that I saw an advertisement for a job.
I feel my hand is being shake. I look down at my son. "What's wrong, Leo?" I asked.
"I want that." He pointed at a man on the side way.
"You want a Popsicle?" I asked and he nodded eagerly. I saw his eyes lit up when I pointed to a Popsicle stand.
"Because you have been a good boy today. We could buy you one." I said in a happy tone to cheer him up.
"Yay!" He happily jumping up and down while clapping his hands. How can I say no to this little life of mine? I would do anything just for him.
I smile to myself and take his hand to cross the street. We waited for the traffic light to turn red, so we can crossing the street.
When the lights turned red. I was ready to walk, but I felt my arm being pulled.
I look back and my eyes widen to see who is it.

Ella Maria is a woman, the strongest woman for going through a rocky life.

Because of some courage, she then decided to do what's best for her and her son's life. She left.

She built a new life with her son, struggling to have a better life. She met Marcel, a billionaire that have everything except love.

Will Marcel accept her when she suddenly walked in to his life with a problems followed?

Zhi Rou was sitting in Yuan Rui's office behind his desk. The laptop she was given was connected to the wifi. She typed in a website she knew of and smiled when she saw the many options the website provided. She created an account with her name Zhao Zhi Rou and added her account number from the bank card she received from Yuan Rui. The bank card and laptop weren't the only things she received, Yuan Rui gave her a mobile phone too that needed some time to figure out how to use properly.
The website she was visiting was one that provided all the essential artwork needed for a classroom such as individual abc cards, colour and shape cards. Individual birthday A4 sheets, a height measuring wall chart and more. She chose to decorate the baby's room with all of these charts and cards for it to be more stimulating for the little one.
There were many options as she was browsing through the sites making feel overwhelmed. She finally decided on choosing the owl collection and bought the owl weather chart, owl height measuring wall chart, owl alphabet and opposite cards. She bought the animals and their babies set, shapes, colours, prepositions and number frames. The weather chart was another thing she bought.
After the PDF files downloaded she opened them and started printing. Her eyes widened at the number of pages that were going to be used and sighed, "Well it's a good thing I'm marrying a rich man." She got up and went to the kitchen to fetch herself something to drink and went to her bedroom. She and Yuan Rui arched about the guest room she wanted to use, being too far away from their bedroom so all her things were being moved into the guest room that would now be her closet and the room she had was bare.
Everything was moved out when she went out shopping alone for the rest of her clothes and the room was painted over with lead-free lilac paint. She bought a white rug that covered the floor and there were the boxes in the living room that needed to be moved here but she was waiting for Yuan Rui to set up the cradle and the installers to put up the net that would cover the cradle. She ordered a swing for the bedroom that needs to be installed as well.
Yawning, she returned to Yuan Rui's office. The printer was done so she set the next PDF file to print.
*
Dialling a number she knew out of her head she waited for the one on the other line to answer. After two rings a voice came through, "Han publishers good day. How may I assist you?"
"Good day, this is author Liu Rou, I need to speak with Qiong Jai, is Mr Qiong available?" Zhi Rou spoke.
"Author Liu Rou, it is you? Mr Qiong is currently in a meeting, I can ask him to contact you when he's done if that is okay with you?" the woman said on the other end of the line. Thinking about it for a minute Zhi Rou said, "Could you please tell Mr Han that I'll be e-mailing him my new manuscript that I would love him to overlook before I decide to continue. Please also inform him that I will be getting married this week and I would love it if he could change my surname on the newest additions to Zhao as well."
"Congratulations Ms Liu!! I will definitely inform Mr Qiong on your joyous occasion. I'm sure when Mr Han finds out he'll want to send you a gift, please will you give your address and I'll pass on all of this to him." Zhi Rou nodded her head and told her everything. She ended the call and placed her phone down, she turned around and jumped in her step. She caught a fright when she saw her soon-to-be husband at the door watching her intently.
Qing Shan was standing behind him with a curious gaze. "Wow, never would I have guessed that the well-known author Liu Rou was my wife-to-be," Yuan Rui said knowingly. Zhi Rou smiled innocently. She walked up to him and crouched down before him, "Baby, if I knew you'd be home so soon, I would have prepared something for you to eat."
The words she had just spoken did not register to him at all. He couldn't believe that the author who inspired him to get better for Jiang Hui Yin's sake was the woman before him right now. The woman who he was going to marry was the one who wrote books on saving suicide victims. She was the one who wrote about how a father could love his adopted daughter and even hide her crime even under suspicion. Another was a tale of how a woman who got kidnapped by accident and fell for her kidnapper, choosing to follow him because she did not want to return to her life which made her hide and protect her rapist!
Looking into her eyes he couldn't understand how could she write those stories? Those stories that got so many addicted? Those stories who made him want to meet her? Those stories that secretly made him desire for her?
Thinking about it clearly he realized that he knew nothing about Zhi Rou, to begin with. He felt helpless many times but her words gave him hope. Was it fate that brought them together and was making her the future Mrs Zhao correct decision? If it wasn't, why was she so likeable? Why did it feel to him like he could trust her? She didn't care about what he did for a living, she thought he was ridiculous for spending so much money on her. She stood up for him when he was bullied and she made him laugh unknowingly after being depressed for so long. It did not seem like it on the outside but he could possibly be happy that she was part of his life.
She did everything for him that he only wished Jiang Hui Yin could do for him. If he compared the two women together, Liu Zhi Rou deserved the winning title! Unknowingly she helped him before they knew each other. She stopped him from being depressed. The colour she brought into his life by his silly decision for revenge because he was naturally a petty man and only cared for himself, she accepted with no questions asked made such a tremendous change that he didn't realise it himself.
Liu Zhi Rou alone made he, Zhao Yuan Rui feel at ease, as though he was on a cloud by her mere presence, "Liu Zhi Rou, was it fate that brought us together?" Yuan Rui's question took her by surprise. Zhi Rou's brows furrowed, "What do you mean?" she asked. Yuan Rui's head lowered. He looked down at the colouring book in his hand that he wanted to hand back to her.
Zhi Rou purchased the colouring book at the book store a while back and challenged him to colour a picture every other day when he had nothing to do, she said it was a type of bonding process for the two of them to get to know each other. She handed him the colouring book the next morning after her first night in his home. He thought it was stupid and took the book with him only to make her stop her pestering.
It was Qing Shan who reminded him of it and when he opened the colouring book, he saw that she had coloured in the first picture that was of a garden. On the top of the first page, she wrote, "Hello, my name is Liu Zhi Rou, the co-owner of this colouring book, who might you be?" Unknowing to him, a slight smile tugged on his lips at the office that Qing Shan took note of.
Yuan Rui coloured in the second picture of a dog taking a bath when he felt his mind become clouded with thoughts of his cousin and Jiang Hui Yin together. At the top of the page, he wrote back in a calm state, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Liu Zhi Rou, I'm Zhao Yuan Rui. I own this colouring book too which makes me your co-owner."
He returned the book and it came back to him with Qing Shan who needed to attend a board meeting on his health at work since the old men were "worried" about his health. He was being berated by one of the oldest shareholders for not thinking of the company and only thinking about himself when he tried to kill himself. He didn't have answers for them and they were all just waiting for him to actually die and step down so that Zhao Nianzhen could take over.
In the midst of their ranting, he became depressed. When Qing Shan saw that his young master's mood was sinking he pointed towards the colouring book after gaining his attention. When Yuan Rui opened the book and paged to the third page, every emotion he felt melted away replacing the empty space with happiness. "No, it is my pleasure meeting you Mr Zhao Yuan Rui. I cannot believe that I am acquainted with someone who has such beautiful handwriting," was what was written on the page she coloured in.
Yuan Rui pursed his lips and handed the colouring book to her. Zhi Rou looked at it and smiled. She stepped out of his way and he wheeled past her stopping at his bookshelf. He pulled out five books and showed it to her. He thought that he'd be happy meeting her but he felt confused at this moment. Zhi Rou smiled when she saw her works in his hands and walked up to him, "So you're a fan… maybe it was fate or it good just be your bad luck for something you did in your past life," she joked and kissed him on the cheek.
Zhi Rou could see the conflicting emotions on his face but did not worry about it. She was here and would watch over him, she could feel it in her bones that this was where she was meant to be and she hopes that he knew this too.

The Uncharted Husband and His Wife

Zhao Yuan Rui, had everything and still has everything but feels as though he has nothing ever since his car accident two years ago which left him paralyzed. 

He meets the flamboyant Liu Zhi Rou who changes his life in the most uncommon manner. 

Liu Zhi Rou, an angel stripped of her wings at a young age, between all humans drops by in his hospital room with her silly antics. 

Learning of each other's pasts and hardships, they work together for the betterment of the other. 

Follow the two as they venture into the life of a married couple and face all the obstacles ahead of them with an adopted bubble that adds to their adventure.

Art by: the_nerd.artist

Reviews and comments welcomed.

Well finally I got the motivation . My beloved Drawing competition state level is to be held today. I got up early and I called the contact number for today's registration. I heard there was an essay competition too. Well more competition, more killing time. The essay only needed to be submitted and drawing competition was to be held at the Imperfections Auditorium of our town. 

I prepared myself. Took the forms and set for my motivation to kill boredom and urge to paint again of course. It was since Grade 9 I joined any competition. I was a bit anxious. The chief guest was an art college Professor Shene Brown. I reached the Hall sharp at 12:50 p. m. I gave my contact number,the essay and the form at the registration site. I was waiting patiently outside the hall. The competition would start at 1:15 p. m. I was least nervous. Not because I have confidence in my painting skills but because after a long break I would be drawing fine art again. It was a nostalgia indeed. 

At 1:10 p. m the Chief Guest arrived and with the lighting of the lamp I and the other participants stepped into the auditorium. The team was divided into 3 parts: Group A consisting of candidates from grade 5 to 8 , Group B consisting of candidates from grade 9-12 and finally my group C consisting of 1st to 3rd year college candidates. It was a 2 hour exam. The topic was "Peace".

The topic was definitely difficult to crack. It can mean anything. It can also be interpretted in many interesting ways. One step wrong and everything finished. But I came with a simple idea may be. I couldn't think much. I could feel the temptation the pencils, colours and the brush brought to me. I drew a Globe and with small figures inside the globe outline depicted the beauty of humans holding hands. And the animals together with them, the trees. And above the globe outline I drew two doves both on each sides holding a banner with their beak written peace on it. I drew olive branch decorating the bannner. After the outline was drawn the most difficult part arrived. The colouring one. Too much illustration usually hampers my drawing as I have not perfected my technique since Grade 9..

Somehow I managed to colour.After finishing the colouring it somehow looked decent. But no confidence to win the competition. 

I still had 10 minutes left. I left my painting to dry. By that time I was observing others. Their ideas were really vivid. Their drawing was exceptionally beautiful. Their credit was that their colouring skill was superb. I was observing them. Actually the best part of these competition is that you get to learn new fresh techniques. The participants give their all unlike if you try to learn from them during casual days. I was trying to grip my lack of experience. Finally the time got over. Although I wasn't satisfied, I was really happy to attend such a competition. It taught me a lot. I came back home. 

Hunger was hitting me. Mom gave me my lunch. It was already late to have lunch so I ate less otherwise the dinner would be marred. 
The date of the results would be on 30th January. Almost 1 month later. That was another thing I need to remember apart from my postponed exam.

[COMPLETED]
First deep Crush in our life is something unforgettable indeed. Especially when that special person is very close to you yet difficult for you to reach. Here, this novel revolves around a College girl,Sonnet whose first crush is her lab partner, Sky. Sonnet is a shy girl who doesn't know how to express herself clearly and has never been, not even thought about being in love.She had only one motto in her life "Study hard and find a good job after graduation."What magical experiences unfolds when this serious and shy girl meets a jovial but studious guy who changes her life history!The change she couldn't even dream of. And whether she will ever be able to express her feelings for him or not or those feelings will stay forever breeding the pain in her heart and grow further. Better Read it to find out!

It had been  been quite peaceful at school for last few days. No one bothered to upset her mind and her bag was safe too.So, she enjoyed learning the new lessons.

It was evening, birds were chirping and the weather of the town was cooler than before.

She was colouring her art when she thought about a riddle told by her father's  grandmother. She told them about a blowing  wind, which  changed the direction of  things and  With  kindness she brought tiny  honeybees with it to break the branches with weight of the sweetness 😍. " 🐝A bee hive🐝"

She smiled in a daze and chose the colours to draw a bee hive.

"Bees make honey from flowers🌼🌻 , they can detect colours and fragrance and leave a trace on their way to home.They live a season and sting if you annoy them."

 She Googled about bees and drew lines to make a perfect picture.

"They work in unity and  live in the small holes and they have a 'Queen👸' too. Wait a queen, how is t possible? They are not human beings. So why do they work like intelligent labourers and how does Queen rule over them??" She stopped colouring and organised her information on the bees again to find the answere.


"I should write all the questions in my mind and then research to fill in the answers. " Thought and wrote all the questions in the sequence.

A loud bang made her startle.

.

"Your name is beautiful. Do you know the meaning??" Said Sili. 

"Yes. It means "to love❤", and see I am blessed. I always have people around me." She felt proud.

"to love is beautiful but what to love is more beautiful." Said Sili and stepped towards the door.

"You don't even have a name as beautiful as mine and yet you talk back." Phylos narrowed her eyes.

" If you are Phylos then I am Sophia." said sili with a smile and disappeared behind the door.
"What did she say? what did she mean?"
Phylos felt flustered over such riddled answer.



"His name is Jason Monroe. He turns three next month." The adoption manager says, pushing a file towards Tobias and I. It's open and packed full of information, the papers thick and stacked on top of one another. In the corner is a small photograph of Jason and I automatically feel drawn to it. There's something about the sadness in his eyes that makes me want to take it away. 

"What's his story?" Tobias says, quickly skimming over the page. There's a pause in the room and I glance up at her from under my lashes. She's sitting in her office chair with her back straight but her eyes diverted to the floor. She releases a heavy sigh before her eyes flicker back up to meet mine. 

"It's a very long one. Jason came to us three months ago from his mothers house. We don't know where his biological father is despite getting in touch with him numerous times. There were suspicions that Jason was being. . . mistreated." She says, her eyes flashing with a mixed sadness and anger. 

"What happened to him?" I ask softly, my heart hammering inside my chest. I can't seem to tear my eyes off the little picture attached to his file. 

"He's had countless visits to A&E. Some for fractured bones, sprains, loss of consciousness. We suspect abuse but Jason won't talk to us, he won't talk to anyone. There's currently an investigation pending into the case but I'm afraid it may be going on for a while." 

"Poor little man." Tobias says quietly beside me, his face set into a permanent frown. 

"What is he like? His behaviour and personality?" I question, my throat drying out considerably. I can't begin to imagine what Jason has seen or experienced. A three year old boy who's been to the hospital more times than I ever have done in my entire lifetime . . . All at the hands of the people who were supposed to protect him. 

"He's quiet, understandably. He doesn't socialise with any of the other kids. We try to get him involved but he always ends up in the corner of the room, on his own. He has frequent night terrors but they seem to be decreasing as time goes on. He's built a relationship with only one member of staff so he is difficult to emotionally connect with." 

"Could we see more of him?" Tobias says beside me. The manager nods her head before her eyes flicker between both of us. 

"It may be slightly overwhelming to take on someone like Jason. He's withdrawn, on edge most of the time and will need further help to process his trauma. Maybe you'd be interested in finding out about another child? Someone who doesn't have as many needs?" 

Automatically Tobias and I look at each other. His brown eyes search mine for an answer and without saying anything, we've already made a decision. 

"No, we'll stick to Jason for now." 

***** 

"Hey Buddy, do you want to do some colouring?" Tobias says, walking over to Jason who's sat at the kids colouring table. Tobias shuffles through some pictures before choosing one and sitting next to Jason. I'm sat a few feet away, watching and observing as Tobias gets to know him further. 

Jason keeps his head down, his hand firmly wrapped around his toy cowboy. Tobias pauses before reaching forward and grabbing some colouring pens. 

"Do you want to help me colour in this picture?" Tobias asks Jason quietly, pushing the paper towards him. There's no response from Jason, no reaction, no interest, nothing. 

I give Tobias a reassuring smile as he looks up at me, slight worry flickering through his eyes. 

"It's a picture of a cowboy." Tobias says patiently, trying his best to connect with Jason on any sort of level. For the first time, we both watch as his head lifts with interest. It's the smallest movement but a step in the right direction. 

"Cowboy?" Jason says quietly. 

"Yeah buddy, it's a cowboy. Look at his hat and boots. Do you want to colour him in?" Tobias says, a smile lighting up his face. I lean back against my chair, a warm feeling settling inside my chest as I watch them both. 

"Okay." Jason murmurs quietly, reaching forward in slow motion to carefully lift a coloured pen from the table. He moves with such caution, almost afraid that his actions will get him in trouble. 

"Hmm. I think I'm going to colour his boots with the pink pen." 

"No!" Jason gasps, looking up at Tobias. They both connect eyes for the first time and Tobias laughs — 

"Why not?" 

"Cowboys don't wear pink." Jason says, picking up a darker colour. He hands it to Tobias carefully, his small hands shaking slightly. 

"Yes you're right. I completely forgot! Cowboys don't wear pink." Tobias says, taking it from him. The two boys sit and continue colouring in silence for the next ten minutes but those very few words spoken gives everyone in the room hope. 

Jason may be quiet and withdrawn but underneath all that pain is a little boy desperate to be just that — 

A little boy. 

***** 

"Yay Ruby! Clap your hands!" I cheer, clapping my hands and bouncing her in my lap. She giggles and gurgles, her large eyes widening in excitement. Emily laughs at us over her shoulder before continuing on with finishing up the cake. 

"Is it normal to celebrate a baby turning six months old?" She asks me, licking a small piece of frosting from the tip of her fingers. I nod and shrug my shoulders — 

"Who says it has to be a full year before we're allowed to eat cake? You & Jake kept this baby alive for six whole months, it's a damn miracle." I laugh. Emily bursts out laughing, nodding her head in agreement. 

"Every day with this eating, sleeping and pooping monster is hard." 

"You're the best parents I know." I tell her seriously. She turns around, pausing for a moment in surprise. 

"Thank you." She says softly, giving me a small smile. Her brown eyes flicker over to Ruby, a baby that couldn't look more like her. 

"I never thought I'd be stood here right now, raising an actual human. If I could celebrate every single day with her, I would." 

In that moment, Ruby senses her mothers love and holds out her arms, wanting to be held. Emily smiles and walks forward, her eyes lighting up with nothing but pure love for her child. She takes her from me and props her up on her hip before kissing her forehead. 

"Hi honey," Emily murmurs, breathing in her scent. I smile at the sight in front of me, knowing my best friend was destined to be a Mum to the amazing Ruby. The kitchen door opens and Jake and Tobias walk in followed by Ivory. 

"I have balloons!" Jake says excitedly, holding them up in the air. Written across them is a number 6 and I laugh, pointing at them. 

"She's six months old Jake, not six years old." 

"Nowhere sold six month old balloons, can you believe that?" Jake says unhappily. Emily walks up to him, standing on her tip toes before kissing him. 

"The balloons are perfect." She says, a wide smile on her face. Jake's unhappy expression immediately vanishes and he scoops Ruby and Emily into a massive bear hug, crushing the pair of them. 

"I love you my Muffin and Cupcake." 

Behind him, Tobias begins to retch, mimicking throwing up. Ivory laughs and shoves his arm slightly, telling him off. Once upon a time, Jake Melvin wouldn't dare call anyone his Cupcake or Muffin. . . That is until he met my best friend and had a daughter. 

I've been surrounded by bad parenting my entire life which completely threw me off having children. Now that I have two of my best friends to show me it isn't all doom and gloom, I couldn't be more excited to start my own family with the man I love. 

"Hey Sugar, fancy giving me some loving like that?" Tobias says, waggling his eyebrows as he walks towards me. I laugh and shake my head at him but my feet automatically move towards his outstretched arms. He wraps both arms loosely around my neck before pulling me into his chest. His hand disappears into my hair and I breathe in his warm scent, closing my eyes. 

"I love you." He whispers down my ear, his voice inviting goosebumps all over my body.

Trisha Louise Lockwood. 

A girl who's tired of having a bad reputation. A girl who decides to change despite her challenging home situation. A girl who thought she was unreadable until she met Tobias Melvin. 

She didn't know one person could change her entire life. 

She didn't know one person could save her from so many demons. 

He calls her SUGAR despite her life being anything but sweet.

"When something tastes bitter, what do you do? You add sugar because it sweetens it up perfectly and it tastes better." Tobias responds, his eyes flickering between my lips and eyes. I feel like my heart is going to burst through my chest and I simply nod back at him. 

"I strongly believe if you enter someone's life, you'll sweeten it up completely," Tobias whispers, his breathing becoming shallow. His eyes are fully trained on my lips now and I let my tongue flick out, wetting my bottom lip. 

I don't know if it's my imagination but I'm sure I hear an animal like growl come from his throat. . . 
                     
Only for a split second. 

"Do you need sugar in your life?" I whisper bravely, my voice trembling. He takes a few seconds to reply but his response has me quivering at the knees -

"You know I do."



"His name is Jason Monroe. He turns three next month." The adoption manager says, pushing a file towards Tobias and I. It's open and packed full of information, the papers thick and stacked on top of one another. In the corner is a small photograph of Jason and I automatically feel drawn to it. There's something about the sadness in his eyes that makes me want to take it away.
"What's his story?" Tobias says, quickly skimming over the page. There's a pause in the room and I glance up at her from under my lashes. She's sitting in her office chair with her back straight but her eyes diverted to the floor. She releases a heavy sigh before her eyes flicker back up to meet mine.
"It's a very long one. Jason came to us three months ago from his mothers house. We don't know where his biological father is despite getting in touch with him numerous times. There were suspicions that Jason was being... mistreated." She says, her eyes flashing with a mixed sadness and anger.
"What happened to him?" I ask softly, my heart hammering inside my chest. I can't seem to tear my eyes off the little picture attached to his file.
"He's had countless visits to A&E. Some for fractured bones, sprains, loss of consciousness. We suspect abuse but Jason won't talk to us, he won't talk to anyone. There's currently an investigation pending into the case but I'm afraid it may be going on for a while."
"Poor little man." Tobias says quietly beside me, his face set into a permanent frown.
"What is he like? His behaviour and personality?" I question, my throat drying out considerably. I can't begin to imagine what Jason has seen or experienced. A three year old boy who's been to the hospital more times than I ever have done in my entire lifetime... All at the hands of the people who were supposed to protect him.
"He's quiet, understandably. He doesn't socialize with any of the other kids. We try to get him involved but he always ends up in the corner of the room, on his own. He has frequent night terrors but they seem to be decreasing as time goes on. He's built a relationship with only one member of staff so he is difficult to emotionally connect with."
"Could we see more of him?" Tobias says beside me. The manager nods her head before her eyes flicker between both of us.
"It may be slightly overwhelming to take on someone like Jason. He's withdrawn, on edge most of the time and will need further help to process his trauma. Maybe you'd be interested in finding out about another child? Someone who doesn't have as many needs?"
Automatically Tobias and I look at each other. His brown eyes search mine for an answer and without saying anything, we've already made a decision.
"No, we'll stick to Jason for now."
"Hey Buddy, do you want to do some colouring?" Tobias says, walking over to Jason who's sat at the kids colouring table. Tobias shuffles through some pictures before choosing one and sitting next to Jason. I'm sat a few feet away, watching and observing as Tobias gets to know him further.
Jason keeps his head down, his hand firmly wrapped around his toy cowboy. Tobias pauses before reaching forward and grabbing some colouring pens.
"Do you want to help me colour in this picture?" Tobias asks Jason quietly, pushing the paper towards him. There's no response from Jason, no reaction, no interest, nothing.
I give Tobias a reassuring smile as he looks up at me, slight worry flickering through his eyes.
"It's a picture of a cowboy." Tobias says patiently, trying his best to connect with Jason on any sort of level. For the first time, we both watch as his head lifts with interest. It's the smallest movement but a step in the right direction.
"Cowboy?" Jason says quietly.
"Yeah buddy, it's a cowboy. Look at his hat and boots. Do you want to colour him in?" Tobias says, a smile lighting up his face. I lean back against my chair, a warm feeling settling inside my chest as I watch them both.
"Okay." Jason murmurs quietly, reaching forward in slow motion to carefully lift a coloured pen from the table. He moves with such caution, almost afraid that his actions will get him in trouble.
"Hmm. I think I'm going to colour his boots with the pink pen."
"No!" Jason gasps, looking up at Tobias. They both connect eyes for the first time and Tobias laughs-
"Why not?"
"Cowboys don't wear pink." Jason says, picking up a darker colour. He hands it to Tobias carefully, his small hands shaking slightly.
"Yes you're right. I completely forgot! Cowboys don't wear pink." Tobias says, taking it from him. The two boys sit and continue colouring in silence for the next ten minutes but those very few words spoken gives everyone in the room hope.
Jason may be quiet and withdrawn but underneath all that pain is a little boy desperate to be just that-
A little boy.
"Yay Ruby! Clap your hands!" I cheer, clapping my hands and bouncing her in my lap. She giggles and gurgles, her large eyes widening in excitement. Emily laughs at us over her shoulder before continuing on with finishing up the cake.
"Is it normal to celebrate a baby turning six months old?" She asks me, licking a small piece of frosting from the tip of her fingers. I nod and shrug my shoulders-
"Who says it  has  to be a full year before we're allowed to eat cake? You & Jake kept this baby alive for six whole months, it's a damn miracle." I laugh. Emily bursts out laughing, nodding her head in agreement.
"Every day with this eating, sleeping and pooping monster is hard."
"You're the best parents I know." I tell her seriously. She turns around, pausing for a moment in surprise.
"Thank you." She says softly, giving me a small smile. Her brown eyes flicker over to Ruby, a baby that couldn't look more like her.
"I never thought I'd be stood here right now, raising an  actual  human. If I could celebrate every single day with her, I would."
In that moment, Ruby senses her mothers love and holds out her arms, wanting to be held. Emily smiles and walks forward, her eyes lighting up with nothing but pure love for her child. She takes her from me and props her up on her hip before kissing her forehead.
"Hi honey," Emily murmurs, breathing in her scent. I smile at the sight in front of me, knowing my best friend was destined to be a Mum to the amazing Ruby. The kitchen door opens and Jake and Tobias walk in followed by Ivory.
"I have balloons!" Jake says excitedly, holding them up in the air. Written across them is a number 6 and I laugh, pointing at them.
"She's six months old Jake, not six years old."
"Nowhere sold six month old balloons, can you believe that?" Jake says unhappily. Emily walks up to him, standing on her tip toes before kissing him.
"The balloons are perfect." She says, a wide smile on her face. Jake's unhappy expression immediately vanishes and he scoops Ruby and Emily into a massive bear hug, crushing the pair of them.
"I love you my Muffin and Cupcake."
Behind him, Tobias begins to retch, mimicking throwing up. Ivory laughs and shoves his arm slightly, telling him off. Once upon a time, Jake Melvin wouldn't dare call anyone his Cupcake or Muffin... That is until he met my best friend and had a daughter.
I've been surrounded by bad parenting my entire life which completely threw me off having children. Now that I have two of my best friends to show me it isn't all doom and gloom, I couldn't be more excited to start my own family with the man I love.
"Hey Sugar, fancy giving me some loving like that?" Tobias says, waggling his eyebrows as he walks towards me. I laugh and shake my head at him but my feet automatically move towards his outstretched arms. He wraps both arms loosely around my neck before pulling me into his chest. His hand disappears into my hair and I breathe in his warm scent, closing my eyes.
"I love you." He whispers down my ear, his voice inviting goosebumps all over my body.



Trisha Louise Lockwood. 
A girl who's tired of having a bad reputation. A girl who decides to change despite her challenging home situation. A girl who thought she was unreadable until she met Tobias Melvin. 
She didn't know one person could change her entire life.
She didn't know one person could save her from so many demons.
He calls her SUGAR despite her life being anything but sweet.

I was so busy with Luna Marche, that I didn't realise I had become a bit of a legend. A noble lady who followed her brother to war, then had a seat in meetings and decided the outcome of diplomatic relations, then started a business that empowered and provided women with beautiful products never seen before, and also protected women by giving them a place to stay. However, some things never change. 

I held my head as I read the Ling Clan's latest letter to me. They requested for some products – that was fine. They in addition requested I say good things to Lu Qing Yu for Ling Wan... that was not possible. She made her own bed and now she had to lie in it. I wrote a brief reply, tossed it to the servant, then went back to my mixture. Every now and then, I tasted a little and scribbled some things down. "Young miss, what are you making?" I explained food flavouring to them. They were amazed but also sceptical. Well, it was natural to be amazed. I had already successfully created food colouring. "I'm almost done. Let's go to the kitchen to test it out." 

I had instructed the kitchen staff to not enter the kitchen while we 3 tried out something new. I asked them to simply create the dough for a simple, plain pastry, then added a reasonable amount of both flavouring (blueberry) and colouring. They watched as the dough became a beautiful violet. When it was finally done, it looked like something out of this world. Food colouring wasn't used to deceive people but to make the food look more beautiful. We could simply make blueberry pastries, but adding the colouring would make it a more vibrant and rich violet. They tried it out. "Young miss, will you sell this product?" "This is genius!" 

"Not yet." I smiled. "I'll have to test it first." Since I only had the prototypes, more time was needed to create a decent batch of products and get the vials. Since we already served pastries everywhere, this would be a good chance to create some hype. I visited all the Luna Marche kitchens. The kitchen for the employee teahouses, the kitchen for the noble teahouse... and gave them the containers, briefed them on what it was, then demonstrated. I told them to incorporate it in all the pastries by the next day. No one had any complaints about it. I wasn't asking them to create something new, but to simply mix in a bit more of this. It was very fun to see it change into something ethereal.  

//Hui Fei, daughter of Minister Fei looked forward to receiving the beautiful basket from Luna Marche every month. It was like receiving a free treasure (it wasn't free, just a free sample). She looked forward to seeing what would come up next. Since she signed up, she felt she lived an easier and more luxurious life. She didn't have to worry too much about her monthly cycle... she got beautiful and scented bath time... she also looked more beautiful and radiant. This time though, the basket contained something completely unexpected. 

There weren't any beautiful glass or porcelain bottles. It was a bundle of pastries and a box of tea. Since when did Luna Marche make food? No, it couldn't be that simple. Not only that, the basket was filled with matching blue roses. Roses weren't blue! Her maid went away with the basket and came back with a plate and a pot of tea. She gasped. The plate was filled with delicate looking pastries of different colours. Some were bold, some were a soft pastel. "And what is this tea?" she asked. "Honey flower tea." She stared as the honey tea came out a beautiful pink. She sniffed the tea suspiciously, then took a sip. It tasted different, somehow. More magical? What was in this tea? And why did the pastries taste different too? Her maid handed her the catalogue.  

There was a large picture followed by a section called Celestial Colours (food colouring) which was a magical liquid. If you added a few drops into your food or drink, it would have beauty preserving properties and change colour. You could also add it into your plant water and get different coloured plants (as long as it was white or a light colour). You could choose whatever colour you wanted. Another section was called Celestial Nectar (food flavouring). If you added a few drops into your food or drink, it would magically take on the flavour of whatever bottle you chose. Convenient to even bring when travelling, bringing an end to tasteless and dull looking food. Hui Fei immediately filled in the order form, ordering a large stock. Wait till it arrived. Father would love it. 

//After taking over the women's industry, Luna Marche went on to cause a stir in the food industry and gardening industry. I had to handle multiple letters from competitors and trade unions every day. Most of them went in the trash. However, due to this new product, I realised there might be a demand. Anticipating this, Luna Marche's Confectionary Department was born. The Luna Marche Confectionary Department didn't operate out of the office building in Yue district. Instead, I had spent quite a lot of money and effort buying over the shop next to the flagship building, and refurbished it to contain 6 floors.  

3 floors would be a confectionary shop – chocolate, pastries, sweets, candies, tea, sweet beverages, desserts – strictly take away only. Because it was just refurbishing, it was very quickly done up. What took the longest was installing the kitchen equipment. The 4th and 5th floor would be the kitchens, and the 6th floor was a lounge and open work space. The confectionary department had the very important job of innovating and creating beautiful, unique and cute confectionaries using Celestial Colours and Celestial Nectar. They would be packaged beautifully and put in the shop to sell, and we also accepted catering or event orders, by appointment only. It would also produce limited edition items such as flavoured ice in the summer and sweet beverages in the winter.  

Fei Yan and I had spent a lot of effort to hire and interview experienced dessert chefs, as well as trained existing chefs to come over to operate the shop. Due to the tendency for nobles to have large orders, there were 40 chefs in the 2 kitchens at any one time. Fortunately, the kitchens were large and spacious. I ensured extra windows and ventilation to be installed on the 4th and 5th floor so that it wouldn't get too hot.  

Once one went into the Luna Marche Confectionary, one would be met with a wonderful. All sorts of exquisite, beautiful confectionery, packaged in a refined and elegant way, on top of shelves that themselves looked like chocolate or sweets. Instalments of large desserts that were human sized were positioned throughout the store. The floor and ceiling were a pastel colour, with colourful sprinkle designs. Cooled desserts sat on beds of coloured ice and coloured flowers of plants adorned every corner.  

This was the brainchild of the confectionary department as well as my very specific instructions to the construction staff. I had designed and drawn candies from the 21st century, intending to recreate a candy store or candy land. In this era were candy stores were marble or wood tiled and manned by old men, a candy store that looked as if you were in a wonderland that jumped at you, served by beautiful and young girls in candy-esque uniforms was marketing at its finest. And there were 3 floors of this! I had also given the confectionary department a stack of recipes for candies they probably hadn't heard of before – wafer bars, tater tots, hundreds and thousands, liquorice, lollipops, candied apples, meringue, cookies, egglets, waffles, layered cake, rainbow cake, no-bake cheesecake, brownies, muffins, fudge, pancakes, icing, sugar decorations, crème brulee, gummies, chocolate, but the favourite had to be cotton candy. 

I was only able to introduce cotton candy after having commissioned a machine (which had to be hand pulled). These ingredients were not commonly found in Yuan An and I expended a lot of connections to get a regular supply of them. This meant sitting in many boring dinners and having tea with merchants and whoever had their hand on, say, yeast or cocoa. I also tried to suggest some European sweets and cakes, as well as Japanese mochi and desserts. The standard of cake here was shocking. Thankfully, cake was very easy to make. Although I wasn't an expert, the chefs were and were able to improve my version by leaps and bounds. Until the store opened, everyone in Luna Marche went home with heaps of cake and candy since the chefs had to practice.  

The waiting list was 6 months long. At every event, everyone wanted Luna Marche catering. I had no intentions to expand the kitchens. Making catering hard to get meant more demand. I spent quite a lot of time admiring my taels. Every month, I got 40 000 taels as a second rank official and 18 000 as a noble concubine. However, I was easily making (in profit) 500 000 taels a month from Luna Marche, an astronomical number, and still managing to pay my employees high fees, fund workshops and dorms, and maintain the many buildings and equipment, as well as pay them bonuses. 

The reason could be boiled down to how wasteful the nobles were with their money. That, and seeing something they never had before, as well as how others all had it and made a point to keep up with the latest trends, made them spend as well. Not only that, it was very accessible to purchase products. Every month they got a basket of free goodies, a catalogue and an order form. After trying it out, they could order a whole bunch, or order a set amount every month. If they came to the flagship store to browse and gossip with other noble ladies, the nail salon was on the right and the confectionery was on the left. Usually, noble ladies would send their servants to purchase things for them, but everyone wanted to experience the candy wonderland. As such, sales skyrocketed. Many competitors attempted to imitate Luna Marche to no avail.  

Luna Marche now no longer targeted just noble ladies, though that was the main target group. Luna Marche sold low-end nail polish and low-end "pads" to commoners, and men also had a sweet tooth. The sweets would be shared with the entire household, and since nobles were used to asking for more whenever they wanted, and their chefs could not replicate the numerous (and complex) confectionery, they had no choice but to order a huge batch. The confectionery stores usually closed within 2 hours due to how fast it sold out. Even if it was at high prices and in small portions, no one cared.

An independent career woman in the 21st century is suddenly drowned in a yacht accident and transmigrates to the fictional Yuan An dynasty, finding herself in the body of an unloved concubine!

How can a proud, can-do career woman, who has traveled the world and dabbled in everything she can find her hands on agree to sit obediently in the palace, passing her days as a flower vase?

Join Ling Yue as she creates havoc in Yuan An!

Notes: Events in the storyline may be influenced by historical events/relations and are in no way meant to admonish any groups! Since this novel is set in ancient times, the society and expectations back then is much different from what we are used to in the 21st century.

Cover: Zhaojun Departs the Frontier by dinglaura (please support her on Deviantart!)

Dinner was made by Mom today since  Dad had this kind of promotion that I barely understood as a kid back then. I knew he would be going home a little late again. Little me, having bed hair and still in my pjs was drawing something for Dad when he comes home. Just a simple stick-man drawing of him, me and mom congratulating him. I still remember how I spelled the word "Congratulations" as 'Congrachulassons!' Mom was busy making spaghetti thats why I never got to ask her what was the correct spelling of the said word. I was swinging my short stubby legs as I was sitting so highly in those stool chairs and colouring my drawing using my crayons that I got from aunt Sherry. She's nice and always gives me cool presents in special holidays. I was finally done colouring all the stick-man's pants and dress and the only thing missing was the classic grass lands and a nature background. I tried to find my green crayon but with all the splayed and crayons a mess, for sure it already rolled fell from the counter and I didn't notice it. I slowly went down off the high stool and crawled to see if it was under any tables. Its long gone rolled off somewhere now. I got on all fours and looked under the sofa if it was there. My green crayola was there alright. I tried grabbing for it but my arms were too short for it. I stood up again and the TV was playing some news that there was a new killer on the killing spree. But the rates were too high for it to be just one human only. Like a group, maybe. But I didn't bother pitching in any longer, I was a child back then and couldn't understand anything on the TV if it wasn't about Fluffee. It was my favourite kid's show back then. I stumbled my way around to grandpa's cane that was given to dad the last time they met. I took it and went back to the same spot I was in close under the sofa. I went on all fours again and use the rickety crane to actually be able to get my green crayon. I scraped it for a few seconds until it finally came rolling outside. I smiled to myself so proudly, getting something out of my reach without Mommy's help. Oh Daddy would too, be proud. I would tell him, once he comes home that is. I held the green crayon with my left hand and went back to put grandpa's cane where I got it from. I got back from my high seated stool and went back in colouring my art piece. I coloured with the Im-drawing-using-my-whole-hand manner. God, I was so young back then. What happened now?



I took seated on my office desk. I was tired and numb living my life out seating in this office desk just for the salary. Its like being a slave but with more modernized steps. With more modernized steps I mean, wherein its agreeable to be a slave for the paper since people actually need it. So somehow we're all agreeing but suffering at the same time. Its like that one word people use- what was it? Ironic. Yeah that one. I've been so gone to the point wherein where I work, the real me is not there anymore. Its just gone automatic to work and live. I'm not the one who's controlling my body anymore, its just something else. A good force, maybe? The holy spirit? Oh god- Don't put religious things in this- We're having an existensial crisis and you put something fictional in this? It's not that its fictional or anything- I dunno, maybe I'm just an atheist? I still pray or whatever- I don't know why I still do that. My dead eyes glued to the screen filled with numbers piling up, and with my fingers typing the commands away. This is not me anymore, help. This is not me anymore, help. This is not me anymore, help. THIS IS NOT ME ANYMORE HELP. THIS IS NOT ME ANYMORE HELL THIS IS NOT ME ANYMORE HELP THIS IS NOT ME ANYMORE HELP- I snap back to living and realizing that I wasn't typing the correct things anymore. I quickly deleted everything I've typed so mysteriosuly and shook my head to wake my brain up. My eyes were starting to ache like hell and like what humans do, I blinked my eyes open and shut repeteadly and fondled them carefully to also wake up my eyes. Is it me, or are they starting to be blurry? Jeez, I need to have my eyes check just because of this computer work? I rubbed my two fingers in the bridge of my nose to repress the migraine that keeps nudging on. Blinked one more time to get my eyes to work again. I sighed, and stretched my sore arms with my back cracking, I stood up to get some coffee and decided that the extra leg work could do the job.

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