Under The Mountain - Blog Posts

No, cause one of my favorite parts from ACOTAR is when Feyre is UTM and she meets Amarantha for the first time and is like “she’s not as pretty as I thought she’d be”

Can't stop won't stop reading ACOTAR at work.

In The Middle Of The Night (Short)

Pairing: Rhys x singer!reader (f).  Summary: Rhys and reader are roommates and he has nightmares. Warnings: None. Word count: 424 A/N: Just in case you were wondering (you weren’t), the song I envision the reader singing is All Too Well by Taylor Swift (the 10 min version, obvi), but feel free to choose something else if that’s not you.

***

The nightmares didn’t stop. I had them every night without fail. I thought they’d get better with time, but it almost felt like they were getting worse.

I would always find myself awake multiple times a night. Sometimes, I’d pace around my room or fly around the city to clear my mind. Sometimes, I’d just go downstairs for some water.

On one of those nights, I happened to find (Y/N) asleep on the couch, surrounded by books. Her hair was in a messy braid and she was still in her day clothes. Her lips were slightly parted and her breaths were even. She looked so peaceful; beautiful. 

I gently took the half-closed book from her hands and marked her page, placing it on the coffee table. I pulled the throw blanket off the back of the couch and covered her with it before going back upstairs. All thoughts of my previous nightmare had been replaced with (Y/N)’s angelic, sleeping face.

***

About a month later, I had a particularly bad nightmare. I found myself outside (Y/N)'s bedroom door, as I did every night occasionally to listen for her even breaths through the door and make sure she was okay.

Tonight, however, I heard nothing.

Not a single sound; no breaths. I ran a hand through my hair, pacing up and down the hallway and wondering whether or not I should go in. If she’s awake, she’ll think I’m creepy for coming into her room in the middle of the night, I thought. As I paced above the staircase, I heard… music playing very softly. It was really quiet, obviously magically muffled so not to disturb. It wasn’t coming from a tv or a radio; someone was playing the piano downstairs and singing.

Singing. The sound was so melodic; the most beautiful voice I’d ever heard in my existence. I sat down on the top step and leaned against the wall. I’d never heard the song before. It was sad, but it was so beautiful and poetic and I wished I could remember all the words.

My mind became hazy and my eyes grew heavy. I told myself I’d only close them until she finished her song, and then I’d go back into my room and rest.

For the first time since Under the Mountain, I fell into a dreamless sleep. The next thing I knew, it was morning and my neck hurt. I awoke in the same spot, sitting on the top stair.

With the throw blanket draped around me.

“Can You... Hold Me?”

Pairing: Rhys x f!reader Summary: Reader is a prisoner UtM and asks Rhys to cuddle her in a moment of weakness. He comes to a shocking realization. Warnings: None (literally just fluff). Word count: 487. A/N: This is literally so short, I’m sorry, rip.

***

“Rhys?” Her voice shook a little and my heart broke for her. I turned back to her. I will never forget the look on her face… pure, unadulterated fear. She paused, but eventually asked, “Can you… hold me?”

“Yes,” I breathed without a second thought. She made room for me and I climbed into her tiny cot, wrapping my arms around her as she nuzzled into me.

I would do anything to help her feel less scared and less alone, but I’d be lying if I said I had nothing to gain from this. Sure, I was used to being physically used by Amarantha, but I hadn’t had this kind of innocent intimacy since long before Under the Mountain. It felt… good.

Too good.

Her head rested between my neck and my shoulder. I held her close to me, gently rubbing her back as her body calmed. I didn’t expect her to fall asleep right away, and she didn’t. In fact, she practically clung to me and stared at the wall for at least an hour, thinking. I wasn’t sure if talking would help, so I just kept quiet and decided to wait for her to come to me. She didn’t, though. She stayed quiet. Staring. Drowning in thought. 

It took a long while, but eventually, I began to feel all the tension in her body begin to ease. Her eyes fluttered closed and her breaths were even.

But I couldn’t bring myself to leave.

I realized that I wanted to stay like this forever. Holding her, rubbing her back, playing with her hair. Just watching her sleep.

I hadn’t felt anything in my heart for decades. I’d often wondered if it had simply gone dormant or if the ability to love was yet another thing that Amarantha had taken from me. But I felt something then, like a firework in my chest, exploding into brilliant colors of light and happiness.

I knew then that I loved (Y/N). 

It startled me and I quickly cast the thought out of my head, far far away. I was too afraid to even think something like that in this place. Should Amarantha find out, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill (Y/N), not just out of jealousy, but also to spite me; just to show me that she could. Another show of the power she held over me… over all of us.  

I couldn’t love her; that would only complicate things and put her in danger. So I swallowed the feelings; buried them deep down and tried to explain them away.

She’s the first girl who’s touched you like this in a long time, I told myself, and you're just clinging to her because of it. You don’t actually like her; you just need to feel loved and appreciated. Yeah, that must be it.

That must be why I just laid there for hours and hours and watched her breathe.