⛥Happily Ever After⛥ Darkiplier x Reader

« 🎕 » Prologue

Everything had settled into a calm routine as of late; it seemed like things were finally returning to normal. Well, as "normal" as things could be.

The castle had been patched up and no remnants of battle remained. It had taken a while to be fixed since Dark insisted that Die shouldn't use his daegicae to repair everything after such a turbulent run of events, and despite his reluctance, Die knew he was right. Everyone was depleted of energy and could barely stand as of present, and it would be no good if Die were to meet death from overexertion of his daegicae again.

Once (Y/n) had been healed enough, to the point where she could just stand, Blank's burial had taken place. It was simple, nothing special. Just Anti, Dark and Die accompanied by (Y/n). She had held Dark's hand comfortingly at first but had ended up moving to console Anti who was attempting to put on a brave face for the occasion, on the verge of failing miserably.

Blank had been buried in a forest clearing that was relatively close to the castle but still secluded enough to not be stumbled upon by any outsiders.

That following evening had been spent with Die retelling stories of the Blank they used to know, Anti sitting quietly and nodding his head every once and a while and Dark chiming in every few minutes or so to add details that Die had apparently missed. (Y/n) had sat with Anti for most of it until he'd taken his leave for the night.

(Y/n) observed that it had taken Anti the longest to come to terms with Blank's death. Quite peculiar, she had told herself, as Anti had seemed the most adamant in his hate for Blank.

(Y/n) then realised that Anti didn't hate Blank the most; he had simply been hit the hardest by his betrayal of friendship, just as he had now been hit the hardest by Blank's death.

She had felt bad for him, though there wasn't much more she could have done, and was relieved when he finally started acting like his old self again. Die and Dark had seemed just as relieved.

It had been not long after Blank's burial that (Y/n) had decided to reveal her real name to those closest to her; though Dark already knew, he and Die were both surprised to hear that Anti had managed to keep such a secret for so long. Anti was obviously quite smug in the fact that he was the first to know, not that it had been intended at all.

Eventually Reef, Brandy and Trevor had received enough of Die's letters to decide that perhaps they should go to the castle to visit Flare, and that maybe it wasn't all an elaborate trap set up to capture them. James had also been extended this offer though he reluctantly turned it down, needing to stay with the rebellion during such an unsettling time.

Brandy had been especially glad to see (Y/n), fussing over her injuries and insisting that she be carted back to the rebellion for immediate further care. (Y/n), With Trevor and Reef's help, gently explained that she was in much better care at the castle with healers that were much more skilled than any of the rebellion's medics or nurses.

It was during one of these visits that (Y/n) revealed her real name to the group, deathly afraid that they would think poorly of her for keeping such a secret from them this whole time. They had seemed quite shocked at first, though Reef was quick to make a joke out of the situation.

"I knew it," he had exclaimed, "Flare was such a stupid name, I'm glad your parents didn't actually name you that."

They'd all laughed and (Y/n) was relieved at their collective acceptance.

Through the group's regular "check-ups" (Y/n) had learnt about the rebellion's inner turmoil and decision to cast a leadership vote. Apparently after the events of "The Overturn", what people were now referring to Blank's brief takeover and the events surrounding it as, much of the rebellion's members had argued that James had far too little of a role within the rebellion as "The General" seeing his clear commitment to the cause. In turn, the collective distaste for The Board grew as well.

To everyone's relief, the vote had won in James' favour, meaning that The Board would be taking a backseat and that James would be calling the shots from now on. They all agreed that this should have happened long ago and were glad that James was finally receiving the recognition he deserved.

While the small group of rebels were in the castle Dark tried to make himself as scarce as possible, already aware of how much they all must have despised him. There had been the off occasion when they had shown up unannounced and Dark had needed to make a quick getaway from (Y/n)'s side, which she protested quite often, insisting that she could convince them that he'd changed for the better. Sooner or later she wanted to tell them about her relationship with Dark; to tell Brandy, at the very least. She owed at least that much to her friend.

Dark had also set 'free' every maid and servant under the command of the castle, though some had voluntarily stayed to his surprise; all to aid (Y/n) as a commander for the rebellion, as well as because for some of them the castle was all they'd ever known; no life was waiting for them outside its walls, though now they were allowed to come and go as they pleased and were treated with vastly more respect. Dark had even taken to paying all staff present at the castle.

Dark had also been visiting (Y/n) quite a lot, especially since she was still confined to her room for the most part while she healed. He would say that his visits were purely to check up on her and ensure that she was staying put, but (Y/n) knew that was just Dark's odd way of expressing his concern and affection for her.

They talked often, not that there was much more (Y/n) could do in her condition, and the two gradually began to learn more about each other.

(Y/n) learned that Dark was especially gifted at 'somnicae', a form of daegicae surrounding the mind and the dreamscape, and she had told him all about her friends and her time at the rebellion.

There was something else that they did to pass the time in each other's company, and it involved Dark reading aloud some kind of book to (Y/n), who always listened intently. Dark had also made an effort to source more books written in English for the castle's library, bringing one to (Y/n)'s room every once and a while to present it to her- only to inevitably end up reading it to her as he sat beside her on the bed.

Though he'd never admit it, Dark had fallen asleep on more than one occasion while reading to her. (Y/n) never minded, usually falling asleep alongside him, and she always woke up to see that Dark had disappeared and that the book they'd been reading had been left on the bedside table.

Before long (Y/n) was completely healed, and found herself spending lots of time around the castle. She would train regularly and spar with Anti, she'd keenly watch as Die brewed some new and odd potion, and she'd even spend time with Felix and Mark every once and a while (which was usually dependent on whether or not Dark was willing to give up control for the better half of a day). Speaking of which, it seemed as though Dark and Mark were getting along much better than before. They still had their moments, but generally speaking there had been a major improvement.

(Y/n) became accustomed to the changes in her life rather quickly, grateful for them and embracing them at every turn.

And that would now lead us to the present day, a little over a year since The Overturn.

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[an;

Hello!!!! :] I decided I would end up posting the prologue, despite how short it is, even just to get this story published to my profile while I write the rest

I'm hoping to finish chapter one soon!! >:)