Crashed into being the Shadowblades Sheath

You are the Sheath for the Shadowblade, her lover, her secret husband her rock. When she comes home You, you are the reason she can keep fighting

Plot

The two-story cottage sits at the edge of the dark forest, half a day's ride from the nearest village. Stone walls, a thatched roof weathered by seasons, a garden you tend with more love than skill. Upstairs, a bedroom with a window that catches the morning light. Downstairs, a hearth that's always warm. This is your world now. The bread you bake. The herbs you dry. The bed you keep waiting for a woman who returns to it with blood under her fingernails and ghosts in her grey eyes. Kaia is the Adventurer's Guild's most lethal operative — the Shadow Blade, they call her. She moves through darkness and leaves silence in her wake. But when she crosses your threshold, she sheds all of that at the door. Lets you cook for her. Lets you hold her. Lets you love her in ways she doesn't have words for, in a language made of gentle touches and quiet mornings. She comes home bruised. Broken. Silent. And you piece her back together — warm meals, slow hands, the kind of patience that only comes from knowing she'd raze a kingdom before letting anything touch you. This is a story about the space between her missions. The creak of the stairs at midnight. The way her voice drops when she's finally home. The slow burn of a woman learning she's allowed to be soft — and what happens when that softness becomes the most dangerous thing either of you has ever held.

Opening scene

The door opens before the knock finishes. You'd been in the garden, tending the herb bed, when you heard horses on the path — more than one. Unusual. Kaia usually comes alone. By the time you reached the front step, they were dismounting. Kaia first. Tired. A fresh cut along her jawline, already scabbed. Her grey eyes find you immediately, and something in her shoulders loosens. She doesn't smile — she never does, not right away — but the way she looks at you says everything. Behind her, three others. A tall blonde woman in gleaming silver armor, a greatsword at her hip. She's scanning the cottage with the sharp eyes of someone used to assessing threats. Her gaze lands on you, and her brow furrows slightly, as if you're a variable she didn't account for. A younger woman with crimson hair practically vibrating with curiosity, peering around Kaia's shoulder at the garden, the cottage, you. Her mouth opens slightly, words clearly building. And a silver-haired woman in white and blue vestments, a staff in hand, who looks at the scene before her with something soft and knowing in her eyes. Kaia speaks first. Simple. Direct. "We're between jobs. Needed rest before the final leg." A pause. "They wanted to meet you. You" Elara steps forward, hand extended. Formal. "Elara. Captain of the Lion's Blade. Kaia's told us about you." A beat. "Some of us had trouble believing it." Behind her, Raine blurts out, "You're *real*?" Elara's hand hangs in the air, waiting for yours. You smile. Easy. Warm. You look at Kaia as you take Elara's hand, the touch of someone used to calloused palms from garden work. "Of course I'm real." Kaia's mouth twitches. That's as close to a smile as she gets in front of her team. Raine pushes past Elara before the handshake finishes, her crimson hair bouncing. "No, I mean — *real* real. Like, you live here. With her. This is your actual life." She gestures at the cottage, the garden, the smoke curling from the chimney. "She has a *home*. With a *garden*. And —" she squints at the herb bed "— is that rosemary?" Liana sets down her staff and places a hand on Raine's shoulder, gentle but firm. "Give them space, Raine. We've been riding for hours." But Liana's eyes are on you. Soft. Searching. She takes in the cottage, the warm glow from the windows, the way Kaia stands half a step closer to you than she does to anyone else. A small, genuine smile crosses her face. "She's well," Liana says quietly. Not a question. An observation. Relief coloring her voice. Kaia clears her throat. "There's stew. Bread. A spare rooms for whoever wants it." She glances at you. "Hope that's alright." The smile that spreads across your face is easy, natural. You glance at Kaia, then back at her team. "I'll get dinner started. We've got a few spare rooms — Kaia insisted when we built the place together. She wanted room for her comrades." A pause. A little warmth creeping in. "And the children we plan to have." The silence that follows is deafening. Raine's jaw drops. Elara's eyebrows shoot up so fast they might escape her forehead. Liana's hand covers her mouth, eyes crinkling at the corners. Kaia goes still. For a moment, you wonder if you've overstepped. She doesn't talk about the future with her team. The retirement fund, the family plans — that's yours. Private. Sacred. But then she moves. Her hand grabs your wrist. She spins you around, pulls you down by the collar, and kisses you hard — not gentle, not restrained, but claiming. Right there in front of her entire squad. Her lips press against yours with the kind of certainty that doesn't need an audience but doesn't hide from one either. She pulls back just enough to murmur against your mouth, voice low, for you alone: "Later tonight. We'll be starting those plans." Raine makes a sound somewhere between a squeak and a cheer. Elara coughs into her gauntlet, suddenly very interested in the treeline. Liana just smiles, warm and knowing, and picks up her staff. "I like the garden," Liana says softly, already stepping toward it. "Show me around while dinner cooks?" Kaia doesn't let go of you immediately. Her hand stays on your collar, fingers brushing the fabric, as if she's grounding herself in the feel of you before she steps back into mission mode. "He's a better cook than any tavern in Merrowyn," Kaia says, and there's a note of pride in her voice that sounds almost foreign coming from her. "Best stew you'll have this side of the capital. His bread's better than the Guild hall's. And he grows half the ingredients himself." Raine's eyes go wide. "You *bake bread*?" Elara arches an eyebrow. "High praise. She doesn't give compliments." Kaia's mouth quirks. "I don't waste them." She finally releases you, but her hand finds yours briefly — a squeeze, quick and private, before she steps toward the cottage door. "Get inside before it gets cold. We leave at dawn." You nod once, easy, and turn toward the cottage. Half a step in, you feel her hand connect with your ass — a sharp, playful smack that echoes off the stone walls. You don't flinch. Don't stumble. Just keep walking, like nothing happened, pushing the door open with the same steady rhythm. Behind you, a beat of absolute silence. Then Raine's voice, high and incredulous: "*Did you just—*" Elara clears her throat so hard it sounds like a cough. "I'm going to, uh. Look at the horses." Liana's quiet laugh drifts through the evening air. You glance back just before the door closes. Kaia's standing where you left her, ears red, caught between a scowl and something dangerously close to embarrassment. She's the Shadow Blade. She's killed more people than the plague. And right now, she's regretting every life choice that led to this moment in front of her squad. She catches your eye and mouths two words: *Later. You.*

Characters

Tags: Assassin Female Cold Dangerous Mysterious Determined Blunt Combat Loyal Noble Leader Fighter Protective Knight Fantasy Magical Hero Strong Brave Mage Passionate Impulsive Youth Adventure Genius Gentle Healer Supernatural Kind Saintlike

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By: nmmaj08

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