**A Blue Beard retelling** Based on Charles Perrault's fairytale, this YA Historical Fantasy short story set in Victorian England mixes romance, magic and mystery. After agreeing to an arranged marriage to escape her greedy relatives, 18-year-old heiress Amelia moves into her husband's manor determined to start a new life. But the gothic mansion's forbidding surroundings, the servants' strange demeanour and her husband's mysterious past soon awaken her suspicions. If Amelia truly wants to become the lady of the house, she'll have to discover what secrets lie beyond closed doors and unravel the mystery of the old house's forbidden room. But sometimes secrets are kept for a good reason... HIGHEST RANKING IN HISTORICAL FICTION # 44 Copyright © 2017. All works posted here are the property of EM Castellan. Please do not use without permission. Any duplication or reproduction of all or part of the work without explicit permission by the author is illegal. Cover artist: @seventhstar

Starting a new school is hard; starting at a school for vampires when you're the daughter of an infamous vampire hunting family? That might just turn deadly. When seventeen-year-old Cleo Levant is sent to an all-vampire academy as part of a treaty between humans and vampires, she hopes that she can be the steward of a new era of peace. But in between classes, assassination attempts, and a dangerously handsome vampire prince, she begins to realize she might be more of a pawn than she'd thought. When she is secretly tasked by her father to find the vampire royal family's hidden heir within the academy's walls, Cleo will have to decide between family loyalty, and new friendships with the people who used to be her mortal enemies. And with a vampire-human war just waiting to break out, Cleo's decisions might just change the fate of both of her worlds forever.

When an Imperial Decree demands that every noble household send their eligible daughters to the palace for the Xuancai (Imperial Selection), the Nangong Marquisate faces a dilemma. To protect their favored daughter from the risks of the inner court, they send Ning Xiang-the ignored, illegitimate daughter born of a lowly maid-alongside her legitimate sister, Nangong Bi. Bi is arrogant, haughty, and convinced she is destined to be the next Empress. Ning Xiang, however, enters the palace with only one goal: to survive long enough to eventually earn her freedom and find her mother. The young Emperor Li Zhao is a man of sharp intellect and deep isolation. Haunted by the fact that he has no heirs, he is surrounded by women who view his lap only as a stepping stone for their families. At the center of the web is Empress Xiao, a woman whose elegance masks a ruthless, calculating mind. She maintains her power by ensuring no consort stays in favor long enough to threaten her position. Beside her are the "Four Consorts," each more insidious than the last, turning the harem into a battlefield where a single wrong word can lead to execution. From the cold chambers of a Cairen to the silk-lined halls of the Huang Guifei (Imperial Noble Consort), Ning Xiang transforms. She sheds her innocence, learning that in the Daming Palace, one must either be the predator or the prey. As she stands one step away from the Empress's throne, she must decide if the power she has gained is worth the soul she has traded for it-and whether she can finally protect the empire from the schemes that threaten to burn it down. "In this garden of peonies, only the one with the sharpest thorns survives the winter."

Tessa's perfect world shatters in a single night. What was meant to be a sweet birthday surprise for her boyfriend turns into a nightmare when she catches him in bed with her best friend. Broken, humiliated, and alone, she wanders the dark streets-until fate intervenes and saves her from the edge. But Tessa isn't the same girl anymore. When she crosses paths with Junxie, a powerful and mysterious billionaire, her life takes an unexpected turn. He opens a door to a new world-one of power, opportunity, and influence. With her heart still scarred, Tessa decides she won't remain the victim. She'll rise, rebuild herself, and make those who betrayed her regret ever underestimating her. What begins as a journey of healing soon turns into a story of revenge, transformation, and unexpected love. But in this new game of power, trust is dangerous... and love could become her greatest weapon.

He was her most dangerous patient. She became his only cure. She was brilliant. Untouchable. Until one wrong turn placed her in the crosshairs of a man who doesn't forgive... and never forgets. He should've killed her. Instead, he offered a deal-cure the incurable, and she might just walk free. But as forced proximity turns to slow obsession, and guarded hearts begin to unravel, she realizes the real threat isn't his condition... It's what he makes her feel. And the closer she gets to saving his life, the more she risks losing her own.

Inspired by the Manga Chouka Kou. Fate and destiny have always been cruel to Liu Rin, a noble princess who seeks revenge on her uncle, the Emperor of the Eastern Empire after he assassinated her family. Raised as both the adopted mysterious granddaughter of a great commander and leading strategist for her group of loyal soldiers, Rin's fate is set stone. That is until she falls into the hands of a blood-thirsty and brutal Commander, enemy of all four empires. Rin sets on a new path filled with heartbreak, tragedy, trust and romance. Where will this river of unknown faith leader her? WARNING. Viewer discretion advised: This story may contain mature content. Violence, strong language, and sexual content.

When Raven Night was alive she had, since the age of three, been trained into a deadly killer and by the age of 25 her prowess had become legend; she was beyond a shadow of a doubt the most deadly assassin the world had even seen. They called her 'the night songstress' and every man and women in power feared to one day hear her 'singing' - it would be the last thing they would ever hear. But at that time young miss Night was sent on a mission she refused to complete and as a consequence she was hunted down and killed. As darkness takes her she cannot help but feel resent - would her countless slaughters on other peoples command be her only legacies!? To her surprise the darkness fades and she finds her self reborn in a world of magic and martial arts. Perhaps this time around she will create a better legend for herself? - - - Chapters are usually released faster at snowy.pub - - -

Utsunomiya Asagiri has already lived through the kind of backstory that screams "main character." After being swept through countless anime and manga worlds, he grows up in Tokyo into a handsome, perfectly average protagonist template: dead parents, no relatives, and a household registry with only one name on it. His own. Just when he's ready to finally enjoy a quiet, normal life, reality pulls the rug out from under him. He's dragged into a reincarnation game similar to the so called Main God Space where every mistake can cost you your life. And in the same hospital ward where players first awaken, he meets another new recruit: Yuuki Asuna, a freshman who entered Shuchiin in the same year as him. Bad news: this game is brutal, and death is permanent. Good news: the rewards are insane and Asagiri genuinely enjoys the challenge. A born reincarnation gamer and Shuchiin's rumored "Demon King," Asagiri forms the strongest strategy squad and makes his entrance under his infamous mask and codename: Leader. Unruly, sharp tongued, and absurdly competent, he treats lethal dungeons like a playground and everyone else like supporting characters who need better teamwork. Initial teammates: Yuuki Asuna (Sword Art Online) Iwanaga Kotoko (In Spectre) Kato Megumi (Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend)

Synopsis: Xu Ming knew that he should be dead but he suddenly found himself in a woman's body once he woke up. On top of that, it was a married woman. Fortunately for him, the relationship between them was not good so his new life was not that bad. A certain husband coldly said, "Don't interfere with my life." A certain wife indifferently answered, "Okay." Therefore, a certain wife thought that it would be easy to get a divorce. After some time has passed. A certain husband affectionately said, "Let's have more children." A certain wife said icily, "Stop interfering with my life." Xu Ming who used to be a gang leader refuses to be a certain man's wife while also giving birth to his children. A gender-bender love story mostly talking about the husband trying hard to bend his own wife. The picture is not mine but unfortunately, I do not know who own the picture as I found it from the Pinterest. I terribly apologize for not able to give the credit to the owner. There are going to be a lot of grammatical errors and MC is a man trapped in a woman's body so read at your own risk ^^.

How can you lose something you never have? When your own mother poisons you to gain pity from others, how should you feel? Why was I, the youngest, being married off? How could I care about something that was never mine? WARNING! Viewer discretion advised: Story contains adult content that is unsuitable for children. NOTE from the writer: I'm an amateur writer so please overlook plot holes, grammar issues, or anything else a story is supposed to have. This is my original story so... as the saying goes "if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all".