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rainbowfic2012-01-12 04:29 pm
shadowsong26) wrote in rainbowfic2012-01-12 04:29 pm
Tiffany Blue #9
Name: shadowsong26
Story: Feredar, this particular bit is called Sending a Message
Colors: Tiffany Blue #9: choker (assassination attempt)
Supplies and Materials: Paint-by-numbers (from Kat), canvas (roughly 10 years prior to the main narrative)
Word Count: 1034
Rating: R
Characters: Princess Nolani, Prince Isshiri, Prince Ulore
Warnings: Violence involving children (ages 11 and 7).
Notes: Constructive criticism welcome.
Nolani liked hanging out around some of the palace guards. She would smile at them, toss her hair and stare up through her eyelashes the way she'd seen some of the older court beauties doing. The guard she was trying it on now was clearly indulging her clumsy attempts at flirting, but at least he didn't pat her on the head and send her off to play with dolls the way a few of them did. Unfortunately, she now had to let him get back to work, or Mother would be cross with her. It didn't help Princess Kesshare's position when her heir acted like a silly girl and kept people from doing real work.
Mother was very serious about her position.
Bored now, Nolani wandered the palace, heading vaguely towards her family's section of the residential wing.
She froze when she heard the screaming.
It was coming from her little brother's room, and certainly sounded like a frightened child in pain. Isshiri was only seven, he should be off limits! Hurting him wasn't much less awful than hurting three-year-old Kirana would have been!
She didn't remain frozen for long, though. She darted off towards the screaming, trusting that the floor was thick enough (and had been replaced only last year, as well) and wouldn't break under the added strain.
To her relief, the floor held long enough for her to slide into Isshiri's door, breaking it open. She ignored the shards of glass for now; it was more important to save him.
To her horror, she found one of her previously-favorite uncles, Prince Ulore, launching fire at her brother, who was trying to hide behind a half-melted cabinet. His screaming had died down to ragged sobbing, and Nolani could smell that Ulore had already hit him at least once.
Ulore had heard the door shatter and was turning to her. Nolani had had the same fight-training he had, of course, but he had two full decades of practice and experience on her, and nothing in this room to protect. She swallowed hard, and scrabbled back for one of the shards of glass, hoping he'd think her too panicked, too unwilling to risk hurting Isshiri further, to reach for her fire. Bastard won't know what hit him, Nolani thought grimly, doing her best to keep her rage off her face, buried beneath her very real fear.
Ulore mostly looked annoyed--at what, Nolani couldn't quite tell. But Isshiri was unlikely to be able to escape from where he was, and she was drawing Ulore's attention away from him, which was her goal. Trusting her voice to shake, she asked, "Wh-wh-what are y-you doing, Uncle?"
"Sending a message." He pulled fire from the air and flung it at her. She rolled, hearing the door-glass crunching underneath her and feeling the blast whisper a hair away from her back. She didn't quite feel it burning, but that could have been adrenaline covering it. She responded by flinging her shard at him, low enough that he didn't spot it until too late to evade. He grunted, rather than yelling, but she heard the cloth rip and felt she'd bought enough time to roll to her feet. She pocketed a couple other big shards in case her fire failed her. Then she followed her first, thrown shard with quick jabs of fire, aimed at his legs and hands. Cripple him. Make it harder for him to chase me, and harder for him to use his hands or even his magic if I get in close. I'm smaller but faster, he's bigger but stronger. Cripple him, then get close and cut him down.
He was able to half-dodge most of the fire darts, taking none of them where she'd aimed. But the gash she'd managed to open up on his leg was bleeding enough that it would slow him down. So all I need to do is avoid him long enough to get close, even if I can't cripple him. And I need to keep him away from Isshiri. Her little brother's sobbing had stopped, and she felt a sick sort of fear building in the pit of her stomach, and did her best to ignore it.
Ulore snarled at her and flung cascading circles of darts at her. She dropped flat to the ground, knowing that was the best way to dodge them, and scrambled over the glass to keep moving, find a shelter of her own from behind which she could fire back.
Once she was safe behind half of Isshiri's broken bedstead, Nolani sent out a dart cascade of her own, deliberately mimicking Ulore's work in a way that she hoped would aggravate him enough to be incautious.
It wasn't until he started slamming fireballs into her shelter that she realized his incaution might get her killed faster than it did him. Swearing under her breath, she rolled away from the bedstead again, trying to dodge Ulore and guide him away from Isshiri. She yelped when one of the blasts grazed her, and dove out the door.
As she'd hoped, Ulore followed her. Or, at least, she could hear him crunching the glass as she fumbled for one of the large shards she'd pocketed, waiting breathless just out of sight.
As soon as she saw his feet, she stabbed the right one as hard as she could. This time, he yelled. Nolani was then able to take advantage of his surprise and tackle him, drawing her other shard and slamming it into his neck. She rolled off him and staggered back, watching until he stopped moving and listening to her own hearbeat thudding in her ears.
When Ulore stopped moving, she stumbled over to where she'd seen Isshiri. "'S-sshiri?" she croaked out.
He didn't answer.
Nolani scrambled around to the other side as fast as she could, and was relieved to see her brother's chest still rising and falling. As her own pain mounted and her adrenaline died, she couldn't focus well enough to see how badly he was hurt, but she took his hand and curled around him and prayed that the guards would get there soon as the world around her faded to black.
Story: Feredar, this particular bit is called Sending a Message
Colors: Tiffany Blue #9: choker (assassination attempt)
Supplies and Materials: Paint-by-numbers (from Kat), canvas (roughly 10 years prior to the main narrative)
Word Count: 1034
Rating: R
Characters: Princess Nolani, Prince Isshiri, Prince Ulore
Warnings: Violence involving children (ages 11 and 7).
Notes: Constructive criticism welcome.
Nolani liked hanging out around some of the palace guards. She would smile at them, toss her hair and stare up through her eyelashes the way she'd seen some of the older court beauties doing. The guard she was trying it on now was clearly indulging her clumsy attempts at flirting, but at least he didn't pat her on the head and send her off to play with dolls the way a few of them did. Unfortunately, she now had to let him get back to work, or Mother would be cross with her. It didn't help Princess Kesshare's position when her heir acted like a silly girl and kept people from doing real work.
Mother was very serious about her position.
Bored now, Nolani wandered the palace, heading vaguely towards her family's section of the residential wing.
She froze when she heard the screaming.
It was coming from her little brother's room, and certainly sounded like a frightened child in pain. Isshiri was only seven, he should be off limits! Hurting him wasn't much less awful than hurting three-year-old Kirana would have been!
She didn't remain frozen for long, though. She darted off towards the screaming, trusting that the floor was thick enough (and had been replaced only last year, as well) and wouldn't break under the added strain.
To her relief, the floor held long enough for her to slide into Isshiri's door, breaking it open. She ignored the shards of glass for now; it was more important to save him.
To her horror, she found one of her previously-favorite uncles, Prince Ulore, launching fire at her brother, who was trying to hide behind a half-melted cabinet. His screaming had died down to ragged sobbing, and Nolani could smell that Ulore had already hit him at least once.
Ulore had heard the door shatter and was turning to her. Nolani had had the same fight-training he had, of course, but he had two full decades of practice and experience on her, and nothing in this room to protect. She swallowed hard, and scrabbled back for one of the shards of glass, hoping he'd think her too panicked, too unwilling to risk hurting Isshiri further, to reach for her fire. Bastard won't know what hit him, Nolani thought grimly, doing her best to keep her rage off her face, buried beneath her very real fear.
Ulore mostly looked annoyed--at what, Nolani couldn't quite tell. But Isshiri was unlikely to be able to escape from where he was, and she was drawing Ulore's attention away from him, which was her goal. Trusting her voice to shake, she asked, "Wh-wh-what are y-you doing, Uncle?"
"Sending a message." He pulled fire from the air and flung it at her. She rolled, hearing the door-glass crunching underneath her and feeling the blast whisper a hair away from her back. She didn't quite feel it burning, but that could have been adrenaline covering it. She responded by flinging her shard at him, low enough that he didn't spot it until too late to evade. He grunted, rather than yelling, but she heard the cloth rip and felt she'd bought enough time to roll to her feet. She pocketed a couple other big shards in case her fire failed her. Then she followed her first, thrown shard with quick jabs of fire, aimed at his legs and hands. Cripple him. Make it harder for him to chase me, and harder for him to use his hands or even his magic if I get in close. I'm smaller but faster, he's bigger but stronger. Cripple him, then get close and cut him down.
He was able to half-dodge most of the fire darts, taking none of them where she'd aimed. But the gash she'd managed to open up on his leg was bleeding enough that it would slow him down. So all I need to do is avoid him long enough to get close, even if I can't cripple him. And I need to keep him away from Isshiri. Her little brother's sobbing had stopped, and she felt a sick sort of fear building in the pit of her stomach, and did her best to ignore it.
Ulore snarled at her and flung cascading circles of darts at her. She dropped flat to the ground, knowing that was the best way to dodge them, and scrambled over the glass to keep moving, find a shelter of her own from behind which she could fire back.
Once she was safe behind half of Isshiri's broken bedstead, Nolani sent out a dart cascade of her own, deliberately mimicking Ulore's work in a way that she hoped would aggravate him enough to be incautious.
It wasn't until he started slamming fireballs into her shelter that she realized his incaution might get her killed faster than it did him. Swearing under her breath, she rolled away from the bedstead again, trying to dodge Ulore and guide him away from Isshiri. She yelped when one of the blasts grazed her, and dove out the door.
As she'd hoped, Ulore followed her. Or, at least, she could hear him crunching the glass as she fumbled for one of the large shards she'd pocketed, waiting breathless just out of sight.
As soon as she saw his feet, she stabbed the right one as hard as she could. This time, he yelled. Nolani was then able to take advantage of his surprise and tackle him, drawing her other shard and slamming it into his neck. She rolled off him and staggered back, watching until he stopped moving and listening to her own hearbeat thudding in her ears.
When Ulore stopped moving, she stumbled over to where she'd seen Isshiri. "'S-sshiri?" she croaked out.
He didn't answer.
Nolani scrambled around to the other side as fast as she could, and was relieved to see her brother's chest still rising and falling. As her own pain mounted and her adrenaline died, she couldn't focus well enough to see how badly he was hurt, but she took his hand and curled around him and prayed that the guards would get there soon as the world around her faded to black.
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That's a good point about the beginning, though, thank you again. As for the floor holding, large portions of the city are made of glass, so that's what she was concerned about.
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I see Kat mentioned the slow start, so I just wanted to say I think it works? The "oh everything is normal just an ordinary day" beginning contrasts really well with the later urgency and action, in my opinion. Just another perspective!
Good work!
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I rather liked the slow beginning. It sets out what a normal day is like for Nolani, and contrasts really well with the terror and immediacy of the fight.
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I'm glad the beginning worked for you, too. ^^