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rainbowfic2012-07-05 09:52 pm
shadowsong26) wrote in rainbowfic2012-07-05 09:52 pm
TARDIS Blue #1, Eisenhower Green #5, Heart Gold #4
Story: And Now These Three Remain
'Verse: Feredar
Colors: TARDIS Blue #1. You can always judge a man by the quality of his enemies., Eisenhower Green #5. kind of like shooting a cow with a Howitzer, Heart Gold #4. Love is patient, love is kind. - Corinthians
Supplies and Materials: frame (992 FY), pastels (my current gen+romance card I4 "charity"), feathers, novelty beads, fabric, modeling clay, chalk (man on fire)
Word Count: 1260
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Princess Nolani, King Andrell, Princess Mera
Warnings: Attempted murder, references to the events of Sending a Message and the postwar section of The Greater Good, references to murders
Notes: Constructive criticism welcome, as always.
Feredar was a beautiful city, if still rebuilding from the damage of the siege at the end of the war. It had a certain stateliness that the City of Glass--or even Asendar--had never quite managed. Nolani's home city was too impermanent, constantly being rebuilt and reshaped, and Asendar had a certain air of haphazardness about it--a port city built up with little regularity or plan as it gained in wealth and power.
Feredar, on the other hand, had a sense of deliberate permanence the others lacked. It was built largely of stone, and, despite being on a major river, had historically built its wealth and power more from being a military power and center of art and culture than traditional trade. It gave additions to the city a certain...precision and forethought that additions to Asendar seemed to lack.
Nolani stared out the window of her carriage, absently tracing the scars on her right palm. She was no stranger to assassination attempts. She'd never been targeted herself--at least not ever by anyone who got close enough that she had to be directly involved in stopping them--but her brother had been. And the likelihood that Riluke's father and his sisters had died natural deaths was next to none. She'd faced attempts with great political consequences--and great personal ones. When she'd heard about the attempt on her fiancé’s life, it had been obvious what she needed to do.
It was strange, though, that this was her first actual visit to the city of Feredar--she'd travelled through the territory to reach Asendar for the treaty talks, of course, but the marriage contract was being negotiated back and forth by various ambassadors. There had seemed to be no need for her to visit the city that would be her home for half of the rest of her life. To tell the truth, after agreeing (and speaking with Andrell a few times while they were in Asendar), there wasn't much other input she needed to have. All the little details that went into the complex arrangements for a marriage with this kind of rank and international political concerns at play superseded any personal wishes she might have for her wedding. She knew that, she'd always known it, and she'd never been the type to daydream about her wedding anyway. She'd made what few preferences she had known to her mother, great-uncle, and the ambassador, and otherwise stayed out of the arrangements. Her first visit to the city was supposed to be for the wedding, due to take place in six months. But now that there might not be a wedding at all, she felt she needed to rush here. To be with him.
She traced the scars on her palms again as the carriage rolled to a stop at the entrance to the palace. Like the rest of the city, it had a solid, precise beauty to it, built of a shining white stone with pale grey veins winding through it. Imposing, rather than enthralling, and a very different shape than what she was used to, but still--beautiful. Nolani supposed that living here could have its charms.
There was a woman about her age waiting for her. She looked vaguely familiar, but Nolani couldn't recall actually meeting her.
"I'm Princess Mera, the King's niece," she helpfully supplied before Nolani asked. "Mother thought I should meet you."
...his oldest sister's daughter, Nolani recalled after a few seconds. "Yes. Thank you. It's lovely to finally meet you. I just wish..."
"It could be under better circumstances," Mera finished for her. "Yes." They stood in a slightly awkward silence for a few minutes. "A room has been arranged for you--would you like to go there first, or directly to the King...?"
Nolani hesitated a moment, considering. "How is he?"
Mera bit her lip. "He's alive. He woke up for a while yesterday, but he was...not very aware of things, I don't think. The doctors are fairly sure he'll...stay that way, but..."
If I'd been here, maybe I could have done something. Nolani did her best to squelch that little flare of irrational guilt. There hadn't been any reason for her to come until now, and there was only so much she could have done to limit the damage from an explosive being planted in his desk.
But I could have done something.
She forced that out of her head. "Then I'll go clean up a bit before seeing him, if that's all right," she told Mera.
"Of course," Mera said, then signaled for someone to guide her there. "When you're ready to go see him, you'll be shown the way."
"Thank you," Nolani said, with an attempt at what she hoped was an appropriately muted smile, given the circumstances. Mera matched it, so she must have done relatively well, then slipped off, leaving her to follow the page to her room.
~ * ~ * ~
Andrell was asleep when she went to sit with him. With permission, she cautiously took his hand She always liked physical reminders of the closeness of the people she...well, perhaps not loved, but the people who were important to her, when she was distressed, and she hoped that it might help him in the same way.
And Isshiri had liked it when she and Riluke sat with him and talked to him, so she figured she'd try that. "...I hope you don't think my being here is...inappropriate," she stared, then winced a little. "That was a dumb place to start."
Obviously, he didn't respond.
"I just..." She sighed. "I thought I should be. Even if I can't do much more than hold your hand and talk to you a little bit...even if things between us are always complicated...you're a good man. And we're going to spend the rest of our lives together." She paused, then delicately raised his hand and kissed it. "And I want that to be a very long time. For all our sakes." She settled his hand back down and idly smoothed the blanket, then picked up a book that someone had left on the table beside his bed. It wasn't one she knew--probably something written fairly recently, or never published outside Feredar--but...well, Isshiri always liked hearing stories. Nolani wasn't any good at making them up, but reading to him was something she could do.
~ * ~ * ~
He woke several times over the next few days, though never for very long and never seeming very aware of things around him until about a week after Nolani's arrival.
She was reading to him again--this time from a book of old Glass fairytales that had miraculously been in the palace library. She didn't register that he was fully awake--he shifted on occasion in his sleep, and while of course she kept an eye on him while she read, it was hard to tell sometimes if he was awake or not--until he spoke.
"P-princess...?"
She stopped midsentence and looked over at him. "You're awake," she said, and smiled. "I'm glad."
"Y're here." He seemed bewildered.
She flushed, and set the book down before carefully taking his hand again. "I've done this before, and you're...well. I wanted to help," she said.
He gave her hand a flickering little squeeze. "S'good. Thanks..."
He was starting to drift out again, she could tell. But he'd been truly awake for the first time since the incident, and he'd recognized her. And he was glad she'd come. Even if it was only a little bit, she'd helped. "You're welcome," she whispered.
'Verse: Feredar
Colors: TARDIS Blue #1. You can always judge a man by the quality of his enemies., Eisenhower Green #5. kind of like shooting a cow with a Howitzer, Heart Gold #4. Love is patient, love is kind. - Corinthians
Supplies and Materials: frame (992 FY), pastels (my current gen+romance card I4 "charity"), feathers, novelty beads, fabric, modeling clay, chalk (man on fire)
Word Count: 1260
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Princess Nolani, King Andrell, Princess Mera
Warnings: Attempted murder, references to the events of Sending a Message and the postwar section of The Greater Good, references to murders
Notes: Constructive criticism welcome, as always.
Feredar was a beautiful city, if still rebuilding from the damage of the siege at the end of the war. It had a certain stateliness that the City of Glass--or even Asendar--had never quite managed. Nolani's home city was too impermanent, constantly being rebuilt and reshaped, and Asendar had a certain air of haphazardness about it--a port city built up with little regularity or plan as it gained in wealth and power.
Feredar, on the other hand, had a sense of deliberate permanence the others lacked. It was built largely of stone, and, despite being on a major river, had historically built its wealth and power more from being a military power and center of art and culture than traditional trade. It gave additions to the city a certain...precision and forethought that additions to Asendar seemed to lack.
Nolani stared out the window of her carriage, absently tracing the scars on her right palm. She was no stranger to assassination attempts. She'd never been targeted herself--at least not ever by anyone who got close enough that she had to be directly involved in stopping them--but her brother had been. And the likelihood that Riluke's father and his sisters had died natural deaths was next to none. She'd faced attempts with great political consequences--and great personal ones. When she'd heard about the attempt on her fiancé’s life, it had been obvious what she needed to do.
It was strange, though, that this was her first actual visit to the city of Feredar--she'd travelled through the territory to reach Asendar for the treaty talks, of course, but the marriage contract was being negotiated back and forth by various ambassadors. There had seemed to be no need for her to visit the city that would be her home for half of the rest of her life. To tell the truth, after agreeing (and speaking with Andrell a few times while they were in Asendar), there wasn't much other input she needed to have. All the little details that went into the complex arrangements for a marriage with this kind of rank and international political concerns at play superseded any personal wishes she might have for her wedding. She knew that, she'd always known it, and she'd never been the type to daydream about her wedding anyway. She'd made what few preferences she had known to her mother, great-uncle, and the ambassador, and otherwise stayed out of the arrangements. Her first visit to the city was supposed to be for the wedding, due to take place in six months. But now that there might not be a wedding at all, she felt she needed to rush here. To be with him.
She traced the scars on her palms again as the carriage rolled to a stop at the entrance to the palace. Like the rest of the city, it had a solid, precise beauty to it, built of a shining white stone with pale grey veins winding through it. Imposing, rather than enthralling, and a very different shape than what she was used to, but still--beautiful. Nolani supposed that living here could have its charms.
There was a woman about her age waiting for her. She looked vaguely familiar, but Nolani couldn't recall actually meeting her.
"I'm Princess Mera, the King's niece," she helpfully supplied before Nolani asked. "Mother thought I should meet you."
...his oldest sister's daughter, Nolani recalled after a few seconds. "Yes. Thank you. It's lovely to finally meet you. I just wish..."
"It could be under better circumstances," Mera finished for her. "Yes." They stood in a slightly awkward silence for a few minutes. "A room has been arranged for you--would you like to go there first, or directly to the King...?"
Nolani hesitated a moment, considering. "How is he?"
Mera bit her lip. "He's alive. He woke up for a while yesterday, but he was...not very aware of things, I don't think. The doctors are fairly sure he'll...stay that way, but..."
If I'd been here, maybe I could have done something. Nolani did her best to squelch that little flare of irrational guilt. There hadn't been any reason for her to come until now, and there was only so much she could have done to limit the damage from an explosive being planted in his desk.
But I could have done something.
She forced that out of her head. "Then I'll go clean up a bit before seeing him, if that's all right," she told Mera.
"Of course," Mera said, then signaled for someone to guide her there. "When you're ready to go see him, you'll be shown the way."
"Thank you," Nolani said, with an attempt at what she hoped was an appropriately muted smile, given the circumstances. Mera matched it, so she must have done relatively well, then slipped off, leaving her to follow the page to her room.
~ * ~ * ~
Andrell was asleep when she went to sit with him. With permission, she cautiously took his hand She always liked physical reminders of the closeness of the people she...well, perhaps not loved, but the people who were important to her, when she was distressed, and she hoped that it might help him in the same way.
And Isshiri had liked it when she and Riluke sat with him and talked to him, so she figured she'd try that. "...I hope you don't think my being here is...inappropriate," she stared, then winced a little. "That was a dumb place to start."
Obviously, he didn't respond.
"I just..." She sighed. "I thought I should be. Even if I can't do much more than hold your hand and talk to you a little bit...even if things between us are always complicated...you're a good man. And we're going to spend the rest of our lives together." She paused, then delicately raised his hand and kissed it. "And I want that to be a very long time. For all our sakes." She settled his hand back down and idly smoothed the blanket, then picked up a book that someone had left on the table beside his bed. It wasn't one she knew--probably something written fairly recently, or never published outside Feredar--but...well, Isshiri always liked hearing stories. Nolani wasn't any good at making them up, but reading to him was something she could do.
~ * ~ * ~
He woke several times over the next few days, though never for very long and never seeming very aware of things around him until about a week after Nolani's arrival.
She was reading to him again--this time from a book of old Glass fairytales that had miraculously been in the palace library. She didn't register that he was fully awake--he shifted on occasion in his sleep, and while of course she kept an eye on him while she read, it was hard to tell sometimes if he was awake or not--until he spoke.
"P-princess...?"
She stopped midsentence and looked over at him. "You're awake," she said, and smiled. "I'm glad."
"Y're here." He seemed bewildered.
She flushed, and set the book down before carefully taking his hand again. "I've done this before, and you're...well. I wanted to help," she said.
He gave her hand a flickering little squeeze. "S'good. Thanks..."
He was starting to drift out again, she could tell. But he'd been truly awake for the first time since the incident, and he'd recognized her. And he was glad she'd come. Even if it was only a little bit, she'd helped. "You're welcome," she whispered.
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Yes, they will. ^_^
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