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rainbowfic2016-08-05 08:51 pm
kay_brooke) wrote in rainbowfic2016-08-05 08:51 pm
Aqua #13, Lotus #18, Olympic Gold #4
Name: kay_brooke
Story: The Queen
Colors: Aqua #13 (sea), Lotus #18 (Karma), Olympic Gold #4 (silver)
Styles/Supplies: Graffiti (Sprinting)
Word Count: 1,088
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; no standard warnings apply
Summary: Caroline questions herself at the end of the world.
Note: Constructive criticism is welcome, either through comments or PM.
The cold bit into her legs as she made her way up the cliff. Below, she could hear waves crashing heavily against the rock, almost familiar, almost like the sea near her home. But the frigid air lent a mournful air to the surf here, a lonely howl into the dark and the silence. There was only the wind out here, and the snow, and the stars flaming to life as the last of the sun’s rays disappeared over the mountains.
Caroline reached the top of the cliff to face nothing but the sea, spreading out forever, melding with the sky at a point so distant she knew it would give her nightmares. She clutched the fur-lined cloak closer to her body, as if that alone would keep her from toppling over into that unending horizon. Her feet, even clad in the boots the villagers at Windrock had given her, were nearly numb with cold, so that she stood there, at the end of the world, entirely disconnected from herself, like the flitting elementals old people still told stories of.
Then a hand was on her arm, and she came back to herself.
“Don’t go over,” Kraigan’s voice came roughly into her ear, and, startled, she looked down. She was still well away from the edge of the cliff, and she pulled her arm away.
“Are we as far north as we can go?” she asked, her own voice cutting through the thin air, to hang over the sea and be whipped away by the crashing waves so far below.
“The villagers spoke of an island,” he told her, gently pulling her backwards even though she was in no danger. She huffed in annoyance. “You can’t see it from here, they said. But it’s out there, in the sea.” He pointed. “Some have gone by boat, just to explore. They say there’s nothing there, just snow and ice. Not even anything interesting to mine. So now no one goes there.”
Caroline bit her lip, wincing as how chapped it had become in the wind. “Are you sure? Are they sure? Could something be hidden there that they never found?” It horrified her to think of going even farther, of getting on one of the village’s rickety little fishing boats and braving that endless span of water and that deep silence. It felt wrong to her, like something people were never meant to do: go beyond the end of the world.
But where else would the people of ancient days hide something of such importance?
Knowing the direction of her thoughts, Kraigan said, “They say it’s a small island. A rock. A place for seals to rest. It’s not possible a whole city is hidden there.”
“Then why are we here?” Caroline turned to him, anger warming her against the cold for only a few moments. They had come so far, trudged through what was, to her people, enemy territory. Slept shivering in freezing huts and lost Meglan’s fingers to the cold. Because that was where the clues had pointed them. Go as far north as can be gone, and find a great city. A city of magic. A city Caroline could bring back to life and use to regain her own.
But there was nothing out here, just the sea and the snow and the stars.
“Perhaps we have gone too far,” said Kraigan. “Perhaps the ancient ones themselves never made it this far north.”
“We should have stayed in the mountains,” Caroline said, realizing with a heart-dropping certainty that she had sacrificed the time and health of her followers for a fool’s quest. She knew then she was being punished for her defiance. “There is nothing up here. There was never anything up here. This has all been for naught. Meglan--” The thought of her little maid, so faithful, so willing to follow her wherever she went, made tears well up in her eyes.
Kraigan wiped them away, a bold gesture when she still had not given him permission to touch her, but she allowed it. Who was she supposed to be, anyway? The queen? Hah, a queen farther away from her realm than any queen had ever been. A queen her own people didn’t even want. “I have been so blind,” she told Kraigan.
“You have never wavered from your goal,” he said. “It is an honorable one.”
“Is it?” Caroline looked back out over the sea. The sky had grown brighter still, as more stars than she had ever seen before blazed as clear as silver lamps. “What good would have come from finding this city, if it even exists?”
“It was all to regain your throne.”
She was not used to Kraigan being so placating, and it infuriated her. “It was never my throne!” she cried, turning to him and pushing him away. “My father promised it me through dying lips and no one cared. I never sat upon it. I never wore the silver crown. I never had my likeness stamped upon a tedj.”
“Those are merely trappings,” said Kraigan. “You are your father’s heir.”
“So now you support me?” she said, aghast. She didn’t think she could stand Kraigan’s loyatly. Not Kraigan, of all people.
“I have always supported you.” Though he had long ago swapped his wide-brimmed hat for a fur-lined cap, it was still pulled down low enough, and his scarf pulled high enough, that all she saw was his dark eyes glittering through the gap, reflecting the stars behind her.
“You have always supported your self interest,” she said.
He shrugged. “My self interest meant supporting you over your cousin. It still does.”
Caroline turned away. If he knew her, truly knew her as the queen she had dreamed herself being, he would have never helped her. And she would be dead at least ten times over. What would he do if he knew she had never once supported his self interest?
“Let us return,” he urged her. “It grows too cold. Tonight we’ll sleep and tomorrow we’ll make plans with clearer heads.”
Caroline shook her head. “There are no more plans to make.”
“Tomorrow you will think differently.”
“No,” she said, but he was right that there was no reason to keep standing on the cliff, not unless she planned to throw herself into the sea, and she was not quite at that level of despair yet. So she also gave him a stiff nod and let him lead her back to where their sleigh and its dogs were waiting to carry them back to Windrock.
kay_brookeStory: The Queen
Colors: Aqua #13 (sea), Lotus #18 (Karma), Olympic Gold #4 (silver)
Styles/Supplies: Graffiti (Sprinting)
Word Count: 1,088
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; no standard warnings apply
Summary: Caroline questions herself at the end of the world.
Note: Constructive criticism is welcome, either through comments or PM.
The cold bit into her legs as she made her way up the cliff. Below, she could hear waves crashing heavily against the rock, almost familiar, almost like the sea near her home. But the frigid air lent a mournful air to the surf here, a lonely howl into the dark and the silence. There was only the wind out here, and the snow, and the stars flaming to life as the last of the sun’s rays disappeared over the mountains.
Caroline reached the top of the cliff to face nothing but the sea, spreading out forever, melding with the sky at a point so distant she knew it would give her nightmares. She clutched the fur-lined cloak closer to her body, as if that alone would keep her from toppling over into that unending horizon. Her feet, even clad in the boots the villagers at Windrock had given her, were nearly numb with cold, so that she stood there, at the end of the world, entirely disconnected from herself, like the flitting elementals old people still told stories of.
Then a hand was on her arm, and she came back to herself.
“Don’t go over,” Kraigan’s voice came roughly into her ear, and, startled, she looked down. She was still well away from the edge of the cliff, and she pulled her arm away.
“Are we as far north as we can go?” she asked, her own voice cutting through the thin air, to hang over the sea and be whipped away by the crashing waves so far below.
“The villagers spoke of an island,” he told her, gently pulling her backwards even though she was in no danger. She huffed in annoyance. “You can’t see it from here, they said. But it’s out there, in the sea.” He pointed. “Some have gone by boat, just to explore. They say there’s nothing there, just snow and ice. Not even anything interesting to mine. So now no one goes there.”
Caroline bit her lip, wincing as how chapped it had become in the wind. “Are you sure? Are they sure? Could something be hidden there that they never found?” It horrified her to think of going even farther, of getting on one of the village’s rickety little fishing boats and braving that endless span of water and that deep silence. It felt wrong to her, like something people were never meant to do: go beyond the end of the world.
But where else would the people of ancient days hide something of such importance?
Knowing the direction of her thoughts, Kraigan said, “They say it’s a small island. A rock. A place for seals to rest. It’s not possible a whole city is hidden there.”
“Then why are we here?” Caroline turned to him, anger warming her against the cold for only a few moments. They had come so far, trudged through what was, to her people, enemy territory. Slept shivering in freezing huts and lost Meglan’s fingers to the cold. Because that was where the clues had pointed them. Go as far north as can be gone, and find a great city. A city of magic. A city Caroline could bring back to life and use to regain her own.
But there was nothing out here, just the sea and the snow and the stars.
“Perhaps we have gone too far,” said Kraigan. “Perhaps the ancient ones themselves never made it this far north.”
“We should have stayed in the mountains,” Caroline said, realizing with a heart-dropping certainty that she had sacrificed the time and health of her followers for a fool’s quest. She knew then she was being punished for her defiance. “There is nothing up here. There was never anything up here. This has all been for naught. Meglan--” The thought of her little maid, so faithful, so willing to follow her wherever she went, made tears well up in her eyes.
Kraigan wiped them away, a bold gesture when she still had not given him permission to touch her, but she allowed it. Who was she supposed to be, anyway? The queen? Hah, a queen farther away from her realm than any queen had ever been. A queen her own people didn’t even want. “I have been so blind,” she told Kraigan.
“You have never wavered from your goal,” he said. “It is an honorable one.”
“Is it?” Caroline looked back out over the sea. The sky had grown brighter still, as more stars than she had ever seen before blazed as clear as silver lamps. “What good would have come from finding this city, if it even exists?”
“It was all to regain your throne.”
She was not used to Kraigan being so placating, and it infuriated her. “It was never my throne!” she cried, turning to him and pushing him away. “My father promised it me through dying lips and no one cared. I never sat upon it. I never wore the silver crown. I never had my likeness stamped upon a tedj.”
“Those are merely trappings,” said Kraigan. “You are your father’s heir.”
“So now you support me?” she said, aghast. She didn’t think she could stand Kraigan’s loyatly. Not Kraigan, of all people.
“I have always supported you.” Though he had long ago swapped his wide-brimmed hat for a fur-lined cap, it was still pulled down low enough, and his scarf pulled high enough, that all she saw was his dark eyes glittering through the gap, reflecting the stars behind her.
“You have always supported your self interest,” she said.
He shrugged. “My self interest meant supporting you over your cousin. It still does.”
Caroline turned away. If he knew her, truly knew her as the queen she had dreamed herself being, he would have never helped her. And she would be dead at least ten times over. What would he do if he knew she had never once supported his self interest?
“Let us return,” he urged her. “It grows too cold. Tonight we’ll sleep and tomorrow we’ll make plans with clearer heads.”
Caroline shook her head. “There are no more plans to make.”
“Tomorrow you will think differently.”
“No,” she said, but he was right that there was no reason to keep standing on the cliff, not unless she planned to throw herself into the sea, and she was not quite at that level of despair yet. So she also gave him a stiff nod and let him lead her back to where their sleigh and its dogs were waiting to carry them back to Windrock.