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rainbowfic2022-08-31 09:53 pm
shadowsong26) wrote in rainbowfic2022-08-31 09:53 pm
Halloween Orange #23
Name: shadowsong26
Story: Power to Act
'Verse: Untitled Intrigues Story
Colors: Halloween Orange #23. There are laws we must obey, certain ways this story goes.
Supplies and Materials: graffiti (Lilith Faire Day 8: Second Stage), photography, brush (brandish), novelty beads (shark)
Word Count: 472
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Neremyi
Warnings: Political machinations, arranged marriage (not the fun kind), language, background sexism.
Notes: Constructive criticism welcome, as always.
At home, in Elanhe, women wielded power subtly. Through their men, through their behind-the-scenes connections and influence. It was frustrating, to be barred from the actual exercise of it, to have to work through a series of proxies and be a source of reflected glory, rather than working and shining on their own. Even a Dowager, ruling as a regent for her minor son, was still working through him, for him.
But the ones who did it well, whether through attracting the rare status of being genuinely beloved or by being the most backstabbing bitch among an entire court full of them, were respected. Were admired.
Here, in Nanderre, women were technically allowed to act directly. While there hadn’t been a Queen Regnant in generations, there was no law or custom forbidding it. Many Princesses or women of lesser but substantial rank were powers in their own right, without having to wait for the temporary power of a Dowager.
But the ones who did it--when they did it well, all too often they were maligned and suspected, either of having a man manipulating them and making the real decisions, or of being a virago, a heartless, soulless monster. And what was said about the ones who did poorly…
Neremyi had lived in both worlds--a princess of Elanhe, sold to Nandere as a queen consort to seal a treaty no one really wanted--and she honestly couldn’t say which was worse. The price for power in Elanhe was being a shadow. The price for power in Nanderre was being loathed.
The goddesses were equal to the gods, so this division, from what she’d observed, didn’t seem to happen in the Church. But, alas, Neremyi was a thoroughly secular woman, who had never had a vocation, even if her family would have tolerated it.
So she made do with what she had. She carefully cultivated an Elanhean network within the Nanderese court--and if she ever found a reason to step forward and act directly, well, most of them hated her anyway, so she had very little to lose.
But--she also kept an eye on the young ladies of the court. The ones who might be brilliant, who might overcome the odds. Either as a wife for Malue or Enairi, or as a substantial heiress in her own right. And those girls, Neremyi lured to her side. Tried to teach what she’d learned.
And she watched, across the border, as her grand-niece Landelye seemed poised to change the story there, to shine a direct Nanderese light on her own brilliance.
Neremyi was a cynical old bitch, and didn’t really think a change was likely, in either court. Power wielded by women outside the Church would always be suspect.
But some of these girls almost made her hope that their world really might be better.
Story: Power to Act
'Verse: Untitled Intrigues Story
Colors: Halloween Orange #23. There are laws we must obey, certain ways this story goes.
Supplies and Materials: graffiti (Lilith Faire Day 8: Second Stage), photography, brush (brandish), novelty beads (shark)
Word Count: 472
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Neremyi
Warnings: Political machinations, arranged marriage (not the fun kind), language, background sexism.
Notes: Constructive criticism welcome, as always.
At home, in Elanhe, women wielded power subtly. Through their men, through their behind-the-scenes connections and influence. It was frustrating, to be barred from the actual exercise of it, to have to work through a series of proxies and be a source of reflected glory, rather than working and shining on their own. Even a Dowager, ruling as a regent for her minor son, was still working through him, for him.
But the ones who did it well, whether through attracting the rare status of being genuinely beloved or by being the most backstabbing bitch among an entire court full of them, were respected. Were admired.
Here, in Nanderre, women were technically allowed to act directly. While there hadn’t been a Queen Regnant in generations, there was no law or custom forbidding it. Many Princesses or women of lesser but substantial rank were powers in their own right, without having to wait for the temporary power of a Dowager.
But the ones who did it--when they did it well, all too often they were maligned and suspected, either of having a man manipulating them and making the real decisions, or of being a virago, a heartless, soulless monster. And what was said about the ones who did poorly…
Neremyi had lived in both worlds--a princess of Elanhe, sold to Nandere as a queen consort to seal a treaty no one really wanted--and she honestly couldn’t say which was worse. The price for power in Elanhe was being a shadow. The price for power in Nanderre was being loathed.
The goddesses were equal to the gods, so this division, from what she’d observed, didn’t seem to happen in the Church. But, alas, Neremyi was a thoroughly secular woman, who had never had a vocation, even if her family would have tolerated it.
So she made do with what she had. She carefully cultivated an Elanhean network within the Nanderese court--and if she ever found a reason to step forward and act directly, well, most of them hated her anyway, so she had very little to lose.
But--she also kept an eye on the young ladies of the court. The ones who might be brilliant, who might overcome the odds. Either as a wife for Malue or Enairi, or as a substantial heiress in her own right. And those girls, Neremyi lured to her side. Tried to teach what she’d learned.
And she watched, across the border, as her grand-niece Landelye seemed poised to change the story there, to shine a direct Nanderese light on her own brilliance.
Neremyi was a cynical old bitch, and didn’t really think a change was likely, in either court. Power wielded by women outside the Church would always be suspect.
But some of these girls almost made her hope that their world really might be better.
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The ending here is a little up in the air but definitely Del has plans, and some of Neremyi's Nanderese protegees do, as well.
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