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rainbowfic2012-04-07 11:34 am
kay_brooke) wrote in rainbowfic2012-04-07 11:34 am
Brown #9, Burnt Umber #8, Tea Rose #6
Name: kay_brooke
Story: The Myrrosta
Colors: Brown #9 (brownie points), Burnt Umber #8 (Erta Ale Range), Tea Rose #6 (for what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn?)
Styles/Supplies: None
Word Count: 2,258
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; minor violence
Summary: Jay won't stand to hear her Empress insulted.
Notes: The Jay piece I realized I actually wanted to write in the middle of the last one.
Jay had him where she wanted him, flat on his back, trapped between her thighs, and with her freshly-sharpened dagger pressed against the side of his throat.
And still he was grinning, his pale lips split to show rows of white, white teeth.
"Take it back," she hissed, leaning close to him.
"What will you do if I don't, whore?"
"Take it back, or I will slit your throat."
His eyes narrowed; his mouth still grinned, a smirk so enraging she could barely see straight. She was dimly aware that he was shifting, trying to gain leverage over her by sliding his feet on either side of her much shorter legs. Let him try to flip her with that obvious move. She would dig the dagger in before he had a chance to get very far. "I don't think you will."
His hands tightened around her arm. Jay tensed, wondering if this was it, the moment she would make her first kill. She would gladly do it, of course. The man had said unforgivable things, things that deserved a punishment of death. The dagger wavered slightly, the tip pressing into soft, pale skin far enough to draw a thin bead of blood. The man did not react.
What would have happened next, who would have been faster, Jay never found out. Instead a low, angry voice called out, "Jaishlin Mortague!"
Her fingers fumbled on the dagger, the instincts bred into her after years of hearing that very voice jerking her to obey, to immediately drop her weapon and stand to attention. But she was angry enough that she pushed that impulse down deep inside herself, and her grip on the dagger steadied.
"Jaishlin! You will disengage at once!"
"You heard your leader of whores," the man spat. "Little girls should listen to their betters."
"You would like that, would you not?" Jay said. "Are you breathing a sigh of relief now, coward? Do you think the presence of someone else will stop me from opening your foul throat?"
She thought, for a moment, that she was going to do it. But then hands were on her, pulling her away, and the man was siting up, standing, still grinning. It was not only Ala, her superior, in the hallway. There were two men with her, two of the Sun Guard she had never met, and now they were holding her arms, containing her struggles while Ala plucked the dagger from Jay's hand and slid it into her own weapons belt.
The woman, shorter than even Jay, had no problem with intimidation. She looked up into Jay's face, her dark green eyes staring right through it, deep into Jay's anger. "What do you think you are doing?"
This time she had no reason not to react to Ala's voice, and Jay's anger receded, replaced by contriteness. But it didn't leave completely. It never would, Jay knew, until she saw at least fear in the offending man's eyes. "I am teaching a rude man a lesson."
"This man is Baron Jalre," Ala hissed. "He is an ambassador, and our guest."
"I know who he is," said Jay. "He insulted our Empress."
Ala raised one eyebrow. "Did he, now?"
"He called her the queen of whores." The mocking title tasted foul on her tongue, and she felt she would have to scrub her mouth just for repeating the man's words.
The man straightened his rumpled tunic. "I assure you, lady, I did no such thing." His smirk was gone, replaced with a thin smile and conciliatory words. Jay had never wanted so badly to kill someone. "I was merely walking this hall, admiring the Empress's taste in decorations, when this woman attacked me."
"He is a lying Arkijti bastard!" Jay strained against her handlers. "He insulted our Empress!"
Ala waved her hand at the two men holding Jay. "Please take her to her quarters. Make sure she doesn't leave until I come to see her." She turned to the ambassador. "Baron Jalre, please let me assure you that you are in no danger here. I'm sure Jaishlin just misunderstood."
"I did not!"
A scathing glare from Ala silenced her again. The woman continued. "I will of course report this to the Empress, so that she may apologize for the...overzealous behavior of one of her subjects."
Overzealous? She'd done nothing less than what she had pledged to do. Her current assignment was the protection and support of the ambassadors who had come into the city, but her first duty, her most important duty that superseded all other temporary postings, was protection of the Empress. She wasn't part of the Empress's personal guard, but that was the mandate laid upon all the Sun Guard once they had passed their initiation rites: the Empress's safety above all else, even if it went against the order of a superior.
This man, this ambassador, if such a title could be afforded to such a dishonorable person, had come to the Empress's city with vile words on his tongue, had been invited by her Majesty herself and then turned that invitation into an excuse for disrespect. No one could blame Jay for taking the man's words as a threat.
She had done no less than her job, and she didn't understand why Ala bowed and made amends to the criminal while Jay was treated and punished like a misbehaving child.
She would make her understand. So she stood in her room, pacing back and forth, waiting for Ala to appear. She presumed the woman would make her wait a long time, and she wasn't wrong. The patch of sky Jay could see through her window was nearly black when Ala finally came, dressed in a more casual robe than earlier and carrying a torch. She nodded to the men guarding Jay's room, dismissing them, and stepped inside.
Jay wasted no time. "That man is a dog and he should be put out on the street."
Ala shot her a sharp look and slid her torch into a wall holder. Jay hadn't bothered lighting any candles as night came; she could stew just as well in the dark as she could in the light. Her task finished, Ala turned to Jay, clasped her hands, and said, "That was an embarrassing display today, Jaishlin, and it will not be repeated."
"He made threats against the Empress! Do not make me repeat the foul words he uttered."
Ala nodded. "Queen of whores. I remember. But that is namecalling, Jay, not a threat. Puerile, yes, but hardly dangerous."
Jay blinked at her. How could she say that? How could she let the ambassador into the same room as the Empress, knowing what he thought of her? "Words may lead to actions," she said angrily, because that was a lesson Ala herself had taught her, so she more than anyone should have remembered it.
"If they do, the Empress's personal guard will be there to stop them," said Ala.
"Why wait?" argued Jay. "Throw the man out now, before he can even attempt to hurt her." The solution was so obvious; why couldn't Ala, the woman who had taught her almost everything she knew, not see that?
"Because we do not punish people for what they may think," said Ala. "That is a dangerous road to walk, Jaishlin."
"But he is Arkijti," said Jay. "They hate us. They have always hated us. Just because we are not currently at war does not mean that the king in Sarachnia has no desire to see us fallen, or to see the Empress dead. He could send assassins. He could infiltrate the palace with his spies." She'd had a long time, waiting for Ala, to think of the myriad subterfuges the Arkijti king could use the current talks as an excuse for.
"It's true that much of our history has us fighting the Arkijti," said Ala. She walked across the room and sat on the bed. She did not give Jay permission to sit, so the younger woman remained standing. "And peace, when it comes, is uneasy at best. But that's what these meetings are meant to resolve. It's important to everyone, Jaishlin, that Kandel and Arkijt come to understand each other better."
Jay pointed toward the door, down the hallway and all the way to the palace, where even now the vile man was probably taking supper with far too many of Kandel's royalty and nobility. "How can they come to an understanding when they send a man who believes such disrespectful things of our Empress?"
Ala looked at her. "I have only your word that he even said such things. He denies it, and there were no other witnesses."
"You would believe an Arkijti dog over me?" said Jay, aghast. She decided the man must have done something to Ala, threatened her. Jay would never have believed Ala to bend to threats, but something must have happened to make her say these things.
"I do believe you, Jay," said Ala. "I also believe that you're right. The ambassador holds only insults for us in his heart, no matter what diplomatic words he speaks. But perhaps talking to the Empress may change his views, or at the least open the door for further meetings, with other ambassadors who may be more accommodating."
"Perhaps," Jay sneered.
Ala shrugged. "What else do you suggest?" She held up one hand as Jay opened her mouth. "No, I know what you would suggest. You would just as well have the Empress send a conquering army to Arkijt. You would have her close her mind to what any Arkijti has to say. You would think it better to go to war than grant our neighbors a second glance."
Jay fumed. Ala made it sound like she was a war-monger, like she wanted the Empress to send people to die. "Of course I do not want war."
"But can you, truthfully, tell me that you believe we have any other choice in our dealings with the Arkijti?"
Jay fell silent, because she couldn't. The Arkijti weren't deserving of the Empress's time and ear. They had done nothing but kill and torture her people for centuries, and wage war against the throne she was sworn to protect. It would be better for everyone if they didn't exist at all. "They cannot come here, pretend to apologize, and be forgiven for all they have done," she said, not yet willing to back down.
"No," said Ala. "No one is asking the Empress to forgive them, only that she listen to them. Perhaps, in time, they may take the chance of listening to us as well."
"It will never happen."
"We can't say either way," said Ala, standing up. "What the Empress and the Arkijti king decide are their business. My concern lies with you and the others I lead. So I'm here to say that you are not to speak again to the ambassador while he is here, no matter what he says. You are not even to be in the same room as he. If you see him walking down the same hallway as you, you are to turn around and find another route to wherever you are going. Do you understand?"
"No," said Jay stubbornly.
Ala sighed. "Jaishlin, you could have made so much more trouble for us. The ambassador accepted the Empress's apology, but what if he hadn't? He could have gone back to his king complaining of the attacks and insults he suffered here because of you. You could have destroyed this entire meeting, fragile as it already is."
Jay looked at the floor. She still didn't completely understand why that was such a bad thing, but she did understand that it was against the Empress's wishes. It was her job to obey the Empress above all else, so in this she had to keep quiet, even while she seethed at the idea of the ambassador even looking in the Empress's direction.
"Do you understand?" Ala repeated.
Jay nodded.
"Then," said Ala, making her way toward the door, "I will see you are given another assignment, since you have been banned from your current one."
Jay didn't look up from the floor. Ala was going to punish her severely, she knew. Not just for the earlier incident, but for disrespect toward a superior. She was probably going to be made to do something boring, like escort a Seenian official across the bay, or patrol the Ceenta Voweiian border.
"One of the Empress's personal guard will be sent to a new posting once Ambassador Jalre leaves," Ala continued. "Would you like to fill his spot?"
Jay slowly lifted her head. Was Ala playing a cruel joke? Was that part of the punishment? Jay had dreamed her whole life of becoming part of the Empress's personal guard. So she said nothing.
"It is a real offer," said Ala. "You are so concerned with the Empress's safety, perhaps you should be in closer quarters to her."
Jay found her voice. "I do not understand."
"There is nothing to understand," said Ala. "Do you want to be in the personal guard or not? I have a dozen others, just as good as you, who would be willing to do it instead."
"Of course I do," said Jay. "But I thought you were going to punish me."
Ala gave her a half-smile. "I am. Meet me in the front hall at first sunrise, Jaishlin. Do not be late."
kay_brookeStory: The Myrrosta
Colors: Brown #9 (brownie points), Burnt Umber #8 (Erta Ale Range), Tea Rose #6 (for what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors and laugh at them in our turn?)
Styles/Supplies: None
Word Count: 2,258
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; minor violence
Summary: Jay won't stand to hear her Empress insulted.
Notes: The Jay piece I realized I actually wanted to write in the middle of the last one.
Jay had him where she wanted him, flat on his back, trapped between her thighs, and with her freshly-sharpened dagger pressed against the side of his throat.
And still he was grinning, his pale lips split to show rows of white, white teeth.
"Take it back," she hissed, leaning close to him.
"What will you do if I don't, whore?"
"Take it back, or I will slit your throat."
His eyes narrowed; his mouth still grinned, a smirk so enraging she could barely see straight. She was dimly aware that he was shifting, trying to gain leverage over her by sliding his feet on either side of her much shorter legs. Let him try to flip her with that obvious move. She would dig the dagger in before he had a chance to get very far. "I don't think you will."
His hands tightened around her arm. Jay tensed, wondering if this was it, the moment she would make her first kill. She would gladly do it, of course. The man had said unforgivable things, things that deserved a punishment of death. The dagger wavered slightly, the tip pressing into soft, pale skin far enough to draw a thin bead of blood. The man did not react.
What would have happened next, who would have been faster, Jay never found out. Instead a low, angry voice called out, "Jaishlin Mortague!"
Her fingers fumbled on the dagger, the instincts bred into her after years of hearing that very voice jerking her to obey, to immediately drop her weapon and stand to attention. But she was angry enough that she pushed that impulse down deep inside herself, and her grip on the dagger steadied.
"Jaishlin! You will disengage at once!"
"You heard your leader of whores," the man spat. "Little girls should listen to their betters."
"You would like that, would you not?" Jay said. "Are you breathing a sigh of relief now, coward? Do you think the presence of someone else will stop me from opening your foul throat?"
She thought, for a moment, that she was going to do it. But then hands were on her, pulling her away, and the man was siting up, standing, still grinning. It was not only Ala, her superior, in the hallway. There were two men with her, two of the Sun Guard she had never met, and now they were holding her arms, containing her struggles while Ala plucked the dagger from Jay's hand and slid it into her own weapons belt.
The woman, shorter than even Jay, had no problem with intimidation. She looked up into Jay's face, her dark green eyes staring right through it, deep into Jay's anger. "What do you think you are doing?"
This time she had no reason not to react to Ala's voice, and Jay's anger receded, replaced by contriteness. But it didn't leave completely. It never would, Jay knew, until she saw at least fear in the offending man's eyes. "I am teaching a rude man a lesson."
"This man is Baron Jalre," Ala hissed. "He is an ambassador, and our guest."
"I know who he is," said Jay. "He insulted our Empress."
Ala raised one eyebrow. "Did he, now?"
"He called her the queen of whores." The mocking title tasted foul on her tongue, and she felt she would have to scrub her mouth just for repeating the man's words.
The man straightened his rumpled tunic. "I assure you, lady, I did no such thing." His smirk was gone, replaced with a thin smile and conciliatory words. Jay had never wanted so badly to kill someone. "I was merely walking this hall, admiring the Empress's taste in decorations, when this woman attacked me."
"He is a lying Arkijti bastard!" Jay strained against her handlers. "He insulted our Empress!"
Ala waved her hand at the two men holding Jay. "Please take her to her quarters. Make sure she doesn't leave until I come to see her." She turned to the ambassador. "Baron Jalre, please let me assure you that you are in no danger here. I'm sure Jaishlin just misunderstood."
"I did not!"
A scathing glare from Ala silenced her again. The woman continued. "I will of course report this to the Empress, so that she may apologize for the...overzealous behavior of one of her subjects."
Overzealous? She'd done nothing less than what she had pledged to do. Her current assignment was the protection and support of the ambassadors who had come into the city, but her first duty, her most important duty that superseded all other temporary postings, was protection of the Empress. She wasn't part of the Empress's personal guard, but that was the mandate laid upon all the Sun Guard once they had passed their initiation rites: the Empress's safety above all else, even if it went against the order of a superior.
This man, this ambassador, if such a title could be afforded to such a dishonorable person, had come to the Empress's city with vile words on his tongue, had been invited by her Majesty herself and then turned that invitation into an excuse for disrespect. No one could blame Jay for taking the man's words as a threat.
She had done no less than her job, and she didn't understand why Ala bowed and made amends to the criminal while Jay was treated and punished like a misbehaving child.
She would make her understand. So she stood in her room, pacing back and forth, waiting for Ala to appear. She presumed the woman would make her wait a long time, and she wasn't wrong. The patch of sky Jay could see through her window was nearly black when Ala finally came, dressed in a more casual robe than earlier and carrying a torch. She nodded to the men guarding Jay's room, dismissing them, and stepped inside.
Jay wasted no time. "That man is a dog and he should be put out on the street."
Ala shot her a sharp look and slid her torch into a wall holder. Jay hadn't bothered lighting any candles as night came; she could stew just as well in the dark as she could in the light. Her task finished, Ala turned to Jay, clasped her hands, and said, "That was an embarrassing display today, Jaishlin, and it will not be repeated."
"He made threats against the Empress! Do not make me repeat the foul words he uttered."
Ala nodded. "Queen of whores. I remember. But that is namecalling, Jay, not a threat. Puerile, yes, but hardly dangerous."
Jay blinked at her. How could she say that? How could she let the ambassador into the same room as the Empress, knowing what he thought of her? "Words may lead to actions," she said angrily, because that was a lesson Ala herself had taught her, so she more than anyone should have remembered it.
"If they do, the Empress's personal guard will be there to stop them," said Ala.
"Why wait?" argued Jay. "Throw the man out now, before he can even attempt to hurt her." The solution was so obvious; why couldn't Ala, the woman who had taught her almost everything she knew, not see that?
"Because we do not punish people for what they may think," said Ala. "That is a dangerous road to walk, Jaishlin."
"But he is Arkijti," said Jay. "They hate us. They have always hated us. Just because we are not currently at war does not mean that the king in Sarachnia has no desire to see us fallen, or to see the Empress dead. He could send assassins. He could infiltrate the palace with his spies." She'd had a long time, waiting for Ala, to think of the myriad subterfuges the Arkijti king could use the current talks as an excuse for.
"It's true that much of our history has us fighting the Arkijti," said Ala. She walked across the room and sat on the bed. She did not give Jay permission to sit, so the younger woman remained standing. "And peace, when it comes, is uneasy at best. But that's what these meetings are meant to resolve. It's important to everyone, Jaishlin, that Kandel and Arkijt come to understand each other better."
Jay pointed toward the door, down the hallway and all the way to the palace, where even now the vile man was probably taking supper with far too many of Kandel's royalty and nobility. "How can they come to an understanding when they send a man who believes such disrespectful things of our Empress?"
Ala looked at her. "I have only your word that he even said such things. He denies it, and there were no other witnesses."
"You would believe an Arkijti dog over me?" said Jay, aghast. She decided the man must have done something to Ala, threatened her. Jay would never have believed Ala to bend to threats, but something must have happened to make her say these things.
"I do believe you, Jay," said Ala. "I also believe that you're right. The ambassador holds only insults for us in his heart, no matter what diplomatic words he speaks. But perhaps talking to the Empress may change his views, or at the least open the door for further meetings, with other ambassadors who may be more accommodating."
"Perhaps," Jay sneered.
Ala shrugged. "What else do you suggest?" She held up one hand as Jay opened her mouth. "No, I know what you would suggest. You would just as well have the Empress send a conquering army to Arkijt. You would have her close her mind to what any Arkijti has to say. You would think it better to go to war than grant our neighbors a second glance."
Jay fumed. Ala made it sound like she was a war-monger, like she wanted the Empress to send people to die. "Of course I do not want war."
"But can you, truthfully, tell me that you believe we have any other choice in our dealings with the Arkijti?"
Jay fell silent, because she couldn't. The Arkijti weren't deserving of the Empress's time and ear. They had done nothing but kill and torture her people for centuries, and wage war against the throne she was sworn to protect. It would be better for everyone if they didn't exist at all. "They cannot come here, pretend to apologize, and be forgiven for all they have done," she said, not yet willing to back down.
"No," said Ala. "No one is asking the Empress to forgive them, only that she listen to them. Perhaps, in time, they may take the chance of listening to us as well."
"It will never happen."
"We can't say either way," said Ala, standing up. "What the Empress and the Arkijti king decide are their business. My concern lies with you and the others I lead. So I'm here to say that you are not to speak again to the ambassador while he is here, no matter what he says. You are not even to be in the same room as he. If you see him walking down the same hallway as you, you are to turn around and find another route to wherever you are going. Do you understand?"
"No," said Jay stubbornly.
Ala sighed. "Jaishlin, you could have made so much more trouble for us. The ambassador accepted the Empress's apology, but what if he hadn't? He could have gone back to his king complaining of the attacks and insults he suffered here because of you. You could have destroyed this entire meeting, fragile as it already is."
Jay looked at the floor. She still didn't completely understand why that was such a bad thing, but she did understand that it was against the Empress's wishes. It was her job to obey the Empress above all else, so in this she had to keep quiet, even while she seethed at the idea of the ambassador even looking in the Empress's direction.
"Do you understand?" Ala repeated.
Jay nodded.
"Then," said Ala, making her way toward the door, "I will see you are given another assignment, since you have been banned from your current one."
Jay didn't look up from the floor. Ala was going to punish her severely, she knew. Not just for the earlier incident, but for disrespect toward a superior. She was probably going to be made to do something boring, like escort a Seenian official across the bay, or patrol the Ceenta Voweiian border.
"One of the Empress's personal guard will be sent to a new posting once Ambassador Jalre leaves," Ala continued. "Would you like to fill his spot?"
Jay slowly lifted her head. Was Ala playing a cruel joke? Was that part of the punishment? Jay had dreamed her whole life of becoming part of the Empress's personal guard. So she said nothing.
"It is a real offer," said Ala. "You are so concerned with the Empress's safety, perhaps you should be in closer quarters to her."
Jay found her voice. "I do not understand."
"There is nothing to understand," said Ala. "Do you want to be in the personal guard or not? I have a dozen others, just as good as you, who would be willing to do it instead."
"Of course I do," said Jay. "But I thought you were going to punish me."
Ala gave her a half-smile. "I am. Meet me in the front hall at first sunrise, Jaishlin. Do not be late."
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Thank you for reading!
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Thank you for reading!
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Oh Jay. So good at honor and fighting and all that, so bad at politics and self-control. I ♥ her.
I love the politics and I love Jay's "punishment"! Maybe it is a punishment, but also, I think Ala sees how truly sincere Jay is...
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Your summary of Jay's character is spot on! That's exactly what she's like.
Thank you for reading!