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rainbowfic2024-04-30 08:22 pm
thisbluespirit) wrote in rainbowfic2024-04-30 08:22 pm
Burgundy #3; Light Black #16; Beet Red #20 [Starfall]
Name: Conspiracy
Story: Starfall
Colors: Burgundy #3 (Breathe); Light Black #16 (rush); Beet Red #20 (Off the hook)
Supplies and Styles: Graffiti (April Food Challenge) + Novelty Beads (December Gift Exchange 2020, fromshadowsong26: If you fell head first into a pigsty, you'd try to convince everybody you did it on purpose. -- Wheel of Time)
Word Count: 2414
Rating: PG
Warnings: None.
Notes: 1313, Portcallan; Viyony Eseray, Tana Veldiner, Leion Valerno. Continues on from Holding Space.
Summary: Viyony finds her voice again.
Viyony sagged down on the bench in the tiny cell. She was shaking, breath short and as ragged as if she'd been running. She clenched her hands and stared hard at the opposite wall.
It will be all right, she told herself. Leion had sent for Tana Veldiner, and Tana would listen to her. She would understand, and even if she didn't, she had reason to set Viyony free. To Tana, she was bait to draw out the people who might want to misuse her affinity to the Powers.
Closing her eyes didn't take away the memory of the way Leion had looked at her, though. He was still there, somewhere in the room outside this cell. He hadn't left—maybe couldn't now, not until this was sorted. She raised her chin. A spark of anger warmed her. That was his lookout. She hadn't asked him to.
"What is this?" Tana demanded, before the guard had finished opening the cell door for her. She paused, then, waiting for them to shut the door behind her, and give them privacy to speak. As soon as the door thudded closed, she turned to Viyony. "Well?"
Viyony gaped. She'd expected it to take much longer for Tana to get here, and she hadn't begun to fully sift through her muddled thoughts. "I—I -" She stopped. "I'm sorry? But I can explain."
"Good," said Tana. "Leion said something similar before making me agree to confirm some improbable tale - but he ran off." Her tone softened as she glanced again at Viyony. Viyony supposed she must look a mess. Her shirt was dirty and rumpled, her jacket askew, her hair falling out over her face, and she was still hugging her coat against her as if it were a talisman. "Well. Come to my office and you can tell me there exactly what has been going on."
Viyony blinked. "Aren't I under arrest?"
"No. I arranged a test of security. Apparently," said Tana. "So Leion assures me." She folded her arms, waiting for Viyony to stand. "And since you are far more useful to me at liberty, and I need Leion, I'll refrain from locking you up until I uncover the truth."
Viyony got to her feet, putting her hand on the stone wall to steady herself. "Thank you. I'm grateful."
"You should be," said Tana. "I was enjoying my day off until this happened."
There was no sign of Leion when Viyony emerged from the cell, unsure what she would say to him yet if he was there. Tana then swept Viyony away to her office, deep in the labyrinthine heart of main Chamber Buildings, at a pace that left her gasping. It had been a long day already, and she hadn't had anything to eat or drink since she and Leion left the beacon first thing that morning.
"Now," said Tana, once she had settled herself at her desk, in a more formal position, "explain to me why you stole this." She held up the packet.
Viyony closed her eyes. The chair had a cushioned seat and back and, upright as it was, that little comfort unravelled everything she'd been holding together since the guard had produced those same papers from her pocket. She pressed her hand to her mouth, then let it fall down, focusing on breathing until the reaction passed.
"I'll have someone bring you a drink—belated lunch as well might be in order." Tana jumped up, and disappeared out of the door. Viyony could hear her calling to someone outside.
Viyony rose, crossing on instinct to the window, to the light. She pressed her fingers hard against the wood of the sill and watched storm clouds chase each other across the sky. Had it only been this morning she and Leion had stood out in the rain on the clifftop, watching their troubles burn? It already seemed another world away. Behind her, the door opened and shut again with a no-nonsense click.
"I didn't steal anything," said Viyony, before Tana could speak. She turned around. "I'm sure Leion didn't, either. There would be no point in trying to blame me and then getting me out of trouble at the same time. Otherwise -" She caught her breath, certainty wavering over the folly of trusting charming liars. "He wouldn't, would he?"
Tana gave a faint smile and shook her head.
"Which only leaves Imai Ylencern, the guard who searched my things, or the High Governor herself who could possibly have placed it in my pocket. But Ylencern could call away Leion's sister and take her place, and he had access to papers like that, whereas the guard wouldn't have done. I know this must sound improbable—but, truthfully, I don't think I could have done it—I was standing away from the desk with Governor Aradellen all the time I was in her office, and Leion was somewhere behind us, watching. He had more opportunity, but -" She gave a quick twist of her mouth. "As I said, that makes no sense."
Tana opened her mouth to reply, but a knock at the door cut her short. A member of the Chamber staff pushed it open, and walked in with a tray. They placed it at the desk between the two, and gave Tana a brief, respectful nod before retreating.
"Please," said Tana, gesturing to the food and water on the tray. "Help yourself. I'd just eaten before you two dragged me into this affair of yours."
Heat rose in Viyony's face. She halted in the middle of picking up a thick, round slice of seeded bread to lean forward. "Imai Veldiner, I'm telling the truth. What use would I have for any government papers? I don't even know which documents those are!"
"It doesn't matter for now," said Tana. "Leion is right. You are far more use to me out and about in Portcallan. So, is that the truth?"
"Yes. You can ask the High Governor as well as Leion. I couldn't have picked anything up without one of them seeing it."
Tana nodded. "One more question, then—why should Imai Ylencern go to such lengths to make trouble for you?"
"This may sound even sillier, but I met Kadia Barra this week, and she didn't like me very much."
"Kadia?"
Viyony sat back down with plate and cup in her hands. She took a sip of the water. "Yes. It was nothing in itself, not to start with. I mentioned Leion—she didn't like that. She did something petty and spiteful—but she followed it up with a private meeting—to apologise, she said, but I don't think that was what she wanted at all. She seems capable of doing anything—and she knew Leion and I were coming here today—that's how I came to mention him to her in the first place. She could bribe or persuade Ylencern, or maybe there's a family connection. She's that kind of person."
"I think I follow you," said Tana,"but I don't understand why you didn't say anything like this to Leion or the High Guards."
Viyony swallowed a mouthful of bread with an effort. She could still see Leion's face when she'd refused to answer him. "I don't know—except if Kadia would do something like this to try and cause trouble between us, then what would she do next if it didn't work? What if it was worse?"
It was better, too, for other, more personal, reasons, if Leion left her alone. Viyony brushed crumbs from her fingers, and lifted her head, shaking stray hair away from her face.
"I was thinking—if you and Leion are right about me being in danger from people like Kadia Barra, then maybe Leion's presence has protected me a little too well, and that's why nothing's happened. So, if she thinks she's successfully caused a breach between us, let's see what she—or someone else—does next."
Tana leaned back in her chair. "Hmm. I'm not sure I agree—even if your speculation is right. I shall have to speak to Ylencern—and you'll have to talk to Leion. I very much doubt that he will just let this go otherwise, do you?"
"No, no!" said Viyony. "I can't tell him! Neither must you. Say that it was me, but I'm more useful acting as bait the way you planned. It's safer if he doesn't know." She relaxed enough to take another bite of the bread, before wiping her mouth and adding, curiously, "Do you think Kadia would do something like this? She's the only person I could think of who might actually go this far—but there were an awful lot of other people at that party, and I don't know all the wheels within wheels yet."
"It wouldn't shock me," said Tana. "As to Leion, I'm not so sure you can-"
The door to the office burst open and Imai Ylencern was roughly shoved through it, followed by Leion, who had a firm hold of the other man's shoulder despite his protests. He kicked the door shut behind him. "Here you are," he said, breathing hard and red in the face. "Got the culprit."
"As I was saying," Tana murmured, as she stood.
"Let go of me! You'll hear from the High Governor herself about this!" Ylencern tugged sharply against Leion's grip.
Leion only looked to Tana, releasing Ylencern slowly at her nod. "See! I knew Viyony couldn't have done it—and there were three of us in that cursed office, not two. Well, four, but I thought better try this rat before I cornered the High Governor. And this—this piece of sea-shit pretty much confessed in a panic as soon as I grabbed him."
Ylencern stepped forward, facing Tana. "Imai Veldiner. This is outrageous! Valerno attacked me in the corridor, making wild accusations and then dragged me here in the most violent and undignified manner—he's not fit to be allowed in High Chambers! I insist you have him thrown out this instant."
"Quiet," said Tana, rising. She was taller than Ylencern; her eyes an icy grey. "Leion, do not haul people about the building if you suspect them of committing a crime. There are proper channels and procedures. You should follow them."
Ylencern choked in protest. "I have done nothing! Imai Veldiner—I beg of you, have this—this -"
"I said, quiet," Tana said. "Viyony, please call for a guard."
"For Valerno, not for me, I trust?" said Ylencern. Viyony cast a sidelong look up at him, as she put down her plate and then rose. He was shaking, although whether with rage or fear, she couldn't tell.
Tana raised an eyebrow. Her glance took in both Ylencern and Leion. "Wait and see."
"Well, come on," said Leion to Tana, once the promised High Guard had escorted Ylencern out of there. "Let Viyony go now!"
Tana sighed. She gestured to Viyony to sit back down. "Viyony is not here under duress. Please calm down or I will have you thrown out. In fact, after that little display, I've half a mind to do so anyway. Don't you have the sense you were born with?"
"Why didn't you say something?" Leion turned abruptly to Viyony, sitting himself sideways on the chair next to her. "That threw me for a while there. Why? I wondered—did you think I did it? Were you protecting me?"
Viyony choked on her mouthful, coughing and spluttering. Leion rescued her plate from being knocked onto the floor. "You would think a thing like that! It's the vainest thing I ever heard."
"All right, all right," said Leion. He handed her back her plate. "Then what were you doing?"
Viyony tore the remainder of her bread into two. "I don't know. I had this plan." She explained it to him, as she had to Tana.
"No," said Leion flatly. "That is a terrible idea. I don't like it. The whole point was, as I have told both of you several times, that I don't approve of anyone being used as bait. If the Barras or the Hyans or whoever else is at it this time leave you alone, then good, as far as I'm concerned. I want them stopped, but not by throwing anybody else into their clutches."
Tana tapped her fingers on the desk, until they both fell silent. "Thank you. This is my operation and my decision. I have to talk to Ylencern before I decide anything, but if what you suspect is true, he'll have reason to play along with this little charade too—better let whoever paid him believe things went as planned."
"I'd like it to be noted that I object," said Leion. "Plus, somebody must have seen me drag him down the corridor. He was very unhappy about it, and at volume, most of the way here."
"If we do this—if, I said, Leion—I can deal with that. Now, be quiet. For now, we'll do as Viyony suggests. You don't have to leave her entirely alone—just continue your allotted task with a bad grace."
"If we're going with this ridiculous plan, then I'll be every bit as grudging about it as you could wish."
"You won't have to go to any more eighth-day ceremonies," said Viyony. "You should thank me."
"I should, shouldn't I?" said Leion. "Only imagine what horrors ignoring you might save me from." He got up from the chair, brushing his hands together. "In that case, I shall go, and Tana can arrange someone to escort you home. I shall take myself off in the other direction and sulk all the way back to Valerno House."
Viyony watched him go. "He won't do this, will he?"
"If we use your idea, you may leave Leion to me," said Tana. "As soon as you've finished that, I want you out of my office. Come back at ten tomorrow morning, so I can conduct a proper interview. By then I should have been able to speak to everybody else involved—and my superior."
Viyony nodded. "Yes. Thank you."
It would have been better if Leion had kept out of it—if he had believed the worst of her. Better to have all their little trips and interactions so cleanly and finally cut short for her. And yet—his interference, his refusal to believe she'd done this—the tightness eased out of her chest when she thought of it.
She shouldn't be glad, but she was.
Story: Starfall
Colors: Burgundy #3 (Breathe); Light Black #16 (rush); Beet Red #20 (Off the hook)
Supplies and Styles: Graffiti (April Food Challenge) + Novelty Beads (December Gift Exchange 2020, from
shadowsong26: If you fell head first into a pigsty, you'd try to convince everybody you did it on purpose. -- Wheel of Time)Word Count: 2414
Rating: PG
Warnings: None.
Notes: 1313, Portcallan; Viyony Eseray, Tana Veldiner, Leion Valerno. Continues on from Holding Space.
Summary: Viyony finds her voice again.
Viyony sagged down on the bench in the tiny cell. She was shaking, breath short and as ragged as if she'd been running. She clenched her hands and stared hard at the opposite wall.
It will be all right, she told herself. Leion had sent for Tana Veldiner, and Tana would listen to her. She would understand, and even if she didn't, she had reason to set Viyony free. To Tana, she was bait to draw out the people who might want to misuse her affinity to the Powers.
Closing her eyes didn't take away the memory of the way Leion had looked at her, though. He was still there, somewhere in the room outside this cell. He hadn't left—maybe couldn't now, not until this was sorted. She raised her chin. A spark of anger warmed her. That was his lookout. She hadn't asked him to.
"What is this?" Tana demanded, before the guard had finished opening the cell door for her. She paused, then, waiting for them to shut the door behind her, and give them privacy to speak. As soon as the door thudded closed, she turned to Viyony. "Well?"
Viyony gaped. She'd expected it to take much longer for Tana to get here, and she hadn't begun to fully sift through her muddled thoughts. "I—I -" She stopped. "I'm sorry? But I can explain."
"Good," said Tana. "Leion said something similar before making me agree to confirm some improbable tale - but he ran off." Her tone softened as she glanced again at Viyony. Viyony supposed she must look a mess. Her shirt was dirty and rumpled, her jacket askew, her hair falling out over her face, and she was still hugging her coat against her as if it were a talisman. "Well. Come to my office and you can tell me there exactly what has been going on."
Viyony blinked. "Aren't I under arrest?"
"No. I arranged a test of security. Apparently," said Tana. "So Leion assures me." She folded her arms, waiting for Viyony to stand. "And since you are far more useful to me at liberty, and I need Leion, I'll refrain from locking you up until I uncover the truth."
Viyony got to her feet, putting her hand on the stone wall to steady herself. "Thank you. I'm grateful."
"You should be," said Tana. "I was enjoying my day off until this happened."
There was no sign of Leion when Viyony emerged from the cell, unsure what she would say to him yet if he was there. Tana then swept Viyony away to her office, deep in the labyrinthine heart of main Chamber Buildings, at a pace that left her gasping. It had been a long day already, and she hadn't had anything to eat or drink since she and Leion left the beacon first thing that morning.
"Now," said Tana, once she had settled herself at her desk, in a more formal position, "explain to me why you stole this." She held up the packet.
Viyony closed her eyes. The chair had a cushioned seat and back and, upright as it was, that little comfort unravelled everything she'd been holding together since the guard had produced those same papers from her pocket. She pressed her hand to her mouth, then let it fall down, focusing on breathing until the reaction passed.
"I'll have someone bring you a drink—belated lunch as well might be in order." Tana jumped up, and disappeared out of the door. Viyony could hear her calling to someone outside.
Viyony rose, crossing on instinct to the window, to the light. She pressed her fingers hard against the wood of the sill and watched storm clouds chase each other across the sky. Had it only been this morning she and Leion had stood out in the rain on the clifftop, watching their troubles burn? It already seemed another world away. Behind her, the door opened and shut again with a no-nonsense click.
"I didn't steal anything," said Viyony, before Tana could speak. She turned around. "I'm sure Leion didn't, either. There would be no point in trying to blame me and then getting me out of trouble at the same time. Otherwise -" She caught her breath, certainty wavering over the folly of trusting charming liars. "He wouldn't, would he?"
Tana gave a faint smile and shook her head.
"Which only leaves Imai Ylencern, the guard who searched my things, or the High Governor herself who could possibly have placed it in my pocket. But Ylencern could call away Leion's sister and take her place, and he had access to papers like that, whereas the guard wouldn't have done. I know this must sound improbable—but, truthfully, I don't think I could have done it—I was standing away from the desk with Governor Aradellen all the time I was in her office, and Leion was somewhere behind us, watching. He had more opportunity, but -" She gave a quick twist of her mouth. "As I said, that makes no sense."
Tana opened her mouth to reply, but a knock at the door cut her short. A member of the Chamber staff pushed it open, and walked in with a tray. They placed it at the desk between the two, and gave Tana a brief, respectful nod before retreating.
"Please," said Tana, gesturing to the food and water on the tray. "Help yourself. I'd just eaten before you two dragged me into this affair of yours."
Heat rose in Viyony's face. She halted in the middle of picking up a thick, round slice of seeded bread to lean forward. "Imai Veldiner, I'm telling the truth. What use would I have for any government papers? I don't even know which documents those are!"
"It doesn't matter for now," said Tana. "Leion is right. You are far more use to me out and about in Portcallan. So, is that the truth?"
"Yes. You can ask the High Governor as well as Leion. I couldn't have picked anything up without one of them seeing it."
Tana nodded. "One more question, then—why should Imai Ylencern go to such lengths to make trouble for you?"
"This may sound even sillier, but I met Kadia Barra this week, and she didn't like me very much."
"Kadia?"
Viyony sat back down with plate and cup in her hands. She took a sip of the water. "Yes. It was nothing in itself, not to start with. I mentioned Leion—she didn't like that. She did something petty and spiteful—but she followed it up with a private meeting—to apologise, she said, but I don't think that was what she wanted at all. She seems capable of doing anything—and she knew Leion and I were coming here today—that's how I came to mention him to her in the first place. She could bribe or persuade Ylencern, or maybe there's a family connection. She's that kind of person."
"I think I follow you," said Tana,"but I don't understand why you didn't say anything like this to Leion or the High Guards."
Viyony swallowed a mouthful of bread with an effort. She could still see Leion's face when she'd refused to answer him. "I don't know—except if Kadia would do something like this to try and cause trouble between us, then what would she do next if it didn't work? What if it was worse?"
It was better, too, for other, more personal, reasons, if Leion left her alone. Viyony brushed crumbs from her fingers, and lifted her head, shaking stray hair away from her face.
"I was thinking—if you and Leion are right about me being in danger from people like Kadia Barra, then maybe Leion's presence has protected me a little too well, and that's why nothing's happened. So, if she thinks she's successfully caused a breach between us, let's see what she—or someone else—does next."
Tana leaned back in her chair. "Hmm. I'm not sure I agree—even if your speculation is right. I shall have to speak to Ylencern—and you'll have to talk to Leion. I very much doubt that he will just let this go otherwise, do you?"
"No, no!" said Viyony. "I can't tell him! Neither must you. Say that it was me, but I'm more useful acting as bait the way you planned. It's safer if he doesn't know." She relaxed enough to take another bite of the bread, before wiping her mouth and adding, curiously, "Do you think Kadia would do something like this? She's the only person I could think of who might actually go this far—but there were an awful lot of other people at that party, and I don't know all the wheels within wheels yet."
"It wouldn't shock me," said Tana. "As to Leion, I'm not so sure you can-"
The door to the office burst open and Imai Ylencern was roughly shoved through it, followed by Leion, who had a firm hold of the other man's shoulder despite his protests. He kicked the door shut behind him. "Here you are," he said, breathing hard and red in the face. "Got the culprit."
"As I was saying," Tana murmured, as she stood.
"Let go of me! You'll hear from the High Governor herself about this!" Ylencern tugged sharply against Leion's grip.
Leion only looked to Tana, releasing Ylencern slowly at her nod. "See! I knew Viyony couldn't have done it—and there were three of us in that cursed office, not two. Well, four, but I thought better try this rat before I cornered the High Governor. And this—this piece of sea-shit pretty much confessed in a panic as soon as I grabbed him."
Ylencern stepped forward, facing Tana. "Imai Veldiner. This is outrageous! Valerno attacked me in the corridor, making wild accusations and then dragged me here in the most violent and undignified manner—he's not fit to be allowed in High Chambers! I insist you have him thrown out this instant."
"Quiet," said Tana, rising. She was taller than Ylencern; her eyes an icy grey. "Leion, do not haul people about the building if you suspect them of committing a crime. There are proper channels and procedures. You should follow them."
Ylencern choked in protest. "I have done nothing! Imai Veldiner—I beg of you, have this—this -"
"I said, quiet," Tana said. "Viyony, please call for a guard."
"For Valerno, not for me, I trust?" said Ylencern. Viyony cast a sidelong look up at him, as she put down her plate and then rose. He was shaking, although whether with rage or fear, she couldn't tell.
Tana raised an eyebrow. Her glance took in both Ylencern and Leion. "Wait and see."
"Well, come on," said Leion to Tana, once the promised High Guard had escorted Ylencern out of there. "Let Viyony go now!"
Tana sighed. She gestured to Viyony to sit back down. "Viyony is not here under duress. Please calm down or I will have you thrown out. In fact, after that little display, I've half a mind to do so anyway. Don't you have the sense you were born with?"
"Why didn't you say something?" Leion turned abruptly to Viyony, sitting himself sideways on the chair next to her. "That threw me for a while there. Why? I wondered—did you think I did it? Were you protecting me?"
Viyony choked on her mouthful, coughing and spluttering. Leion rescued her plate from being knocked onto the floor. "You would think a thing like that! It's the vainest thing I ever heard."
"All right, all right," said Leion. He handed her back her plate. "Then what were you doing?"
Viyony tore the remainder of her bread into two. "I don't know. I had this plan." She explained it to him, as she had to Tana.
"No," said Leion flatly. "That is a terrible idea. I don't like it. The whole point was, as I have told both of you several times, that I don't approve of anyone being used as bait. If the Barras or the Hyans or whoever else is at it this time leave you alone, then good, as far as I'm concerned. I want them stopped, but not by throwing anybody else into their clutches."
Tana tapped her fingers on the desk, until they both fell silent. "Thank you. This is my operation and my decision. I have to talk to Ylencern before I decide anything, but if what you suspect is true, he'll have reason to play along with this little charade too—better let whoever paid him believe things went as planned."
"I'd like it to be noted that I object," said Leion. "Plus, somebody must have seen me drag him down the corridor. He was very unhappy about it, and at volume, most of the way here."
"If we do this—if, I said, Leion—I can deal with that. Now, be quiet. For now, we'll do as Viyony suggests. You don't have to leave her entirely alone—just continue your allotted task with a bad grace."
"If we're going with this ridiculous plan, then I'll be every bit as grudging about it as you could wish."
"You won't have to go to any more eighth-day ceremonies," said Viyony. "You should thank me."
"I should, shouldn't I?" said Leion. "Only imagine what horrors ignoring you might save me from." He got up from the chair, brushing his hands together. "In that case, I shall go, and Tana can arrange someone to escort you home. I shall take myself off in the other direction and sulk all the way back to Valerno House."
Viyony watched him go. "He won't do this, will he?"
"If we use your idea, you may leave Leion to me," said Tana. "As soon as you've finished that, I want you out of my office. Come back at ten tomorrow morning, so I can conduct a proper interview. By then I should have been able to speak to everybody else involved—and my superior."
Viyony nodded. "Yes. Thank you."
It would have been better if Leion had kept out of it—if he had believed the worst of her. Better to have all their little trips and interactions so cleanly and finally cut short for her. And yet—his interference, his refusal to believe she'd done this—the tightness eased out of her chest when she thought of it.
She shouldn't be glad, but she was.
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I really love your writing (and Viyony)! <3
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Here's your novelty beads!
1. http://37.media.tumblr.com/21bf044f041d5820d7d94b92ca6f02c7/tumblr_n9l4y9BE381qbrunjo8_1280.jpg
2. https://31.media.tumblr.com/a48cce4ddb1024324ffb5eb6dd9a177d/tumblr_n10coqVDgU1supmtwo2_500.jpg
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Heh, that really is kind of Leion's role in this whole thing in many ways. <3 (He's trying.)