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rainbowfic2024-09-02 08:51 pm
thisbluespirit) wrote in rainbowfic2024-09-02 08:51 pm
Beet Red #14; Vert #16 [Starfall]
Name: people like us, we don't need that much
Story: Starfall
Colors: Beet Red #14 (Strike while the iron is hot); Vert #16 (As the lord/lady asks)
Supplies and Styles: Canvas + resin (also forlyricaltitles bingo square "line from the chorus"; from James Blunt "Bonfire Heart")
Word Count: 1474
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Notes: 1331, Old Ralston; Marran Delver/Mya Willo. (A bit of backstory I've been meaning to slot in somewhere for a while.)
Summary: Mya Willo has an appointment with the Governor.
"Go on in, Imai Willo," the secretary said, opening the door to the District Governor's outer office. "Imai Stolley will see to you from here. The Governor is expecting you."
Mya stepped inside, pulling the door shut softly behind her. The office was empty except for a man, who was bent over one of the desks at an awkward angle, sorting through a drawer full of files.
"Excuse me," she said, moving nearer. "Imai... Stolley, is it? I have an appointment to see the Governor."
He lifted his head. "Oh?"
Mya nodded. "Will he be long, do you think?"
"Not very," he told her, straightening up, with a card file in hand. He gave her a smile. "What was the name again, Imai -?"
"Willo." She remained standing, glancing over to the door to the inner office.
The man sat on the side of the desk. He put the file down beside him, and studied her. He was pale-skinned, blond and probably in his late thirties or early forties. Mya shifted about, wishing he would hurry up and tell the Governor that she had arrived.
"What was it about again?"
"The Governor knows. I wrote to him last week."
His mouth twitched. "Oh, you did, did you? Yes, I recall, I think. Imai Willo, you said?" His face cleared. "Ah, yes, I do know who you are, don't I?"
"Probably," said Mya. "People tend to."
"I know how you feel—usually. As it happens, you're labouring under a misapprehension. You see-"
Mya stiffened. These officials were all the same. She drew herself up. "I'm sorry, but I have to see the Governor, and I won't be in Old Ralston for very long. It is important. If he's not available now, then I shall wait here until he is."
"No, no," he said. He stood, which gave him an unfair distance from which to look down at her. He held out his hand and gave an apologetic half smile. "Imai Willo—I'm Marran Delver."
He wasn't wearing the formal District Governor's uniform, or even the blue belt he might have added to a less ceremonial outfit when outside of these walls, but even so, she should have recognised him. She'd seen him once before, if from a distance and briefly, but the newssheets were always full of sketches. Mya's face heated.
"Governor," she said. "I'm so sorry."
He laughed. "Don't be. I thought everyone knew me round here. Governorship must be going to my head."
"The secretary outside told me Imai Stolley was waiting for me. So I just assumed -" She gave a small shrug.
"I'll forgive you. Stolley isn't here, which reminds me." He crossed over to an inner door, opened it and poked his head through. "Sunmore, are you in there? Our next appointment is here."
A young man hurried out; brown-skinned, quick-moving, and pressing an untidy bundle of papers to his chest. When he leant forward to offer Mya his hand, several sheets fluttered to the floor. He cursed under his breath and knelt to pick them up.
"Allisky Sunmore," said Governor Delver. "Allisk, this is Mya Willo, who you will no doubt have heard of. Do we have her correspondence to hand?"
Sunmore, despite his flustering, immediately pulled Mya's letter from the centre of the papers he was holding, and then retreated to the desk to retrieve a pen and notebook, to record the meeting for the Council's records.
"Ah, yes," Delver said with, to his credit, only a hasty glance at the letter. He passed it back to Sunmore. "The alionrel processing companies have been up to yet more malpractice in the Eister Heights. Consider me deeply shocked to hear it. You'd better give me the full details—and what it is you believe I may be able to do about it."
Mya pulled out sheaf of folded papers from her bag. She opened them up and smoothed them out on the desk. "We've had increasing incidents of their waste contaminating rivers and streams lately. Unintentionally, they claim, but it's very convenient for them. The effluent kills many of the plants used in our traditional industries—dyeing, glazing and more. We've had a number of cases of sickness in both people and animals. It's driving workers away and disrupting not only the other industries, but farming and fishing. They've destroyed whole hamlets with it already—and then they swoop in and buy up the unwanted land for alionrel processing. They say they need to expand, if they're going to cultivate the proper quota of sunplants in with the alionrel."
"I wondered when it would come around to being my fault," said Delver. He picked up Mya's carefully copied out transcripts of interviews and letters from various afflicted villagers, farmers, and owners of small industries. "Hmm. Is any of this proof?"
Mya moved forward to stand beside him. "Not as such—it demonstrates that the damage is real enough, but I can't prove evil intent. But it's got to be stopped at once. I could have put it before my Councillor, but the odds are it wouldn't have come up in the District Chambers until next year. I thought it was best to bring it straight to you."
"Yes," said Delver. "Of course. And I will raise it with District Chambers—I will be obliged to do so—but you're right. Something more immediate is needed. What did you have in mind?"
Mya started. "I did consult a lawyer about the legal position. Her response is in the file. But, from a government standpoint, I should imagine you or your assistants will have a better idea than I would. What I'm doing next is publishing an article about it."
"Well, that's something." He lifted his head from the papers and smiled. "You wrote that book, didn't you?"
Mya folded her arms against herself. "Several books, actually." Then she gave a short laugh; stupid to get uptight about it. "Yes. That's me. The Ghost House person."
"Then people will listen to you when it comes to the Eister Heights; that's something. They do tend to regard The Ghost House as the last word on the subject."
"I know, and it's absurd. Especially so coming from you, Governor."
"True." He gave a quick laugh. "I only read it recently, you know. I was out of Emoyra when it was first published. When I came back, I rather went out of my way to avoid it—but I was charmed by your second effort, and, of course, then I had to see what all the fuss was about."
"Thank you—but I didn't come here to talk about that."
"No," he said. "Although, personally, I liked—what was it called again? - that little collection of essays you put out a few years ago."
Mya glanced down. "Thank you again, Governor, but this is urgent, and I imagine you have a busy schedule for the day."
"You needn't remind me. I was probably already late for my next appointment before we started this," he said. "But I could clear lunch and we can talk it over more fully then—if you wouldn't mind?"
"A Governor's command?" she countered. "Wouldn't it be treason for me to refuse?"
Delver looked at his secretary. "Sunmore—you can arrange that, yes? And I know you'll already have done some follow up research on the letter, yes? Another thing I'm running behind on—come on, out with it."
Sunmore handed over another file. "Governor. If this information is correct, which we believe it is, then they may be in direction contravention of the 1316 Eister Heights Land Protection Act, as well as liable to severe penalties if a District Inspector catches them."
"See?" said the Governor to Mya. "I can also go to Eister Heights in my official capacity and we'll put pressure on them to be seen to be doing their jobs properly, if nothing else. Obviously, with it being entirely accidental, they will be as concerned as we are to see it stopped. What do you say?"
"Do we need lunch?"
"I usually tend to," said Governor Delver, unfairly. "More to the point, I'll hopefully have read more of this before then. I apologise for being so unprepared, but we've had a prolonged session in Chambers over the past three days -" He held out his hands. "You will have heard about it."
"Yes," said Mya. "I wrote an article about that, too."
"Of course you did. Sunmore—see Imai Willo out, and let's try and be more organised for whoever's next."
Mya held out her hand in farewell. "Thank you for your time, Governor. And I shall see you later?"
Delver nodded. There was a definite gleam in his eye as he took her proffered hand. "Oh, you will, Imai Willo. I promise you that."
Story: Starfall
Colors: Beet Red #14 (Strike while the iron is hot); Vert #16 (As the lord/lady asks)
Supplies and Styles: Canvas + resin (also for
lyricaltitles bingo square "line from the chorus"; from James Blunt "Bonfire Heart")Word Count: 1474
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Notes: 1331, Old Ralston; Marran Delver/Mya Willo. (A bit of backstory I've been meaning to slot in somewhere for a while.)
Summary: Mya Willo has an appointment with the Governor.
"Go on in, Imai Willo," the secretary said, opening the door to the District Governor's outer office. "Imai Stolley will see to you from here. The Governor is expecting you."
Mya stepped inside, pulling the door shut softly behind her. The office was empty except for a man, who was bent over one of the desks at an awkward angle, sorting through a drawer full of files.
"Excuse me," she said, moving nearer. "Imai... Stolley, is it? I have an appointment to see the Governor."
He lifted his head. "Oh?"
Mya nodded. "Will he be long, do you think?"
"Not very," he told her, straightening up, with a card file in hand. He gave her a smile. "What was the name again, Imai -?"
"Willo." She remained standing, glancing over to the door to the inner office.
The man sat on the side of the desk. He put the file down beside him, and studied her. He was pale-skinned, blond and probably in his late thirties or early forties. Mya shifted about, wishing he would hurry up and tell the Governor that she had arrived.
"What was it about again?"
"The Governor knows. I wrote to him last week."
His mouth twitched. "Oh, you did, did you? Yes, I recall, I think. Imai Willo, you said?" His face cleared. "Ah, yes, I do know who you are, don't I?"
"Probably," said Mya. "People tend to."
"I know how you feel—usually. As it happens, you're labouring under a misapprehension. You see-"
Mya stiffened. These officials were all the same. She drew herself up. "I'm sorry, but I have to see the Governor, and I won't be in Old Ralston for very long. It is important. If he's not available now, then I shall wait here until he is."
"No, no," he said. He stood, which gave him an unfair distance from which to look down at her. He held out his hand and gave an apologetic half smile. "Imai Willo—I'm Marran Delver."
He wasn't wearing the formal District Governor's uniform, or even the blue belt he might have added to a less ceremonial outfit when outside of these walls, but even so, she should have recognised him. She'd seen him once before, if from a distance and briefly, but the newssheets were always full of sketches. Mya's face heated.
"Governor," she said. "I'm so sorry."
He laughed. "Don't be. I thought everyone knew me round here. Governorship must be going to my head."
"The secretary outside told me Imai Stolley was waiting for me. So I just assumed -" She gave a small shrug.
"I'll forgive you. Stolley isn't here, which reminds me." He crossed over to an inner door, opened it and poked his head through. "Sunmore, are you in there? Our next appointment is here."
A young man hurried out; brown-skinned, quick-moving, and pressing an untidy bundle of papers to his chest. When he leant forward to offer Mya his hand, several sheets fluttered to the floor. He cursed under his breath and knelt to pick them up.
"Allisky Sunmore," said Governor Delver. "Allisk, this is Mya Willo, who you will no doubt have heard of. Do we have her correspondence to hand?"
Sunmore, despite his flustering, immediately pulled Mya's letter from the centre of the papers he was holding, and then retreated to the desk to retrieve a pen and notebook, to record the meeting for the Council's records.
"Ah, yes," Delver said with, to his credit, only a hasty glance at the letter. He passed it back to Sunmore. "The alionrel processing companies have been up to yet more malpractice in the Eister Heights. Consider me deeply shocked to hear it. You'd better give me the full details—and what it is you believe I may be able to do about it."
Mya pulled out sheaf of folded papers from her bag. She opened them up and smoothed them out on the desk. "We've had increasing incidents of their waste contaminating rivers and streams lately. Unintentionally, they claim, but it's very convenient for them. The effluent kills many of the plants used in our traditional industries—dyeing, glazing and more. We've had a number of cases of sickness in both people and animals. It's driving workers away and disrupting not only the other industries, but farming and fishing. They've destroyed whole hamlets with it already—and then they swoop in and buy up the unwanted land for alionrel processing. They say they need to expand, if they're going to cultivate the proper quota of sunplants in with the alionrel."
"I wondered when it would come around to being my fault," said Delver. He picked up Mya's carefully copied out transcripts of interviews and letters from various afflicted villagers, farmers, and owners of small industries. "Hmm. Is any of this proof?"
Mya moved forward to stand beside him. "Not as such—it demonstrates that the damage is real enough, but I can't prove evil intent. But it's got to be stopped at once. I could have put it before my Councillor, but the odds are it wouldn't have come up in the District Chambers until next year. I thought it was best to bring it straight to you."
"Yes," said Delver. "Of course. And I will raise it with District Chambers—I will be obliged to do so—but you're right. Something more immediate is needed. What did you have in mind?"
Mya started. "I did consult a lawyer about the legal position. Her response is in the file. But, from a government standpoint, I should imagine you or your assistants will have a better idea than I would. What I'm doing next is publishing an article about it."
"Well, that's something." He lifted his head from the papers and smiled. "You wrote that book, didn't you?"
Mya folded her arms against herself. "Several books, actually." Then she gave a short laugh; stupid to get uptight about it. "Yes. That's me. The Ghost House person."
"Then people will listen to you when it comes to the Eister Heights; that's something. They do tend to regard The Ghost House as the last word on the subject."
"I know, and it's absurd. Especially so coming from you, Governor."
"True." He gave a quick laugh. "I only read it recently, you know. I was out of Emoyra when it was first published. When I came back, I rather went out of my way to avoid it—but I was charmed by your second effort, and, of course, then I had to see what all the fuss was about."
"Thank you—but I didn't come here to talk about that."
"No," he said. "Although, personally, I liked—what was it called again? - that little collection of essays you put out a few years ago."
Mya glanced down. "Thank you again, Governor, but this is urgent, and I imagine you have a busy schedule for the day."
"You needn't remind me. I was probably already late for my next appointment before we started this," he said. "But I could clear lunch and we can talk it over more fully then—if you wouldn't mind?"
"A Governor's command?" she countered. "Wouldn't it be treason for me to refuse?"
Delver looked at his secretary. "Sunmore—you can arrange that, yes? And I know you'll already have done some follow up research on the letter, yes? Another thing I'm running behind on—come on, out with it."
Sunmore handed over another file. "Governor. If this information is correct, which we believe it is, then they may be in direction contravention of the 1316 Eister Heights Land Protection Act, as well as liable to severe penalties if a District Inspector catches them."
"See?" said the Governor to Mya. "I can also go to Eister Heights in my official capacity and we'll put pressure on them to be seen to be doing their jobs properly, if nothing else. Obviously, with it being entirely accidental, they will be as concerned as we are to see it stopped. What do you say?"
"Do we need lunch?"
"I usually tend to," said Governor Delver, unfairly. "More to the point, I'll hopefully have read more of this before then. I apologise for being so unprepared, but we've had a prolonged session in Chambers over the past three days -" He held out his hands. "You will have heard about it."
"Yes," said Mya. "I wrote an article about that, too."
"Of course you did. Sunmore—see Imai Willo out, and let's try and be more organised for whoever's next."
Mya held out her hand in farewell. "Thank you for your time, Governor. And I shall see you later?"
Delver nodded. There was a definite gleam in his eye as he took her proffered hand. "Oh, you will, Imai Willo. I promise you that."
no subject
I like this bit of backstory, so I am glad you had the chance to formally introduce it.
no subject
no subject
Isn't this just every single thing in Marron's life.
Anyway, I love this bit! It explains so much about what he's dealing with and who might actually want him dead, apart from like. everyone.
no subject
Isn't this just every single thing in Marron's life.
XD
And not unfairly, lol. Thank you!! <3
no subject
Psst! Beta note: "Sunmor, are you in there? Our next appointment is here."
You've spelt it Sunmore everywhere else within the fic.
no subject
Thank you! And eternally relevant, unfortunately!
Psst! Beta note: "Sunmor, are you in there? Our next appointment is here."
You've spelt it Sunmore everywhere else within the fic.
Ha, thank you. I'll have to find the longhand and see which was actually meant to be correct, if I still have it. XD
no subject
I mean, I'd go with the majority rule, but if it should be without the 'e', then obviously you'll have to change them all!