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rainbowfic2013-10-07 09:29 pm
kay_brooke) wrote in rainbowfic2013-10-07 09:29 pm
Admin Yellow #1, Dirt Brown #12, Tango Pink #19
Name: kay_brooke
Story: The Myrrosta
Colors: Admin Yellow #1 (he's cantankerous, but he's not a killer), Dirt Brown #12 (mud), Tango Pink #19 (electric slide)
Styles/Supplies: n/a
Word Count: 1,644
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; short description of a murder scene.
Summary: The worst night of Jay's life.
Note: Lint Roll answer fordray, who asked Jay: what's the most horrific thing you ever experienced?
“She requests a bowl of cherries.” Jay raised one eyebrow at the kitchen maid. No need to say who “she” was. “As soon as possible, please.” The last word stuck in her throat; she was not used to phrasing her orders to servants as polite requests, but the Empress had admonished her for it, so she was trying. Jay would do anything for the Empress.
“Of course,” said the kitchen maid, bowing her head and hurrying away. Still with a note of fear, Jay was pleased to see.
“Scaring tiny kitchen maids is beneath you.”
Jay rolled her eyes before she turned to address the person who had just tried to sneak up behind her. “Hever. When did you get back from the Seenian wastes?”
“There were no wastes.” Her former rival and lover grinned at her with white teeth. His cheeks and lips were chapped, sure signs that he had just spent time in a very cold climate. “The city was very nice. The hub governor was very gracious. We were given the best rooms in his palace.”
“The hub governors do not have palaces,” said Jay.
“Come now, aren't you even a little pleased to see me? It's been what? Three years?”
“Two,” said Jay. “And I see your covert skills have not improved.”
“You had no idea I was behind you.”
“You breathe louder than a fat Catan priestess climbing the temple tower. I knew you were there the whole time.”
Hever shrugged. He had always been more willing than Jay to let a matter drop. “Truthfully, my visit here is incidental, but when I saw you I couldn't resist. I had a matter to discuss with Cer. He's--”
“Overseeing the guarding of the treasury this month, I know,” said Jay. “I do know who works in the palace, as I work here myself.”
“Yes!” said Hever, clapping his hands once. “The Empress's personal guard. Congratulations. I know you've dreamed for a long time for just this assignment.”
The kitchen maid returned then, with a large silver bowl full of cherries. “The last ones of the season, my lady,” she said shyly. She cast a wary look at Hever, quickly bowed again, and hurried off.
“My lady,” said Hever mockingly.
“She is only showing respect, as a servant should.” Jay tasted one of the cherries. Juicy and ripe, no hint of poison.
“Still, I hardly think your dream included acting as a servant yourself,” said Hever, following Jay as she started down the hall that would take her back to the Empress's bedchamber. “Did she really send you to fetch her cherries? Aren't you supposed to be guarding her?”
“There are palace guards outside her door,” said Jay. “Even they are competent enough to watch her for the few moments I am gone, I would think.”
“But it's rather beneath you, isn't it? Being sent for fruit?”
Jay ground her teeth and told herself that Hever was just jealous. Every member of the Sun Guard dreamed of being as close to the Empress as she. It was a great honor, to be part of the Empress's personal guard. Hever was just trying to get a rise out of her, just as he had done when they were younger. And succeeding, but she was trying very hard not to show that. “As a part of the Empress's personal guard, it is my duty to see to whatever the Empress needs. If the Empress wants cherries, I will fetch her cherries.”
“But surely she has servants to do that for her?” Hever continued. “Why couldn't one of them have gone, while you stayed and, well, guarded her?”
Jay said nothing.
“Gods,” said Hever with a snort. “It's because you two were alone, isn't it?” He danced in front of her, his eyes alight with an infuriating glee. “She took you as a lover, didn't she? Oh, she did!”
“Whatever the Empress has or has not done is not your business,” said Jay stiffly. Of all the people to randomly run into in the palace, why did it have to be Hever?
“I've heard of her great...appetites,” said Hever with a wink. “We all have, of course. But you! Oh, oh, that will be something to feed my imagination tonight.”
Jay stopped. “It is neither appropriate nor respectful to speak of your Empress in such a way,” she hissed. “You will stop immediately, or I will hurt you. You know I can.”
To his credit, Hever had the decency to look abashed. “I do apologize. Talk is cruder outside the palace, and I've been away for a long time.”
“Well, I think perhaps it is time for you to leave again.” Hardly were the words out of her mouth before a shrill scream punctuated the hallway. Jay looked up sharply just as the palace guards outside the Empress's door rushed into her bedchamber. Thrusting the bowl of cherries at Hever, Jay flew down the hallway and arrived on the guards' heels. “Let me through!” she snapped at the taller guards, shoving past them.
Her breath caught in her throat at the sight that greeted her.
A little maid was on the floor, sobbing, her head turned away and her mouth covered in horror. And on the bed...
On the bed was the Empress, her dark hair fanned out across the pillow behind her, her eyes closed as if asleep, but it was not sleep that had claimed her. Her brown face stood stark against her pale shift and white linens, but even more stark was the blood, the bright red splashed across her breasts and down the side of the bed, the still-dripping knife dropped carelessly on the floor.
Jay had seen many terrible things in her young life, had been exposed to ugliness most people never imagined. She had held her stomach always, because it would not do, for someone in her position, to faint or shrink away from unpleasant sights.
Now, she turned away and wretched, her heart beating wildly in her chest. And as she did, her gaze fell on the hysterical maid, and a terrible anger seized her.
“What have you done?” she screamed, lunging for the maid. She grabbed the girl's shoulders and yanked her around so their eyes met. “What have you done!”
“It wasn't me!” the maid bawled. “I only came in to see if she needed more blankets, and...and...” Her eyes strayed to the still body in the bed, and she bent down and vomited.
Jay shook her, hard, but the maid only choked and cried louder, and then hands were on Jay, pulling her back. Palace guards. She fought against them, kicking and punching, and she could have taken any one of the palace guards any day and easily won, but there were four of them holding her down and she had taken off her weapons belt and left it in her quarters. Stupid, stupid.
“Let me go!” she cried. “There is an assassin in the palace! We must block all the exits, send everyone in search of him! What are you doing?” For one of the guards had just tied her hands together.
“We have no need to search the palace,” said another guard, coming around to her front. “We have the murderer right here.”
“What?” For a moment Jay thought there was someone she had missed, that there had been someone else in the room whom the guards had already taken into custody. Then the reality of the situation caught up with her, and she laughed in disbelief. “Me? You think it was me? Have you gone mad? I'm part of her personal guard, you idiot, and you are wasting time while the assassin escapes!”
“You were alone with her,” said the guard in front of her.
“It's true,” said one of the guards holding her back. She couldn't see his face. “She dismissed all the servants. There was no one else in the room.”
“And then I left!” Jay shrieked. “You saw me leave! I told you to watch the Empress! If anyone should be suspect, it is you.”
“You came back into the room somehow,” said another unseen guard.
“How could I have done that? You would have seen me!” Jay tested the grips of the ones who were holding her. All she needed was one hand free. If she could just get away from one of them...
The guard in front of her snorted. “You Nikoleans keep bragging of your secrets and your mystical ways. For all I know, you used magic to slip past us unseen.”
“I don't have magic, you dolt!” Jay screamed at him. The guard holding her left hand had loosened his grip, just slightly, but Jay took her chance. She twisted away, swinging her arm around hard.
It wasn't fast enough. Her arm slipped out of the guard's grasp, but the guard in front saw her ploy and caught her before she could slam her free fist into his face. The movement spun her around toward the door, so that she saw Hever standing in it, still holding the bowl of cherries and looking shocked. “Hever! Tell them I was with you! Tell them I could not have done this!”
Hever looked at her, but said nothing.
“Hever, please! They believe I murdered the Empress!” As the words came out she felt sick again. The Empress, dead. Not just the Empress. Her friend and lover. Dead on her watch. “Hever!”
He only placed the bowl on a side table and turned away.
“Hever!” Jay pleaded. “Tell them! Please!”
“Come along,” said one of the guards. “A night in a cell for you, I think. We'll let the High Councilors deal with you in the morning.”
“Hever!” she cried again as the guards began to lead her away.
But Hever left, and didn't look back.
kay_brookeStory: The Myrrosta
Colors: Admin Yellow #1 (he's cantankerous, but he's not a killer), Dirt Brown #12 (mud), Tango Pink #19 (electric slide)
Styles/Supplies: n/a
Word Count: 1,644
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; short description of a murder scene.
Summary: The worst night of Jay's life.
Note: Lint Roll answer for
dray, who asked Jay: what's the most horrific thing you ever experienced?“She requests a bowl of cherries.” Jay raised one eyebrow at the kitchen maid. No need to say who “she” was. “As soon as possible, please.” The last word stuck in her throat; she was not used to phrasing her orders to servants as polite requests, but the Empress had admonished her for it, so she was trying. Jay would do anything for the Empress.
“Of course,” said the kitchen maid, bowing her head and hurrying away. Still with a note of fear, Jay was pleased to see.
“Scaring tiny kitchen maids is beneath you.”
Jay rolled her eyes before she turned to address the person who had just tried to sneak up behind her. “Hever. When did you get back from the Seenian wastes?”
“There were no wastes.” Her former rival and lover grinned at her with white teeth. His cheeks and lips were chapped, sure signs that he had just spent time in a very cold climate. “The city was very nice. The hub governor was very gracious. We were given the best rooms in his palace.”
“The hub governors do not have palaces,” said Jay.
“Come now, aren't you even a little pleased to see me? It's been what? Three years?”
“Two,” said Jay. “And I see your covert skills have not improved.”
“You had no idea I was behind you.”
“You breathe louder than a fat Catan priestess climbing the temple tower. I knew you were there the whole time.”
Hever shrugged. He had always been more willing than Jay to let a matter drop. “Truthfully, my visit here is incidental, but when I saw you I couldn't resist. I had a matter to discuss with Cer. He's--”
“Overseeing the guarding of the treasury this month, I know,” said Jay. “I do know who works in the palace, as I work here myself.”
“Yes!” said Hever, clapping his hands once. “The Empress's personal guard. Congratulations. I know you've dreamed for a long time for just this assignment.”
The kitchen maid returned then, with a large silver bowl full of cherries. “The last ones of the season, my lady,” she said shyly. She cast a wary look at Hever, quickly bowed again, and hurried off.
“My lady,” said Hever mockingly.
“She is only showing respect, as a servant should.” Jay tasted one of the cherries. Juicy and ripe, no hint of poison.
“Still, I hardly think your dream included acting as a servant yourself,” said Hever, following Jay as she started down the hall that would take her back to the Empress's bedchamber. “Did she really send you to fetch her cherries? Aren't you supposed to be guarding her?”
“There are palace guards outside her door,” said Jay. “Even they are competent enough to watch her for the few moments I am gone, I would think.”
“But it's rather beneath you, isn't it? Being sent for fruit?”
Jay ground her teeth and told herself that Hever was just jealous. Every member of the Sun Guard dreamed of being as close to the Empress as she. It was a great honor, to be part of the Empress's personal guard. Hever was just trying to get a rise out of her, just as he had done when they were younger. And succeeding, but she was trying very hard not to show that. “As a part of the Empress's personal guard, it is my duty to see to whatever the Empress needs. If the Empress wants cherries, I will fetch her cherries.”
“But surely she has servants to do that for her?” Hever continued. “Why couldn't one of them have gone, while you stayed and, well, guarded her?”
Jay said nothing.
“Gods,” said Hever with a snort. “It's because you two were alone, isn't it?” He danced in front of her, his eyes alight with an infuriating glee. “She took you as a lover, didn't she? Oh, she did!”
“Whatever the Empress has or has not done is not your business,” said Jay stiffly. Of all the people to randomly run into in the palace, why did it have to be Hever?
“I've heard of her great...appetites,” said Hever with a wink. “We all have, of course. But you! Oh, oh, that will be something to feed my imagination tonight.”
Jay stopped. “It is neither appropriate nor respectful to speak of your Empress in such a way,” she hissed. “You will stop immediately, or I will hurt you. You know I can.”
To his credit, Hever had the decency to look abashed. “I do apologize. Talk is cruder outside the palace, and I've been away for a long time.”
“Well, I think perhaps it is time for you to leave again.” Hardly were the words out of her mouth before a shrill scream punctuated the hallway. Jay looked up sharply just as the palace guards outside the Empress's door rushed into her bedchamber. Thrusting the bowl of cherries at Hever, Jay flew down the hallway and arrived on the guards' heels. “Let me through!” she snapped at the taller guards, shoving past them.
Her breath caught in her throat at the sight that greeted her.
A little maid was on the floor, sobbing, her head turned away and her mouth covered in horror. And on the bed...
On the bed was the Empress, her dark hair fanned out across the pillow behind her, her eyes closed as if asleep, but it was not sleep that had claimed her. Her brown face stood stark against her pale shift and white linens, but even more stark was the blood, the bright red splashed across her breasts and down the side of the bed, the still-dripping knife dropped carelessly on the floor.
Jay had seen many terrible things in her young life, had been exposed to ugliness most people never imagined. She had held her stomach always, because it would not do, for someone in her position, to faint or shrink away from unpleasant sights.
Now, she turned away and wretched, her heart beating wildly in her chest. And as she did, her gaze fell on the hysterical maid, and a terrible anger seized her.
“What have you done?” she screamed, lunging for the maid. She grabbed the girl's shoulders and yanked her around so their eyes met. “What have you done!”
“It wasn't me!” the maid bawled. “I only came in to see if she needed more blankets, and...and...” Her eyes strayed to the still body in the bed, and she bent down and vomited.
Jay shook her, hard, but the maid only choked and cried louder, and then hands were on Jay, pulling her back. Palace guards. She fought against them, kicking and punching, and she could have taken any one of the palace guards any day and easily won, but there were four of them holding her down and she had taken off her weapons belt and left it in her quarters. Stupid, stupid.
“Let me go!” she cried. “There is an assassin in the palace! We must block all the exits, send everyone in search of him! What are you doing?” For one of the guards had just tied her hands together.
“We have no need to search the palace,” said another guard, coming around to her front. “We have the murderer right here.”
“What?” For a moment Jay thought there was someone she had missed, that there had been someone else in the room whom the guards had already taken into custody. Then the reality of the situation caught up with her, and she laughed in disbelief. “Me? You think it was me? Have you gone mad? I'm part of her personal guard, you idiot, and you are wasting time while the assassin escapes!”
“You were alone with her,” said the guard in front of her.
“It's true,” said one of the guards holding her back. She couldn't see his face. “She dismissed all the servants. There was no one else in the room.”
“And then I left!” Jay shrieked. “You saw me leave! I told you to watch the Empress! If anyone should be suspect, it is you.”
“You came back into the room somehow,” said another unseen guard.
“How could I have done that? You would have seen me!” Jay tested the grips of the ones who were holding her. All she needed was one hand free. If she could just get away from one of them...
The guard in front of her snorted. “You Nikoleans keep bragging of your secrets and your mystical ways. For all I know, you used magic to slip past us unseen.”
“I don't have magic, you dolt!” Jay screamed at him. The guard holding her left hand had loosened his grip, just slightly, but Jay took her chance. She twisted away, swinging her arm around hard.
It wasn't fast enough. Her arm slipped out of the guard's grasp, but the guard in front saw her ploy and caught her before she could slam her free fist into his face. The movement spun her around toward the door, so that she saw Hever standing in it, still holding the bowl of cherries and looking shocked. “Hever! Tell them I was with you! Tell them I could not have done this!”
Hever looked at her, but said nothing.
“Hever, please! They believe I murdered the Empress!” As the words came out she felt sick again. The Empress, dead. Not just the Empress. Her friend and lover. Dead on her watch. “Hever!”
He only placed the bowl on a side table and turned away.
“Hever!” Jay pleaded. “Tell them! Please!”
“Come along,” said one of the guards. “A night in a cell for you, I think. We'll let the High Councilors deal with you in the morning.”
“Hever!” she cried again as the guards began to lead her away.
But Hever left, and didn't look back.
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Your characters come through very strong.
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Thanks for reading!