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runicloreA cracked Suikoden/12K crossover, as requested by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
quietisrafel.
. . .
The morning was thick with the scent of roses when Sera woke up. She blinked against the light with a sigh and sat up slowly, gathering her hair at the nape of her neck with one hand and twitching the curtain aside with the other to look out at the garden. Someone had opened the doors to the verandah, and the sun had risen high enough to warm the flowers crowding the rail and perfume her room in welcome.
Another moment passed before she realized with a sinking feeling that she should have been up early enough to see the sun rise and the flowers bloom, and that she was late. An edge of panic frayed her voice when she called for her handmaid and slid hastily out of bed. He would have waited and waited before the morning audience - worse, he would have been disappointed in her for not appearing. And while they were both new to this, and still awkward with only a few months to adjust, it was the kirin that guided in these matters, not the other way around.
"Taiho?" Gyokurin slipped in and closed the door gently, brow creased in concern. "Is there a problem-- are you ready to dress?"
"Yes, immediately! I should have been up hours ago--" The maid shook her head. Sera paused and twisted her hands together. "Shouldn't I?"
"His Majesty said you had other duties today." She tilted her head. "Yukio said you came in very late last night. I thought it must have been about that." Gyokurin didn't dwell, but moved across the room to the trunk with Sera's robes, her pace placid and unhurried. She heaved the lid open and reached in. "This came last night while you were away."
'This' was a heavy green robe the color of new leaves, brocaded with golden thread in a pattern of plum blossoms and butterflies. She remembered admiring the fabric on their tour of the clothier district only a month ago - the silk still smelled faintly of myyrh from the incense shop next door. It was an armful for her maid, and scarcely less so for Sera when she took it into her own arms. The train pooled on the floor in a shimmering wave, and she could only bury her face into the silk and laugh. He remembered.
Gyokurin clapped her hands. "Let's see how it looks on you, shall we?" Her smile was sly. "Since his majesty was too busy to enlighten you last night, you will have to meet him after the audience for your instructions."
Sera made a faint sound of agreement, ignoring her maid's insinuation and draping the robe gingerly over the back of a chair so she could shed her nightclothes. The new robe received many glances as she dressed - even the white under-dress her maid wrapped her in was new, of a finer and thinner weave than usual. The green had a reassuring weight in contrast, when she finally put it on. Sitting still for Gyokurin to brush her hair was an ordeal - she wanted to leave right then to thank him for the gift, but the morning audience wouldn't quite be over yet.
"This should work well," the maid said cheerfully, dipping her fingers into a tin of perfumed attar and dabbing it behind Sera's ears, then running her fingers through the length of Sera's hair. "And these came with it," she added, indicating a pair of earrings. "His majesty must like green. I hear even his tea..."
Sera couldn't help a smile as she let Gyokurin's rambling fade to the background. Yes, he liked his tea vivid green and bitter. Like his eyes, though they had softened since she first met him. He always wore such somber colors, yet seemed to take some kind of pleasure in indulging her with finer colors and fabrics, and anything else she might ask for.
She didn't like to ask, but he did it anyway - sometimes even with a smile. His smiles seemed ready and frequent to her; all the talk of his somber moods and strict rulings made little sense to her. It was his duty, was it not?
"...You must have stayed alter than I thought to forget these things," Gyokurin was saying. "Why on earth His Majesty kept you up so late - and when you expected to rise so early..."
Heat rose in Sera's cheeks, and she kept her eyes downcast. "He must have told me. I'm sure I just forgot, as you say." He hadn't said a word about a change in her schedule. But she would straighten that out later, too. First, she wanted to thank him. She held her sleeves over her face to breathe in the perfume. The last month felt like an eternity, and yet the time she spent with him seemed to speed by. She wondered if it would always be like that, when they had, truly, an eternity together to look forward to.
He would adjust in time. Han would prosper under his rule. Sera couldn't imagine anything else.
. . .
I got the idea for Gyokurin's name from a type of green tea called 'gyokuro.' The earrings are supposed to be jade, but I never got around to adding that part. Green green green. Brings Shitan to mind.
Hmmm...
This is such a cracked out crossover. Seriously. I had another idea, actually, but it was very grim, and I wanted something lighter. I make no claims to it actually being good (or even clean), but it's fun. I didn't elaborate much, but the idea was that Luc was chosen as the new ruler of Han by Sera - and that they are the unfortunate ruling pair that leads Sai's king to a horrible death. This bit of history is from... err... Tasogare no Kishi! Wow, has it been a while. >_> There's a translation online that most 12K fans are probably aware of, but I'll dig the link up tomorrow.
quietisrafel.. . .
The morning was thick with the scent of roses when Sera woke up. She blinked against the light with a sigh and sat up slowly, gathering her hair at the nape of her neck with one hand and twitching the curtain aside with the other to look out at the garden. Someone had opened the doors to the verandah, and the sun had risen high enough to warm the flowers crowding the rail and perfume her room in welcome.
Another moment passed before she realized with a sinking feeling that she should have been up early enough to see the sun rise and the flowers bloom, and that she was late. An edge of panic frayed her voice when she called for her handmaid and slid hastily out of bed. He would have waited and waited before the morning audience - worse, he would have been disappointed in her for not appearing. And while they were both new to this, and still awkward with only a few months to adjust, it was the kirin that guided in these matters, not the other way around.
"Taiho?" Gyokurin slipped in and closed the door gently, brow creased in concern. "Is there a problem-- are you ready to dress?"
"Yes, immediately! I should have been up hours ago--" The maid shook her head. Sera paused and twisted her hands together. "Shouldn't I?"
"His Majesty said you had other duties today." She tilted her head. "Yukio said you came in very late last night. I thought it must have been about that." Gyokurin didn't dwell, but moved across the room to the trunk with Sera's robes, her pace placid and unhurried. She heaved the lid open and reached in. "This came last night while you were away."
'This' was a heavy green robe the color of new leaves, brocaded with golden thread in a pattern of plum blossoms and butterflies. She remembered admiring the fabric on their tour of the clothier district only a month ago - the silk still smelled faintly of myyrh from the incense shop next door. It was an armful for her maid, and scarcely less so for Sera when she took it into her own arms. The train pooled on the floor in a shimmering wave, and she could only bury her face into the silk and laugh. He remembered.
Gyokurin clapped her hands. "Let's see how it looks on you, shall we?" Her smile was sly. "Since his majesty was too busy to enlighten you last night, you will have to meet him after the audience for your instructions."
Sera made a faint sound of agreement, ignoring her maid's insinuation and draping the robe gingerly over the back of a chair so she could shed her nightclothes. The new robe received many glances as she dressed - even the white under-dress her maid wrapped her in was new, of a finer and thinner weave than usual. The green had a reassuring weight in contrast, when she finally put it on. Sitting still for Gyokurin to brush her hair was an ordeal - she wanted to leave right then to thank him for the gift, but the morning audience wouldn't quite be over yet.
"This should work well," the maid said cheerfully, dipping her fingers into a tin of perfumed attar and dabbing it behind Sera's ears, then running her fingers through the length of Sera's hair. "And these came with it," she added, indicating a pair of earrings. "His majesty must like green. I hear even his tea..."
Sera couldn't help a smile as she let Gyokurin's rambling fade to the background. Yes, he liked his tea vivid green and bitter. Like his eyes, though they had softened since she first met him. He always wore such somber colors, yet seemed to take some kind of pleasure in indulging her with finer colors and fabrics, and anything else she might ask for.
She didn't like to ask, but he did it anyway - sometimes even with a smile. His smiles seemed ready and frequent to her; all the talk of his somber moods and strict rulings made little sense to her. It was his duty, was it not?
"...You must have stayed alter than I thought to forget these things," Gyokurin was saying. "Why on earth His Majesty kept you up so late - and when you expected to rise so early..."
Heat rose in Sera's cheeks, and she kept her eyes downcast. "He must have told me. I'm sure I just forgot, as you say." He hadn't said a word about a change in her schedule. But she would straighten that out later, too. First, she wanted to thank him. She held her sleeves over her face to breathe in the perfume. The last month felt like an eternity, and yet the time she spent with him seemed to speed by. She wondered if it would always be like that, when they had, truly, an eternity together to look forward to.
He would adjust in time. Han would prosper under his rule. Sera couldn't imagine anything else.
. . .
I got the idea for Gyokurin's name from a type of green tea called 'gyokuro.' The earrings are supposed to be jade, but I never got around to adding that part. Green green green. Brings Shitan to mind.
Hmmm...
This is such a cracked out crossover. Seriously. I had another idea, actually, but it was very grim, and I wanted something lighter. I make no claims to it actually being good (or even clean), but it's fun. I didn't elaborate much, but the idea was that Luc was chosen as the new ruler of Han by Sera - and that they are the unfortunate ruling pair that leads Sai's king to a horrible death. This bit of history is from... err... Tasogare no Kishi! Wow, has it been a while. >_> There's a translation online that most 12K fans are probably aware of, but I'll dig the link up tomorrow.
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no subject
Date: 2006-06-21 12:40 pm (UTC)I don't know a lot about 12K, but it looked good from the little I saw of it. The little you've told me about the premise is interesting as well. I love how you can sort of sense Luc in this piece without him actually being in it, by the way. XD It's like a subtle literary allusion to how much he figures in Sarah's life, that he doesn't even have to be in the same airspace for her to be constantly thinking about him! :P
no subject
Date: 2006-06-21 09:53 pm (UTC)The great thing about this crossover is, Sarah and Luc are almost perfect for it. Kirin adore their chosen rulers almost by default, and I can easily imagine her in that important-yet-submissive position they tend to occupy, at least in my memory. Kirin seem to be uniquely suited to their rulers across the board too, even if they have rocky beginnings. As the 'other half' they supposedly embody whatever the king needs to be balanced.
That's how I thought about it, anyway. These two were an easy choice. :P
I'm glad you liked it. XD I still feel slightly guilty for giving it life. :P