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runicloreQueen of Murderers
Prompt: FE10 AU. To mend relations with the Herons, a marriage is arranged between Reyson and Sanaki. Bickering, snarking, and dominance issues.
Rating: K+
Words: 1440
Notes: if I made this an epic, that title there would be the main topic of contention. Alas, these snips do not answer the question of which one would top... really.
.......................................
"Maybe we should have gone to war with Phoenicis after all," Sanaki said, lifting her porcelain teapot and pouring a cup for herself. She left the other empty. Orange peel and spice scented the steam. "I don't think peace is worth dealing with the lovely white prince."
Sephiran spoke to the window, his shoulder against the frame. "You'll heed my advice next time, I trust."
She stirred honey into her tea and narrowed her eyes at his reflection. Dusk stained the sky red beyond the glass. "You're the one who told me not to make war."
"And Oliver was the one to suggest this match - reason enough to suspect it was not what it seemed. My faith in you was misplaced."
She slammed her spoon onto its saucer and his shoulders jerked, but he didn't turn around. He rarely spoke to her face to face these days, and never graced her with his presence when her consort was within sight. Something about tribal protocol - she suspected he was avoiding words like territory and ownership when he explained how impolite it was for a man to associate with someone else's female - though Reyson never indicated he cared in the slightest. "Well the damage isn't irreversible. We haven't done anything but glare at each other since the ceremony."
His eyes shifted to look at her in the glass. "You want to claim he has neglected his duty?" His mouth seemed to curve up at the corner. "Interesting. He was looking in all the right places when you walked down the aisle." Her face flared with heat, and Sephiran gave in and smiled, showing his perfect white teeth. "What did you say to change his mind?"
Sanaki sipped her tea, put it down, and added more honey. Maybe she should just eat a spoonful. "I didn't say anything."
"You must have. Herons don't harbor such animosity without due cause." He paused, tucked his hair behind his ear. "Usually."
"Usually." Her tea was sweet enough to sting her tongue, but she gulped a mouthful and waited for it to slide down her throat. "The only thing typical about him is his frailty, and the moment anyone says anything about it--"
"What do you expect? That frailty killed them--"
"--and he showed no sense of humor at all when I threatened to pick him up and throw him into bed, it was only a-- what?"
Sephiran stared at her a moment, and his expression was almost worth the embarrassment when he lost control and his laughter rang from the corners of her room. It was loud enough, sudden enough, that Sigrun opened the door to check on her, and when she told him to get out if he valued his continued health he walked quickly, on the verge of running. She suspected he wasn't fleeing because he feared her wrath. How insolent, how rude, how irritating--
You should be honored, empress, he said to her a few days later, when he was allowed into her rooms again. You're the only person to ever make me cry from laughter.
.
Rain pounded on the veranda outside, flurries of drops striking Sanaki's window when the wind swirled and changed direction. The indigo drapes were closed and a fire burned on the hearth, burning high and warm enough she discarded her robe and sat on the edge of her bed to read the conclusion to Sun Lu Shang's treatise on the philosophy of war in times of peace. It was the only gift Sephiran gave her after the ceremony. She thought it might be his last objection to the match, an essay on waging war in the political arena to achieve one's goals without compromising one's principles, though if he meant it that way he should've given it to her a year ago when negotiations started. He still refused to acknowledge Reyson's official capacity in Begnion - and Sephiran said she was stubborn.
A murmur of voices beyond the door reached her ear, and Sanaki's gaze lingered on the last sentence as footsteps approached. The door opened and she heard the dry sound of feathers. "Why even bother to come?" she asked when she heard the door close, marking her book with a strip of leather. She heard the whisper of his robes and feathers, and the click of the lock. "You're not interested."
"I don't want to be accused of neglecting my duty." Reyson's slight weight hardly shifted the mattress when he sat on the other side. Air brushed her bare shoulders, his wings spreading and settling on the quilt.
She snapped the book closed and slid it into the drawer of her night table. The lamp trembled when she pushed it closed. "We can't stand the sight of each other, and you don't want to father beorc children anyway, isn't that right? So get out and make room for someone else."
He laughed, and she narrowed her eyes, looking over her shoulder. Reyson still faced away, turned toward the window. His snowy wings looked soft, the edges of his feathers tinged with golden lamplight. "It isn't your body that repels me, empress - just your personality. It's just a matter of keeping your mouth shut long enough to get it over with."
Sanaki scanned his feathers, and wondered what would happen if she pulled one of the big ones out. She hoped he would bleed, and decided she would treasure the blood-stained sheets. "My sentiments exactly." She turned back to the lamp and watched the steady flame bob when her knee hit the corner of the table. "Consider it a sign of my respect for your person, Prince Reyson. If we get any closer your fragile bones might crack under the strain."
His wing smacked the bedpost and Sanaki covered her mouth so she wouldn't laugh. If only her mirror were on the wall facing her, so she could see his rigid posture--
"Don't delude yourself, Sanaki." Reyson's tone was clipped. "You can't possibly be that good--"
"I didn't give you permission to use my name--"
"I don't need permission from a queen of murderers."
Sanaki flattened her lips, pressed them together, and let him have the silence he wanted. There was no better way to end a conversation in Begnion than to bring up the Massacre, and the responsibility that rested on every citizen's shoulders - even those who didn't participate, or weren't alive to object.
By making him your consort they are turning him into an object of loathing. His power over them, the guilt, will be lessened when the people of Begnion come to hate him for defiling their empress.
It might be true. Sephiran was usually right about these things. But if that was the senate's plan, they were going to wait a long time for it to happen. Reyson was popular - beautiful and tragic, and charismatic in his anger. One of her retainers said he was like a character in a novel, the sort you have to sympathize with in spite of his sharp tongue and troublesome habits. In spite of the wings.
"Get out," she said, swinging her legs onto the bed. Maybe she would add his feathers to her pillow and make him sleep with it. That would serve him right. "Find your own room."
Reyson flattened his wings against his shoulders and shifted across the bed, folding his legs up. He looked down at her, and his golden hair draped over his shoulders in silky reams she wanted to touch sometimes when she forgot herself. His eyes would narrow when her thoughts dwelled on it, as if he heard them. "You told them not to let me sleep anywhere else."
She rolled her eyes to the canopy. "Duke Tanas will give you a place to sleep."
"Duke Tanas can burn in hell." Reyson leaned over and his weight, the weight of his wings, pressed her shoulders into the pillows. His legs tangled with hers. "Duty didn't ask me to marry him."
Sanaki gritted her teeth and tried to squirm out of his grasp. Nothing about him was typical - he was heavier than any heron should be. "I can arrange it."
His fingers bit into her shoulders, his green eyes narrowed, and he bent down. Sanaki froze, breath catching in her throat, heart pouding, and he said, "Too late."
Prompt: FE10 AU. To mend relations with the Herons, a marriage is arranged between Reyson and Sanaki. Bickering, snarking, and dominance issues.
Rating: K+
Words: 1440
Notes: if I made this an epic, that title there would be the main topic of contention. Alas, these snips do not answer the question of which one would top... really.
.......................................
"Maybe we should have gone to war with Phoenicis after all," Sanaki said, lifting her porcelain teapot and pouring a cup for herself. She left the other empty. Orange peel and spice scented the steam. "I don't think peace is worth dealing with the lovely white prince."
Sephiran spoke to the window, his shoulder against the frame. "You'll heed my advice next time, I trust."
She stirred honey into her tea and narrowed her eyes at his reflection. Dusk stained the sky red beyond the glass. "You're the one who told me not to make war."
"And Oliver was the one to suggest this match - reason enough to suspect it was not what it seemed. My faith in you was misplaced."
She slammed her spoon onto its saucer and his shoulders jerked, but he didn't turn around. He rarely spoke to her face to face these days, and never graced her with his presence when her consort was within sight. Something about tribal protocol - she suspected he was avoiding words like territory and ownership when he explained how impolite it was for a man to associate with someone else's female - though Reyson never indicated he cared in the slightest. "Well the damage isn't irreversible. We haven't done anything but glare at each other since the ceremony."
His eyes shifted to look at her in the glass. "You want to claim he has neglected his duty?" His mouth seemed to curve up at the corner. "Interesting. He was looking in all the right places when you walked down the aisle." Her face flared with heat, and Sephiran gave in and smiled, showing his perfect white teeth. "What did you say to change his mind?"
Sanaki sipped her tea, put it down, and added more honey. Maybe she should just eat a spoonful. "I didn't say anything."
"You must have. Herons don't harbor such animosity without due cause." He paused, tucked his hair behind his ear. "Usually."
"Usually." Her tea was sweet enough to sting her tongue, but she gulped a mouthful and waited for it to slide down her throat. "The only thing typical about him is his frailty, and the moment anyone says anything about it--"
"What do you expect? That frailty killed them--"
"--and he showed no sense of humor at all when I threatened to pick him up and throw him into bed, it was only a-- what?"
Sephiran stared at her a moment, and his expression was almost worth the embarrassment when he lost control and his laughter rang from the corners of her room. It was loud enough, sudden enough, that Sigrun opened the door to check on her, and when she told him to get out if he valued his continued health he walked quickly, on the verge of running. She suspected he wasn't fleeing because he feared her wrath. How insolent, how rude, how irritating--
You should be honored, empress, he said to her a few days later, when he was allowed into her rooms again. You're the only person to ever make me cry from laughter.
.
Rain pounded on the veranda outside, flurries of drops striking Sanaki's window when the wind swirled and changed direction. The indigo drapes were closed and a fire burned on the hearth, burning high and warm enough she discarded her robe and sat on the edge of her bed to read the conclusion to Sun Lu Shang's treatise on the philosophy of war in times of peace. It was the only gift Sephiran gave her after the ceremony. She thought it might be his last objection to the match, an essay on waging war in the political arena to achieve one's goals without compromising one's principles, though if he meant it that way he should've given it to her a year ago when negotiations started. He still refused to acknowledge Reyson's official capacity in Begnion - and Sephiran said she was stubborn.
A murmur of voices beyond the door reached her ear, and Sanaki's gaze lingered on the last sentence as footsteps approached. The door opened and she heard the dry sound of feathers. "Why even bother to come?" she asked when she heard the door close, marking her book with a strip of leather. She heard the whisper of his robes and feathers, and the click of the lock. "You're not interested."
"I don't want to be accused of neglecting my duty." Reyson's slight weight hardly shifted the mattress when he sat on the other side. Air brushed her bare shoulders, his wings spreading and settling on the quilt.
She snapped the book closed and slid it into the drawer of her night table. The lamp trembled when she pushed it closed. "We can't stand the sight of each other, and you don't want to father beorc children anyway, isn't that right? So get out and make room for someone else."
He laughed, and she narrowed her eyes, looking over her shoulder. Reyson still faced away, turned toward the window. His snowy wings looked soft, the edges of his feathers tinged with golden lamplight. "It isn't your body that repels me, empress - just your personality. It's just a matter of keeping your mouth shut long enough to get it over with."
Sanaki scanned his feathers, and wondered what would happen if she pulled one of the big ones out. She hoped he would bleed, and decided she would treasure the blood-stained sheets. "My sentiments exactly." She turned back to the lamp and watched the steady flame bob when her knee hit the corner of the table. "Consider it a sign of my respect for your person, Prince Reyson. If we get any closer your fragile bones might crack under the strain."
His wing smacked the bedpost and Sanaki covered her mouth so she wouldn't laugh. If only her mirror were on the wall facing her, so she could see his rigid posture--
"Don't delude yourself, Sanaki." Reyson's tone was clipped. "You can't possibly be that good--"
"I didn't give you permission to use my name--"
"I don't need permission from a queen of murderers."
Sanaki flattened her lips, pressed them together, and let him have the silence he wanted. There was no better way to end a conversation in Begnion than to bring up the Massacre, and the responsibility that rested on every citizen's shoulders - even those who didn't participate, or weren't alive to object.
By making him your consort they are turning him into an object of loathing. His power over them, the guilt, will be lessened when the people of Begnion come to hate him for defiling their empress.
It might be true. Sephiran was usually right about these things. But if that was the senate's plan, they were going to wait a long time for it to happen. Reyson was popular - beautiful and tragic, and charismatic in his anger. One of her retainers said he was like a character in a novel, the sort you have to sympathize with in spite of his sharp tongue and troublesome habits. In spite of the wings.
"Get out," she said, swinging her legs onto the bed. Maybe she would add his feathers to her pillow and make him sleep with it. That would serve him right. "Find your own room."
Reyson flattened his wings against his shoulders and shifted across the bed, folding his legs up. He looked down at her, and his golden hair draped over his shoulders in silky reams she wanted to touch sometimes when she forgot herself. His eyes would narrow when her thoughts dwelled on it, as if he heard them. "You told them not to let me sleep anywhere else."
She rolled her eyes to the canopy. "Duke Tanas will give you a place to sleep."
"Duke Tanas can burn in hell." Reyson leaned over and his weight, the weight of his wings, pressed her shoulders into the pillows. His legs tangled with hers. "Duty didn't ask me to marry him."
Sanaki gritted her teeth and tried to squirm out of his grasp. Nothing about him was typical - he was heavier than any heron should be. "I can arrange it."
His fingers bit into her shoulders, his green eyes narrowed, and he bent down. Sanaki froze, breath catching in her throat, heart pouding, and he said, "Too late."
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no subject
Date: 2008-12-19 11:47 am (UTC)Though, it does bring the question: if Lehran already lost his powers via Altina, does that mean he could have a child with Sanaki without any dire consequences? I mean, he's already lost em, nothin' more to lose.
Tangent, anyways this is awesome.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-19 12:46 pm (UTC)My opinion is yes - he's already changed, so what other consequences are there? Though it would be bittersweet and poetic if doing so shortened his lifespan.
Honestly though, while I can see some reason for the initial loss of power, there's nothing to indicate he'd lose more. Then it becomes a punishment, and the game seemed to be aiming at showing that the Branded weren't a bad thing, and maybe even a desirable end. More consequences would be inconsistent.
/ramble