[July 10] [Fire Emblem] What Need for Gifts (S.Chronicle 2/?)

[runiclore]

What Need for Gifts
Author: Amber Michelle
Day/Theme: July 10 - Flipping tables
Series: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Character/Pairing: Sephiran, Sanaki, Sigrun, Naesala, senators
Rating: K
Words: 2612

Notes: AU, part two of the Summer Chronicle. This is a first and ongoing draft; a list of known issues is being compiled here.




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Though Sephiran knew he had been too harsh in rejecting the empress outright, it was when Sigrun came to return his staff later that evening that he knew the depth of his folly. She smiled, an expression he might have called apologetic if her posture hadn't been so stiff, and told him he needn't appear for the morning meeting, because Her Majesty might destroy another antique tea service if his face compelled her to start throwing things.

"Her words, more or less," Sigrun said. "Honestly, I thought you of all people would know better. What did you say to her?"

That the knight didn't know was small comfort. "Financial reports," he said, handing her a leather folio. "And tell her I won't tolerate any interference with her duty, no matter how many tea sets she breaks."

Sigrun lifted an eyebrow, her smile melting into a thin line. "You will apologize to her."

"At her soonest convenience," he replied, and waved her out.

Over-protectiveness did more damage than good - Sephiran raised Sanaki with that rule in mind, and refused to shelter her from the duplicity of her servants. To be an effective ruler, she must understand the workings of her staff, the senate, and the nobility, her eyes clear of any illusions regarding their virtue. She was a smart girl. She caught on quickly, cried her tears out when she was a child, and faced them unflinching as an adult.

And yet -- perhaps he did her wrong by discouraging romantic attachments. To marry for love was a luxury not often afforded to queens. Was it wrong of him to shield her from that inevitable disappointment? Had he grown selfish in his years without realizing and acted to protect his claim on her love - her childish, innocent love - for himself?

What Sanaki wanted was impossible. Out of the question. They would have to find a candidate both of them could tolerate.

His reports came back with her signature and seal, and no word on whether or not she had changed her mind. Sephiran sent a scathing letter to the Secretary of Finance - how do you lose thirty five thousand in gold? - and endured a meeting with the ruling council on the matter of Prince Daien and what should be done if he paid them a visit, as any intelligent royal would when presented with the chance to marry into Begnion.

"Welcome him." said Lekain, their host, as he refilled his goblet with wine. "It's an excellent opportunity to bring Daien territories back into the fold."

"We lost that territory because we couldn't maintain it." Hetzel. He hadn't touched his refreshments. "We'd do better to ask for a more conventional alliance."

"We're assuming the two children will take to each other," Culbert said. "Sanaki can be rather-- well, there's no delicate way to say it. She's spoiled and ignorant, not at all a match for the genius displayed so far by the prince. Of course, we know who to thank for our prima donna."

Sephiran lifted an eyebrow. "The point, gentlemen." He lifted his glass, sipped, and tried to determine inconsistencies in the flavor. The wine was plum and so sweet as to be cloying - a good choice if Lekain wanted to hide any additions. "Do we invite him, or not?"

Of course they invited him. Sephiran left with a draft of the letter for Sanaki's approval, though she didn't have much choice in the matter. If she refused, she only reduced her own chances of a good match.

Why the senators were really in favor of such an alliance was a discussion that would wait for another time.

He waited until night fell before approaching Sanaki's rooms, when the halls emptied of all but a few servants - just in case. She had never refused to see him before, in fact, no matter how angry she was. Sanaki was always a very obedient child. A quiet one, too, unless the rules of society called for a more sociable front. She wasn't given to throwing fits, whatever Culbert said.

When he entered the antechamber, Sigrun looked up from her book, rose from her chair, and stepped into his path. "I'm sorry, Minister, but her command is still in force."

Sephiran stared at her, then over her shoulder at the door. "I cannot apologize if she won't see me."

"True." Sigrun paused. "That does not look like an apology, however."

He looked down at the paper rolled in his hand and sighed. "No."

"I'll see that she gets it."


.


Sephiran gave her one more day to calm herself, and then took matters into his own hands. If her tantrum lasted much longer it would come to the attention of others. The servants had surely noticed already. He retrieved his staff from its place by his office window and held it up to the light. Tellius script was etched into the brass. He rubbed his thumb over it and closed his eyes to concentrate on the spell, speaking the words when it stirred only grudgingly. This, at least, he could still do - Ashera's gifts were not entirely closed to him if he knew the right key. Only that which he'd been born to was out of his reach.

Rewarp activated with an unpleasant lurch to his stomach that he could have done without. His office dropped away and Sanaki's parlor coalesced from the dark that wrapped around him. It was empty, lit dimly by a glass lamp on the breakfast table. The curtains were drawn. Her mantle was thrown over the arm of the divan and pooling on the carpet.

The interior door opened and Sanaki stepped out after what seemed like an eternity. Her eyes widened comically, and then narrowed. "What--" Her hair was loose, her hands clutching the ruffled neck of her robe.

"Empress. I apologize for entering unannounced." He lowered the staff and bowed. "If you please. I'll wait for you to dress," he said.

Her lips compressed to a thin, colorless line. "No need. This is good enough." She cinched the sash tighter and padded across the carpet to sit on the edge of a chair. "Well? How did you get Sigrun to let you in?"

"She didn't."

Her hands fisted on her lap and she looked away. "If I wanted to see you, I would have let you in."

"I know." Sephiran rested the staff on her carpet and went down on one knee, covering her hands with his own. "Please forgive me. It wasn't my intention to cause you pain." He looked up, tilting his head to catch her gaze when she refused to look at him directly. "I didn't expect you to say that. I wasn't prepared to respond to such a thing. I'm sorry."

"You are so infuriating." She tried to glare at him and snatched one of her hands back to wipe her eyes. Tears gathered at the corners again when they narrowed. "This is your fault! Even if you didn't know I was worthless you would have guessed, and you could have told me, but instead you let me think--"

His grip on her hands tightened. "Empress--"

"And then you refuse to help me when that pack of vultures swoops in with their false apostle nonsense--"

"Sanaki--"

"--and now you're turning the other direction again while they decide who to chain me to for the rest of my life and you won't even tell me why. I hate you!"

She said it with such force, without raising her voice, that Sephiran felt the air freeze in his lungs and his breathing hitched. He looked down at their hands. She held onto him tightly. If he could have been there when she signed that letter to Daien... "You are not useless because you can't hear Ashera," he said. "I thought that was clear."

Sanaki nodded, silent. He loosened her fingers one by one, spreading them on her knee, brushing his fingertips over the web of bones on the back. Sephiran wasn't sure what he would see if he looked up, but her hands were limp, ready to be molded.

"That's why this is happening," she said when he let go, her voice thicker and deeper until she swallowed. "I'm not supposed to be here."

"If the senators had their way," he said, knees cracking when he rose to his feet, "Your office would not exist at all. We have analysts to predict harvest patterns, clergy to control the provinces, and an unrivaled intelligence network that has yet to fail in warning us of danger. What need is there for Ashera's voice?"

"They claim there is need, and people believe them."

"Even you." Sephiran leaned down for his staff. "They are only trying to weaken your position. They've done so before, and will try again in the future. You know that. Stop listening to them." He rested it in the crook of his arm and watched her pick at her nails, the lace on her robe, anything within reach of her nervous fingers. "That isn't all that you're obsessing over."

Sanaki's fingers stilled. "You can be the most offensive man I've ever met, sometimes."

"Really."

"I should have slapped you," she said, standing up, chin high. Her eyes were dry at last. "I thought about it. That's the least you deserve for the way you left the other day."

"I suppose so," Sephiran said. "But it won't change anything. I can't do as you ask."

"I didn't--" She bit her lip and her chin dipped, her irritation fading.

"You want someone you can trust." Sanaki didn't answer. "Ask yourself: how am I better than the others? Am I younger, is my reputation more polished? Are my interests more honest? Would I gain anything by taking advantage of you?" Sephiran stroked his fingers through her fine hair and watched it sift back into place, highlights shifting in pale shades of plum and indigo. She had beautiful hair. "Can you answer those questions at all - and if not, why is it you think I will prove a better husband?" She shook her head, but he didn't relent. "I promised to serve you faithfully, but I am not meant to do so in such a capacity. If you look for those answers, you will understand why."

"You still aren't answering the question," she said softly.

He withdrew, half turning toward the door. "Good night, Sanaki."


.


I hate you.

Sephiran lingered in the dark antechamber to his quarters. Firelight flickered from beneath the inner door, and he could smell a trace of fresh bread on the air. He'd forgotten to eat; it wasn't important at the time, and he wasn't hungry now, either. What he wanted was the comfort of his bed, to pull the curtains shut and pretend someone wouldn't be here to wake him for the morning conference in six hours.

Somehow he'd never felt heavier on his feet. Land-bound, he called it once, before he said I can't imagine a life without flying. Dirt-bound.

I hate you.

She had never said that to him before.

He went inside and left the staff somewhere near the door. Dinner waited on the table and the lamp was out, leaving the fireplace to illuminate his sitting room. The balcony doors were open wide to admit the wintery night air, heavy with woodsmoke and a touch of pine from the garden, and so quiet he could hear footsteps on the flagstones ten stories below. And then a creak, as of leather, and the dry shiff of feathers.

"Kilvas," he said, facing the window.

"Minister." A shadow detached from the backdrop. Even with his wings folded, their bulk brushed the doorposts and disturbed the curtains on his way in. "I couldn't help overhearing that little conversation on my way over."

"I'm sure you can forget it just as easily." Sephiran unbuttoned his coat. "You have something to report?"

"Nothing." The raven king crossed his arms.

He watched the raven's face for signs of derision, perhaps his characteristic smirk, but it was blank as stone. "I trust that means they're behaving," he said, sliding the coat from his shoulders and folding it over his arm. "If you're here to waste my time--"

"You can leave Arcwind on the shelf." Naesala crossed the room and sat down on the ottoman uninvited. "There's no sign of a large exchange of currency, and none of my people took a job from the senate while I was gone. My bet is on someone in Finance, like I said before."

"No proof?"

"Of course not."

His guest stretched his wings and the sound skittered over his skin. He hated that sound - it was raspy and dry, as annoying as nails on slate in its own way.

"About Sanaki."

Sephiran's gaze wandered over the bookshelves and came to rest on green binding. How much did he overhear? More importantly, how much would he charge to keep it to himself? He turned to regard his guest and smiled. "Yes?"

Naesala was quiet for a beat too long. "Why don't you just tell her the truth?"

Sephiran draped his coat over the back of a chair and raised his eyebrows. "What truth?"

"A good overview of the ruckus thirty years ago should put some ideas in her head."

He shook his head and let his smile fade. "That would probably only encourage her." Or, he thought, inspire her to look farther and find things he would prefer she didn't. If he could control her search somehow - he couldn't let the other senators catch wind of it or marriage would be the least of her problems--

Kilvas made a show of examining his fingernails, a mocking grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I thought you'd have a handle on this sort of thing. Women sigh when you walk by, half the senators' wives are frothing at the mouth to get you into their beds, but you can't manage one plucky little empress. If you need help, I'd be happy to manage her instead."

"I don't recall asking your opinion on how I handle my empress," he said through clenched teeth.

"Your empress?"

Sephiran spun on his heel, turned his back to Kilvas. "You have a job to do."

The ottoman creaked when the raven king stood up, and his wings brushed over the low table by the sofa, sweeping papers to the floor. "You know she'll ask me." His voice faded a bit as he neared the door. "If she wants it enough, even you won't be able to hide from my network."

"Tell Sanaki anything you like." He rested his hand on the bedroom door-handle. "Beyond her, you are to keep strict confidence if you value your life."

"Can you afford that-- senator?"

Sephiran glanced at the raven over his shoulder. The title left a bad taste in his mouth. "Kilvas." He lifted a brow. "I have a proposition even you can't refuse."



...................................................


This was incredibly hard to write. The Sephiran-Sanaki scene in particular was ridiculous - I tried three different approaches before settling on this, and I'm still not sure I like it.

Sephiran is always making things difficult for me. I'm not thrilled with Naesala either, but a little practice should help.

31_days gives me no time.

Comments

[misheard.livejournal.com]

Your Naesala is excellent. Don't worry.

This is wonderful. Everyone's in-character, and every new scene makes me even more interested in how it's all going to turn out. If it was hard to write, it certainly doesn't show.

Now, to wonder what the proposition is...

[runiclore.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad it came off well, because while I was writing it was nothing but agony. I enjoyed it though, so what does that say about me?

That proposition is something I'll have to be very careful with. XD

[misheard.livejournal.com]

That you're proud of a job well done?

The suspense is killing me.

[oniric-angel.livejournal.com]

So this is a multi part fanfic ? All the better ! :D
I look forward to the next one then.
(Poor, poor girl...)