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runicloreSlave of the Senate
Author: Amber Michelle
Day/Theme: September 03 - prisoner's dilemma
Series: Fire Emblem 9/10
Character/Pairing: Rafiel, Naesala, Sephiran
Rating: K
Words: 1577
Notes: AU, interlude one for the Summer Chronicle. This is a first and ongoing draft; a list of known issues is being compiled here.
.............................................
Rafiel leaned over his window ledge to let the wind cool his face and bring the stale scents of stone, dust, and beorc to his nose. Sienne was loud - he heard voices from the livelier sections of the city, and the sound of thousands of footsteps, and saw colorful awnings between buildings where the market must be. He was told the cathedral and government buildings were in the center of the city, the quiet eye of the storm, but even here he heard the low voices of servants, gardeners, senators and their aides, and even the voice of the empress when she passed between the cathedral and the palace in which she lived.
Her voice was low and sharp that morning. It was much the same in the afternoon when she was accompanied by someone she called 'duke,' perhaps a bit dulled with fatigue. He felt it whenever they shared a room - the wish to close her eyes, to sleep, to forget. Absolutely not, Gaddos. We aren't married yet, I'll thank you to recall, and he has no claim to my knights.
Lehran's rooms were high above the surrounding rooftops and crowded by trees in the garden. He could smell their leaves and hear them whisper. Rafiel hadn't realized how heavy the silence in the safe room was until he was brought out. Their voices were so soft compared to a real forest, but the sound was sweet. He didn't answer the knock at the door, intent instead on the birds nesting in the high branches of a maple, but the door opened and he assumed it must be Naesala.
"I hope you won't bother with more questions," Rafiel said, kneeling at the sill and folding his arms on the stone.
"It's my job to ask questions." Naesala settled onto the floor beside him, stretched his wings back. "Especially when he's hiding so many secrets from my employer."
"Your slaver." Rafiel flexed his shoulders back. If he'd had wings-- "I'm relieved to hear you so concerned on her behalf, but nothing I know should be of use to you." He caught the raven's lips thinning to a line in his peripheral vision and sighed. "Must we?"
Naesala shrugged. "I'm on his tab. It's not in my interest to use any of this information to hurt him. He's still better than the other senators."
Rafiel turned, leaning against the sill and letting his legs fold out. "What do you mean, you're 'on his tab?' I thought you were working for the empress."
"I am."
He tried not to frown. A brown leaf skittered over the sill and into his lap. He twirled it between his fingers. "And you accuse the minister of being duplicitous."
"No, not... exactly." Naesala fanned one of his wings and smoothed a feather, avoiding his gaze. Hate being scolded by herons-- The raven's feathers shifted and he snapped the wing back, curving it inward, and Leanne-- "Sanaki is a good empress. And Sephiran's been a good influence, but this mess she's in-- it's all his fault. If I can sort it out for her..."
Rafiel snapped the stem and watched the leaf crumble onto his robe. "What do you get?"
Naesala shook his head. Blue and green highlighted his feathers where the sun touched them, hanging at a three-quarter angle in the sky. The hum of beorc in the city, in the cathedral, was not loud enough to hide everything from Rafiel. He watched his friend's expression close, smooth, and heard Leanne. A soft thought, like the brush of butterfly wings, so very unlike the raven king. You remind me so much of her. Your hair, your hands.
"Never mind that," Naesala said, folding his legs, pushing to his feet. "Will your father keep his promise?"
"Of course he will." Rafiel rose, leaning on the window sill, then against the frame to restore his balance. It still felt like he was leaning back too far, though his reflection in the mirror across the room was standing straight.
The raven glanced at him. "I got an offer from Daein. Two of them, actually."
He reached out and curled his fingers around Naesala's arm, pretending not to notice the slight flinch. "You're not..."
No daughter of mine will marry a slave of the senate.
Naesala withdrew, pushing his hand away. "Go ahead and tell Sephiran. I need to get going. I just came by to tell you I'll be gone a few days."
Rafiel cradled his hand. His fingers felt raw and burned by the memory. Naesala left after telling him who would be in charge in his absence and which raven to send if there was an emergency. Be careful. Don't go anywhere without Sephiran. Odd, that he would put such faith in the minister one moment, and be prepared to undercut his agenda the next. Was that what loyalty to the empress meant? Sanaki didn't seem the type to appreciate the deceptions of her court.
He walked the perimeter of the room to his bed when the sun sank low enough to shine directly through the window. Days had passed like this - without wings, he felt he would fall at any moment and be unable to catch himself. Rafiel kept his hand against the wall until he dropped onto the mattress and let himself fall back to stare at the ceiling. The must of feathers tickled his nose and he remembered Sephiran apologizing for having the bad taste to give him such a bed, but they don't make any other kind here. I can try to arrange-- but no, Rafiel wouldn't have that.
It didn't matter. The birds were already dead. The ghosts of that deed did not linger.
He was considering the shelf across the room, by the door, and one volume in particular - Treatise on the Cult of the Goddess at the Empire's Founding - when there was another knock at the door and Lehran entered at his prompting. Rafiel sat up and dragged his hair aside so the minister could be seated beside him. "She sounded unhappy."
"You heard? I can't blame her." Lehran's eyebrows drew together, but the traces of his time in Begnion were apparent. It was a shadow of a frown, and a weak echo of the knot Rafiel felt forming in his chest simply from proximity. "Lekain would not leave her alone about Daein."
Rafiel folded his legs up onto the bed. There were shadows under the minister's eyes; they made him look aged, though his face showed no other sign of the years. "You said she sent help."
"Yes - an entire flight of dragon riders."
Rafiel smiled and covered it with his hand. "Into a storm system? The senator did not appreciate her wit, then."
No one ever does.
Nobody sees what she is, only what she isn't--
Lehran shook his head, and then stilled. He didn't smile. His mind grew quiet and the knot in his chest faded, and Rafiel turned his attention to the window, holding in a sigh. The sky was yellowing as the sun sank, the air chilling. His host got up before he could contemplate it and pulled the window closed. "With Kilvas gone," he said, and then paused. "If you want anything to keep busy--"
"I want you to do something about this." Rafiel saw denial form on the other's lips and said, "You can and you should. Don't deny it."
Lehran snapped the lock in place loudly and did not turn around. "It isn't that simple. An impulsive decision could ruin both of us. She doesn't know I'm..." The brass fixture clinked when he let go of it, hand dropping to his side. "She doesn't know, and it will hurt her."
"Are you afraid of losing face? Position?" His host's reflection was too faint to see against the bright backdrop outside, but Rafiel noted the stiffness in his posture and the angle of his shoulders; if his wings were out, they would have been cramped together. "Are you afraid she'll turn her back on you?"
What if-- what if.
Rafiel frowned at the way that thought filled the silence between them. Fear was not an emotion that became his elder. He wouldn't have thought to see it, but devotion ran deep between Lehran and his empress. It was only natural he be afraid to lose it.
"She would have every right to be angry." The other's curtain of black hair swayed when he shook his head, quickly, bowing it almost to the glass. "And if the others found out, can you imagine..."
"I can't." Rafiel laced his fingers together. The sleeves of his borrowed coat draped onto his legs, stiff and plain, too wide not to be in the way unless he sat still. "These are beorc concerns. You aren't beorc, Lehran. You should try to remember that."
"No." Lehran twisted around, looked back. "That name--"
"I'm sorry." Rafiel lowered his head. "Sephiran."
..............................................................
Huh. Somewhat experimental, not entirely successful. I guess it gets the job done.
Author: Amber Michelle
Day/Theme: September 03 - prisoner's dilemma
Series: Fire Emblem 9/10
Character/Pairing: Rafiel, Naesala, Sephiran
Rating: K
Words: 1577
Notes: AU, interlude one for the Summer Chronicle. This is a first and ongoing draft; a list of known issues is being compiled here.
.............................................
Rafiel leaned over his window ledge to let the wind cool his face and bring the stale scents of stone, dust, and beorc to his nose. Sienne was loud - he heard voices from the livelier sections of the city, and the sound of thousands of footsteps, and saw colorful awnings between buildings where the market must be. He was told the cathedral and government buildings were in the center of the city, the quiet eye of the storm, but even here he heard the low voices of servants, gardeners, senators and their aides, and even the voice of the empress when she passed between the cathedral and the palace in which she lived.
Her voice was low and sharp that morning. It was much the same in the afternoon when she was accompanied by someone she called 'duke,' perhaps a bit dulled with fatigue. He felt it whenever they shared a room - the wish to close her eyes, to sleep, to forget. Absolutely not, Gaddos. We aren't married yet, I'll thank you to recall, and he has no claim to my knights.
Lehran's rooms were high above the surrounding rooftops and crowded by trees in the garden. He could smell their leaves and hear them whisper. Rafiel hadn't realized how heavy the silence in the safe room was until he was brought out. Their voices were so soft compared to a real forest, but the sound was sweet. He didn't answer the knock at the door, intent instead on the birds nesting in the high branches of a maple, but the door opened and he assumed it must be Naesala.
"I hope you won't bother with more questions," Rafiel said, kneeling at the sill and folding his arms on the stone.
"It's my job to ask questions." Naesala settled onto the floor beside him, stretched his wings back. "Especially when he's hiding so many secrets from my employer."
"Your slaver." Rafiel flexed his shoulders back. If he'd had wings-- "I'm relieved to hear you so concerned on her behalf, but nothing I know should be of use to you." He caught the raven's lips thinning to a line in his peripheral vision and sighed. "Must we?"
Naesala shrugged. "I'm on his tab. It's not in my interest to use any of this information to hurt him. He's still better than the other senators."
Rafiel turned, leaning against the sill and letting his legs fold out. "What do you mean, you're 'on his tab?' I thought you were working for the empress."
"I am."
He tried not to frown. A brown leaf skittered over the sill and into his lap. He twirled it between his fingers. "And you accuse the minister of being duplicitous."
"No, not... exactly." Naesala fanned one of his wings and smoothed a feather, avoiding his gaze. Hate being scolded by herons-- The raven's feathers shifted and he snapped the wing back, curving it inward, and Leanne-- "Sanaki is a good empress. And Sephiran's been a good influence, but this mess she's in-- it's all his fault. If I can sort it out for her..."
Rafiel snapped the stem and watched the leaf crumble onto his robe. "What do you get?"
Naesala shook his head. Blue and green highlighted his feathers where the sun touched them, hanging at a three-quarter angle in the sky. The hum of beorc in the city, in the cathedral, was not loud enough to hide everything from Rafiel. He watched his friend's expression close, smooth, and heard Leanne. A soft thought, like the brush of butterfly wings, so very unlike the raven king. You remind me so much of her. Your hair, your hands.
"Never mind that," Naesala said, folding his legs, pushing to his feet. "Will your father keep his promise?"
"Of course he will." Rafiel rose, leaning on the window sill, then against the frame to restore his balance. It still felt like he was leaning back too far, though his reflection in the mirror across the room was standing straight.
The raven glanced at him. "I got an offer from Daein. Two of them, actually."
He reached out and curled his fingers around Naesala's arm, pretending not to notice the slight flinch. "You're not..."
No daughter of mine will marry a slave of the senate.
Naesala withdrew, pushing his hand away. "Go ahead and tell Sephiran. I need to get going. I just came by to tell you I'll be gone a few days."
Rafiel cradled his hand. His fingers felt raw and burned by the memory. Naesala left after telling him who would be in charge in his absence and which raven to send if there was an emergency. Be careful. Don't go anywhere without Sephiran. Odd, that he would put such faith in the minister one moment, and be prepared to undercut his agenda the next. Was that what loyalty to the empress meant? Sanaki didn't seem the type to appreciate the deceptions of her court.
He walked the perimeter of the room to his bed when the sun sank low enough to shine directly through the window. Days had passed like this - without wings, he felt he would fall at any moment and be unable to catch himself. Rafiel kept his hand against the wall until he dropped onto the mattress and let himself fall back to stare at the ceiling. The must of feathers tickled his nose and he remembered Sephiran apologizing for having the bad taste to give him such a bed, but they don't make any other kind here. I can try to arrange-- but no, Rafiel wouldn't have that.
It didn't matter. The birds were already dead. The ghosts of that deed did not linger.
He was considering the shelf across the room, by the door, and one volume in particular - Treatise on the Cult of the Goddess at the Empire's Founding - when there was another knock at the door and Lehran entered at his prompting. Rafiel sat up and dragged his hair aside so the minister could be seated beside him. "She sounded unhappy."
"You heard? I can't blame her." Lehran's eyebrows drew together, but the traces of his time in Begnion were apparent. It was a shadow of a frown, and a weak echo of the knot Rafiel felt forming in his chest simply from proximity. "Lekain would not leave her alone about Daein."
Rafiel folded his legs up onto the bed. There were shadows under the minister's eyes; they made him look aged, though his face showed no other sign of the years. "You said she sent help."
"Yes - an entire flight of dragon riders."
Rafiel smiled and covered it with his hand. "Into a storm system? The senator did not appreciate her wit, then."
No one ever does.
Nobody sees what she is, only what she isn't--
Lehran shook his head, and then stilled. He didn't smile. His mind grew quiet and the knot in his chest faded, and Rafiel turned his attention to the window, holding in a sigh. The sky was yellowing as the sun sank, the air chilling. His host got up before he could contemplate it and pulled the window closed. "With Kilvas gone," he said, and then paused. "If you want anything to keep busy--"
"I want you to do something about this." Rafiel saw denial form on the other's lips and said, "You can and you should. Don't deny it."
Lehran snapped the lock in place loudly and did not turn around. "It isn't that simple. An impulsive decision could ruin both of us. She doesn't know I'm..." The brass fixture clinked when he let go of it, hand dropping to his side. "She doesn't know, and it will hurt her."
"Are you afraid of losing face? Position?" His host's reflection was too faint to see against the bright backdrop outside, but Rafiel noted the stiffness in his posture and the angle of his shoulders; if his wings were out, they would have been cramped together. "Are you afraid she'll turn her back on you?"
What if-- what if.
Rafiel frowned at the way that thought filled the silence between them. Fear was not an emotion that became his elder. He wouldn't have thought to see it, but devotion ran deep between Lehran and his empress. It was only natural he be afraid to lose it.
"She would have every right to be angry." The other's curtain of black hair swayed when he shook his head, quickly, bowing it almost to the glass. "And if the others found out, can you imagine..."
"I can't." Rafiel laced his fingers together. The sleeves of his borrowed coat draped onto his legs, stiff and plain, too wide not to be in the way unless he sat still. "These are beorc concerns. You aren't beorc, Lehran. You should try to remember that."
"No." Lehran twisted around, looked back. "That name--"
"I'm sorry." Rafiel lowered his head. "Sephiran."
..............................................................
Huh. Somewhat experimental, not entirely successful. I guess it gets the job done.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-09-03 11:22 am (UTC)...not articulate at 7 in the morning.
no subject
Date: 2008-09-04 07:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-04 11:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-03 02:38 pm (UTC)It's funny how Rafiel's presence seems to bring forth Lehran's heritage. ^^
no subject
Date: 2008-09-04 07:47 am (UTC)Ironically, he would have more political leverage as Lehran than he does as Sephiran. I've always wondered why he didn't conduct his little plan that way. I know he faked his death, but that could easily be twisted into a lie about history getting it wrong after too many years.
no subject
Date: 2008-09-05 03:24 pm (UTC)As you say, after some time, maybe he simply feared Sanaki's reaction (?)
Anyway.
Sanaki sure is smart. But-- is that a sort of promise ? x)
no subject
Date: 2008-09-05 10:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-29 06:46 am (UTC)(Gezrvchps!) XD
no subject
Date: 2009-06-19 11:23 pm (UTC)Lehran Rafiel interaction
chelle