Original ficlet
Feb. 10th, 2009 12:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eirenicalOK... so I was re-reading some of my original stories and I can see that they sort of settled into a pattern. For those few who have been following, my first posting was about Alex and Darrvyn (can be found at my website in the "original" section), my overly angsty slash couple. For those of you who didn't figure it out -- the start of that relationship was more than slightly non-con. *shakes finger at Darr* Bad boy, no doughnut.
*coughs*
Anyhoo, after awhile, Alex angsting all over my keyboard started to get on my nerves, and I started to lose the thread of the story. So, I fumbled around in the chibi gallery and pulled out Richard. I thought he was cute and might be fun and easy to play with, so I reached back into the bag and pulled out his wife. This made him even more fun, because, let's face it... Calynn kicks major ass.
But now, as I sit here staring at my chibis, I realize that I have flubbed. She got brief mention in sniplets here and there, but I completely left out another major player in this storyline.
Alex's twin sister.
*sweatdrop*
So, since I haven't written up the beginning just yet, allow me to give you background: When Darrvyn initially invades Rilbana, he takes the twins hostage. (For the record, they were about sixteen at the time -- the main bulk of the story will take place when they are ~22.) Alex was training with the Lord Martial (Marshal? :-P) at the time and his sister (who was nameless -- or named too many times ^_^ -- until now) was training with the healers. Darr put both of their skills to good use, but soon realized that Annora's (the name I finally settled on ^_^) presence was... hmm... hindering the development of any kind of truly consensual relationship he might develop with Alex. So, he makes a deal with Alex -- you stay with me willingly and I'll see your sister to safety. Alex, young and naive as he is, agrees without asking for further details.
Idiot.
Anyway, Darr sees her to safety, all right... but not back to Rilbana. He brings her to Canaspur to be held hostage in the capital. Of course, as a royal prisoner she will be treated well... but she won't be allowed to leave. Now, eventually, Annora ends up working the situation around to her advantage because she is a clever and conniving little thing, but that's a story for another ficlet. ^_^ The point I make now is that Annora is another strong character that I wanted to pull out of the chibi gallery and play with. So... I did. ^_^
Enjoy!
Eye of the Storm
Though I may be captive, I am not cowed. Though I may not be free, you can not put fetters on my soul or my mind. I am the princess of Rilbana and if you will hold me here, you will hold me on my terms. Annora raised her gaze to her new captor, meeting him stare for stare, hatred burning in her blue eyes. The smile he gave her back was cruel, mocking, hateful. It made her jaw clench. Two years she had been held captive by the Dragon, able to give succor only to the ones who had done the damage and not to the innocents they had hurt. Her healer's heart had wept at the desolation that Darrvyn left behind wherever he went -- in her own country, in so many others... in his own camp.
Turning her eyes away from her newest jailor, Annora desperately sought the eyes of her twin. Standing behind and to the left of the Dragon, Xander's gaze was fixed on the floor. Silently, the princess willed him to look up. She needed her brother's strength, now of all times. Now that they were to be separated...
The blunt finger under her chin jerked her back to her more immediate situation. King Cynrik's eyes danced as he transferred his fingers to the strawberry silk of her hair. She jerked her head away and clenched her fists along with her jaw. The King's smile only widened, "I see you have brought me back the gift of fire from your exploits, my nephew. I am pleased."
Unexpectedly, however, the Dragon looked anything but pleased with that comment. His taciturn mouth turned down into a frown, "She is not a gift for you, Uncle. She is royalty and a hostage. Being carted around on a field of battle is no place for her. I brought her here for her own safety until such a time as her return to Rilbana may prove useful. It is expected that when that time comes, she will be returned unharmed."
Despite the fact that he had been the one to place her in this situation in the first place, Annora found herself wanting to cheer for the man. Now Xander's eyes rose from the floor, the faintest glimmer of hope shining in their depths -- the first such glimmer she had seen since their capture two years ago. She would try not to think about the fact that Darrvyn would be leaving with Xander and the rest of his Company in only a few weeks. She would try not to worry overly much about what would happen when they did. She was royalty and she would not yield. She turned her eyes back to the King and inclined her head. The man growled low in his throat and turned back to the Dragon, "You do not rule here, nephew."
Darrvyn bowed his head in submission, "No, Uncle, I do not. Nor was I implying that I wished to. As we discussed long ago when I reached my maturity, the role of 'king' is not a position for which I envy you. I merely sought to remind you of that which I am certain you already know, being an honorable member of the nobility yourself. Were you ever to be a prisoner of war, you would expect to receive the same treatment as you dole out."
The tension in the room increased a fraction and out of the corner of her eye, Annora saw several of the Dragon's men place hands on their weapons. Cynrik must have seen it, too, for his frown deepened momentarily, then cleared as though it had never been. He laughed, a deliberately jolly sound, and clapped Darrvyn on the shoulder, "'Were I ever to be a prisoner of war', indeed! I have more faith in you than that, my nephew! Such a situation will surely not come to pass as long as I have you for my loyal protector, eh?" Darrvyn smiled in response, small and relieved, and allowed his uncle to drape that arm around his shoulders and lead him out of the throne room, "And in celebration of your triumphant return, a feast! Naturally all of your officers are invited..."
The voices trailed off as they left the room. Annora let out a breath in a sigh of relief. Xander stepped up next to her and linked their arms. His voice was low and quiet as he spoke, "I didn't expect that of him. I'm glad it turned out this way."
She pitched her own voice low to match his, "But what of you? I may be provisionally safe here, but I don't want to be if you can't stay, as well!"
Xander shook his head, "You know that can not be, 'Nora. It is a condition of your safety that I return to the field with the Company." The smile he forced across his features pained her with its dishonesty, "Besides, it won't be so bad. I'm a Commander, now, so I have more autonomy. We'll be able to keep in touch, I'm sure. I'm sure."
Annora buried her face in her brother's shoulder, "I wish you didn't have to go. The thought of you alone with that man..." The muscles under her shoulder bunched and she gripped his arm tighter, "I know you don't wish to speak of it, but this may well be our last chance!" She picked up her head and met his panicked gaze with a determined one of her own, "You should not be forced into that -- no one should! Don't let my safety be the balance upon which you base that decision. I couldn't stand for it. It is enough that he holds us both captive. It is enough that he has taken your body..." She almost choked on that statement, but persevered, "Do not let him have your soul, as well!"
This time her brother did jerk away from her, eyes frantic and breathing unsteady, "Annora... you don't understand."
Clenching her fists against the urge to beat the sense back into her normally rational brother, she gritted out, "What don't I understand? What he's done to you? What he still does to you? Do you think it matters that I will be safe here? Do you think it matters that he's given you a title to hide what he keeps you for? It has to stop somewhere, Alexander." Her fists unclenched as her last words became a plea, "It has to stop."
Xander stepped back up to her and wrapped her slender body in his arms, "I couldn't bear it if he harmed you, Nora, you know that."
Choking back tears, Annora held onto her twin as tightly as he did her, "Do you think that makes me feel better? Knowing that you entered into this arrangement for me? It doesn't, Xander, truly it doesn't. I'm not a fragile summer flower -- I won't wilt from the rains or the cold. But it would destroy me knowing that you were destroyed for my sake. Can you understand that?"
Nodding against her shoulder, Xander's reply was muffled, "Of course I understand. I feel the same way about you." Now he raised his head, a watery-but-true smile stretched across his countenance, "And I am no summer flower, either, Nora. I can withstand the winds of this storm. And when it blows out, we will see then where we stand, all right?"
Sighing, knowing that she had lost this fight, Annora nodded, "All right. But I will hold you to that promise of contact. I expect to hear from you every week."
Xander gaped at her, "Every week? I don't think that will be possible..."
She shook a finger at him as she linked their arms back together, "Every week, Xander, or I'll come after you. Just see if I won't!" That last brought about a laugh, at last, as Xander led her out of the throne room to the banquet hall. But as they passed through the arches into the bright gaiety of Darrvyn's homecoming celebration, Annora couldn't help the feeling that they were relying on a false sense of security, that they sat in the eye of the storm and the furious winds were waiting, a scant ten feet away, to sweep them both off their feet.
* * * * * * * *
And now for some chibi silliness!
Kierrath: *shivers* That was... not what I was expecting. *pauses* Hey, wait-a-minute! Wasn't I supposed to be in this story?
R-chan: *sheepish grin* Well... yes, but it just didn't go that way. Besides, Annora really wasn't in the right frame of mind to meet you. *nodnod*
Annora: *facefault* You got that right, sister!
R-chan: Hey! It was my first time writing you! Cut me a little slack...
Annora: *sniffs* After what you did to Xander? Not likely!
Alex: *tugs on Annora's arm* *whispers* You... you really may not want to do that.
Nora: *perplexed* Why not?
Alex: *shivers* Because she'll just take it out on me!
Nuriko: *indignant* Or me! Let's not forget that she's working on OB, too!
Tasuki: *patpats* I doubt they've forgotten, Nuriko. I doubt they've forgotten.
Darrvyn: *rae* Where on Earth do they keep cropping up from?
Questions, comments, pineapples? Oh, come on, you know you want to! ^_~
And I'm sure this goes without saying, but do remember that this entire storyline and set of characters is the sole intellectual property of me. ^_^ Don't take.
*coughs*
Anyhoo, after awhile, Alex angsting all over my keyboard started to get on my nerves, and I started to lose the thread of the story. So, I fumbled around in the chibi gallery and pulled out Richard. I thought he was cute and might be fun and easy to play with, so I reached back into the bag and pulled out his wife. This made him even more fun, because, let's face it... Calynn kicks major ass.
But now, as I sit here staring at my chibis, I realize that I have flubbed. She got brief mention in sniplets here and there, but I completely left out another major player in this storyline.
Alex's twin sister.
*sweatdrop*
So, since I haven't written up the beginning just yet, allow me to give you background: When Darrvyn initially invades Rilbana, he takes the twins hostage. (For the record, they were about sixteen at the time -- the main bulk of the story will take place when they are ~22.) Alex was training with the Lord Martial (Marshal? :-P) at the time and his sister (who was nameless -- or named too many times ^_^ -- until now) was training with the healers. Darr put both of their skills to good use, but soon realized that Annora's (the name I finally settled on ^_^) presence was... hmm... hindering the development of any kind of truly consensual relationship he might develop with Alex. So, he makes a deal with Alex -- you stay with me willingly and I'll see your sister to safety. Alex, young and naive as he is, agrees without asking for further details.
Idiot.
Anyway, Darr sees her to safety, all right... but not back to Rilbana. He brings her to Canaspur to be held hostage in the capital. Of course, as a royal prisoner she will be treated well... but she won't be allowed to leave. Now, eventually, Annora ends up working the situation around to her advantage because she is a clever and conniving little thing, but that's a story for another ficlet. ^_^ The point I make now is that Annora is another strong character that I wanted to pull out of the chibi gallery and play with. So... I did. ^_^
Enjoy!
Eye of the Storm
Though I may be captive, I am not cowed. Though I may not be free, you can not put fetters on my soul or my mind. I am the princess of Rilbana and if you will hold me here, you will hold me on my terms. Annora raised her gaze to her new captor, meeting him stare for stare, hatred burning in her blue eyes. The smile he gave her back was cruel, mocking, hateful. It made her jaw clench. Two years she had been held captive by the Dragon, able to give succor only to the ones who had done the damage and not to the innocents they had hurt. Her healer's heart had wept at the desolation that Darrvyn left behind wherever he went -- in her own country, in so many others... in his own camp.
Turning her eyes away from her newest jailor, Annora desperately sought the eyes of her twin. Standing behind and to the left of the Dragon, Xander's gaze was fixed on the floor. Silently, the princess willed him to look up. She needed her brother's strength, now of all times. Now that they were to be separated...
The blunt finger under her chin jerked her back to her more immediate situation. King Cynrik's eyes danced as he transferred his fingers to the strawberry silk of her hair. She jerked her head away and clenched her fists along with her jaw. The King's smile only widened, "I see you have brought me back the gift of fire from your exploits, my nephew. I am pleased."
Unexpectedly, however, the Dragon looked anything but pleased with that comment. His taciturn mouth turned down into a frown, "She is not a gift for you, Uncle. She is royalty and a hostage. Being carted around on a field of battle is no place for her. I brought her here for her own safety until such a time as her return to Rilbana may prove useful. It is expected that when that time comes, she will be returned unharmed."
Despite the fact that he had been the one to place her in this situation in the first place, Annora found herself wanting to cheer for the man. Now Xander's eyes rose from the floor, the faintest glimmer of hope shining in their depths -- the first such glimmer she had seen since their capture two years ago. She would try not to think about the fact that Darrvyn would be leaving with Xander and the rest of his Company in only a few weeks. She would try not to worry overly much about what would happen when they did. She was royalty and she would not yield. She turned her eyes back to the King and inclined her head. The man growled low in his throat and turned back to the Dragon, "You do not rule here, nephew."
Darrvyn bowed his head in submission, "No, Uncle, I do not. Nor was I implying that I wished to. As we discussed long ago when I reached my maturity, the role of 'king' is not a position for which I envy you. I merely sought to remind you of that which I am certain you already know, being an honorable member of the nobility yourself. Were you ever to be a prisoner of war, you would expect to receive the same treatment as you dole out."
The tension in the room increased a fraction and out of the corner of her eye, Annora saw several of the Dragon's men place hands on their weapons. Cynrik must have seen it, too, for his frown deepened momentarily, then cleared as though it had never been. He laughed, a deliberately jolly sound, and clapped Darrvyn on the shoulder, "'Were I ever to be a prisoner of war', indeed! I have more faith in you than that, my nephew! Such a situation will surely not come to pass as long as I have you for my loyal protector, eh?" Darrvyn smiled in response, small and relieved, and allowed his uncle to drape that arm around his shoulders and lead him out of the throne room, "And in celebration of your triumphant return, a feast! Naturally all of your officers are invited..."
The voices trailed off as they left the room. Annora let out a breath in a sigh of relief. Xander stepped up next to her and linked their arms. His voice was low and quiet as he spoke, "I didn't expect that of him. I'm glad it turned out this way."
She pitched her own voice low to match his, "But what of you? I may be provisionally safe here, but I don't want to be if you can't stay, as well!"
Xander shook his head, "You know that can not be, 'Nora. It is a condition of your safety that I return to the field with the Company." The smile he forced across his features pained her with its dishonesty, "Besides, it won't be so bad. I'm a Commander, now, so I have more autonomy. We'll be able to keep in touch, I'm sure. I'm sure."
Annora buried her face in her brother's shoulder, "I wish you didn't have to go. The thought of you alone with that man..." The muscles under her shoulder bunched and she gripped his arm tighter, "I know you don't wish to speak of it, but this may well be our last chance!" She picked up her head and met his panicked gaze with a determined one of her own, "You should not be forced into that -- no one should! Don't let my safety be the balance upon which you base that decision. I couldn't stand for it. It is enough that he holds us both captive. It is enough that he has taken your body..." She almost choked on that statement, but persevered, "Do not let him have your soul, as well!"
This time her brother did jerk away from her, eyes frantic and breathing unsteady, "Annora... you don't understand."
Clenching her fists against the urge to beat the sense back into her normally rational brother, she gritted out, "What don't I understand? What he's done to you? What he still does to you? Do you think it matters that I will be safe here? Do you think it matters that he's given you a title to hide what he keeps you for? It has to stop somewhere, Alexander." Her fists unclenched as her last words became a plea, "It has to stop."
Xander stepped back up to her and wrapped her slender body in his arms, "I couldn't bear it if he harmed you, Nora, you know that."
Choking back tears, Annora held onto her twin as tightly as he did her, "Do you think that makes me feel better? Knowing that you entered into this arrangement for me? It doesn't, Xander, truly it doesn't. I'm not a fragile summer flower -- I won't wilt from the rains or the cold. But it would destroy me knowing that you were destroyed for my sake. Can you understand that?"
Nodding against her shoulder, Xander's reply was muffled, "Of course I understand. I feel the same way about you." Now he raised his head, a watery-but-true smile stretched across his countenance, "And I am no summer flower, either, Nora. I can withstand the winds of this storm. And when it blows out, we will see then where we stand, all right?"
Sighing, knowing that she had lost this fight, Annora nodded, "All right. But I will hold you to that promise of contact. I expect to hear from you every week."
Xander gaped at her, "Every week? I don't think that will be possible..."
She shook a finger at him as she linked their arms back together, "Every week, Xander, or I'll come after you. Just see if I won't!" That last brought about a laugh, at last, as Xander led her out of the throne room to the banquet hall. But as they passed through the arches into the bright gaiety of Darrvyn's homecoming celebration, Annora couldn't help the feeling that they were relying on a false sense of security, that they sat in the eye of the storm and the furious winds were waiting, a scant ten feet away, to sweep them both off their feet.
And now for some chibi silliness!
Kierrath: *shivers* That was... not what I was expecting. *pauses* Hey, wait-a-minute! Wasn't I supposed to be in this story?
R-chan: *sheepish grin* Well... yes, but it just didn't go that way. Besides, Annora really wasn't in the right frame of mind to meet you. *nodnod*
Annora: *facefault* You got that right, sister!
R-chan: Hey! It was my first time writing you! Cut me a little slack...
Annora: *sniffs* After what you did to Xander? Not likely!
Alex: *tugs on Annora's arm* *whispers* You... you really may not want to do that.
Nora: *perplexed* Why not?
Alex: *shivers* Because she'll just take it out on me!
Nuriko: *indignant* Or me! Let's not forget that she's working on OB, too!
Tasuki: *patpats* I doubt they've forgotten, Nuriko. I doubt they've forgotten.
Darrvyn: *rae* Where on Earth do they keep cropping up from?
    |
FINISHED! 1 + 1,391 (1,392) |
Questions, comments, pineapples? Oh, come on, you know you want to! ^_~
And I'm sure this goes without saying, but do remember that this entire storyline and set of characters is the sole intellectual property of me. ^_^ Don't take.
