Post by EymberFyire on Feb 14, 2010 18:06:46 GMT 10
Title: Weighing the Cost III
Rating: PG
Length: 790
Competitor: Lalasa
Round/Fight: 1/F
Summary: We usually have to work the hardest in life for the things we want the most.
AN: OK, so here's the deal - this was the first pass at writing a third part for this fic series. I wound up being unhappy with it, and re-wrote a more climatic (pardon the pun) closing fic. It's called Weighing the Cost III: The Directors Cut and is also part of the smackdown fics Please consider that one the actual closing.
Lalasa had heard the news that the Knights were returning to Corus, but all the palace gossip assumed the commanders would come home last. Perhaps this is why she is caught completely off guard when Keladry of Mindelan walks through the door of her shop in the dusty and worn gear that tells her she has just finished a hard ride.
Lalasa’s first thought is that Kel has lost too much weight. She looks lean and honed, like the edge of a blade, and weary beyond belief. They stare at each other from across the room and Lalasa waits for Kel to speak, or move, or give her a hint of any sort, but the woman looks frozen. The silence stretches, and after a time Lalasa realizes that if she doesn’t do something soon Kel may very well turn around and bolt like a startled filly.
“Ava, I’ll be in my workroom. Mind the shop, if you please.” Ava looks up, startled, but she says nothing as Lalasa walks around the counter briskly, taking Kel by the arm and towing her towards a door in the back.
Kel has the brief impression of a small room, fabrics of every color and a skylight overhead and then Lalasa is hugging her hard enough to squeeze the air from her ribs. After a moment Kel wraps her arms around the smaller woman and hugs her back. “I’ll get you all dusty…” she murmurs, but Lalasa is crying and laughing at the same time and saying, “Dust washes out, you dolt.”
Eventually Lalasa lets go and takes a step back so she can actually look up at Kel, her smile brilliant and ecstatic. “Why didn’t you write to tell me you would be back?”
“Well…” They are facing each other now, alone in this tiny room and Kel realizes that even after six month she still has no idea how she feels. She eyes Lalasa, trying to think up something to say, but nothing comes to mind.
As she watches Kel shift nervously from foot to foot, Lalasa feels lead sink into her stomach. “Ah.” She says quietly, leaning back against the wall opposite Kel. It seems as though her energy has drained away in an instant. “I had hoped… but that was foolish, my lady. Forgive my presumptiveness.”
“What did you expect?” Kel’s voice is quiet, but she is frustrated and angry at the same time without quite knowing why. She expects Lalasa to flee at the harshness in her voice, but many things have changed in three years. Lalasa’s head comes up and her shoulders square, and there isn’t a hint of the timid girl Kel once knew in this strong and confident woman standing across from her.
“I didn’t expect anything from you. It was a gift given freely, and I do not regret it, my lady.” Lalasa’s voice is even and firm, her gaze steady.
Kel pushes a hand through her hair, sighing hard and turning away. “Please don’t call me that. Don’t “my lady” me, or call me by my title. Right now what I need more than anything is for you to consider yourself my equal. I need to be on even footing with you.”
Lalasa swallows hard, and whispers into the still room, “Very well… Keladry.”
The Knight is facing the door, but Lalasa can hear her clearly as she murmurs, “You really did all that for me, without expecting anything from it?” She doesn’t seem to be expecting a reply, and so Lalasa says nothing. Kel will speak when she has thought things through, and Lalasa intends to giver her the time to do it.
Finally, Kel’s shoulders relax. Without turning around, she asks, “This isn’t going to be easy, is it?”
Hope is bubbling bright in Lalasa’s throat as she says quietly. “The things that are worth it rarely are, Kel. You of all people know that.”
Suddenly, the confusion and self-doubt that have been plaguing her for the past six months leave. Kel knows exactly how she feels and she turns slowly to face Lalasa, smiling ruefully. There is a nervousness in her eyes that Lalasa has never seen before, and she smiles back, trying to reassure the younger woman. In truth she is just as frightened as Kel.
They stare at each other for several long moments before Kel clears her throat. “Would you mind if I visited the shop from time to time?”
Lalasa crosses the room slowly and Kel freezes, watching her. The smaller woman places her hands on the front of Kel’s tunic and the smell of lavendar fills her nose as Lalasa stands on her toes to place a feather-light kiss on her cheek.
“I’d like that, Kel.”
Rating: PG
Length: 790
Competitor: Lalasa
Round/Fight: 1/F
Summary: We usually have to work the hardest in life for the things we want the most.
AN: OK, so here's the deal - this was the first pass at writing a third part for this fic series. I wound up being unhappy with it, and re-wrote a more climatic (pardon the pun) closing fic. It's called Weighing the Cost III: The Directors Cut and is also part of the smackdown fics Please consider that one the actual closing.
Lalasa had heard the news that the Knights were returning to Corus, but all the palace gossip assumed the commanders would come home last. Perhaps this is why she is caught completely off guard when Keladry of Mindelan walks through the door of her shop in the dusty and worn gear that tells her she has just finished a hard ride.
Lalasa’s first thought is that Kel has lost too much weight. She looks lean and honed, like the edge of a blade, and weary beyond belief. They stare at each other from across the room and Lalasa waits for Kel to speak, or move, or give her a hint of any sort, but the woman looks frozen. The silence stretches, and after a time Lalasa realizes that if she doesn’t do something soon Kel may very well turn around and bolt like a startled filly.
“Ava, I’ll be in my workroom. Mind the shop, if you please.” Ava looks up, startled, but she says nothing as Lalasa walks around the counter briskly, taking Kel by the arm and towing her towards a door in the back.
Kel has the brief impression of a small room, fabrics of every color and a skylight overhead and then Lalasa is hugging her hard enough to squeeze the air from her ribs. After a moment Kel wraps her arms around the smaller woman and hugs her back. “I’ll get you all dusty…” she murmurs, but Lalasa is crying and laughing at the same time and saying, “Dust washes out, you dolt.”
Eventually Lalasa lets go and takes a step back so she can actually look up at Kel, her smile brilliant and ecstatic. “Why didn’t you write to tell me you would be back?”
“Well…” They are facing each other now, alone in this tiny room and Kel realizes that even after six month she still has no idea how she feels. She eyes Lalasa, trying to think up something to say, but nothing comes to mind.
As she watches Kel shift nervously from foot to foot, Lalasa feels lead sink into her stomach. “Ah.” She says quietly, leaning back against the wall opposite Kel. It seems as though her energy has drained away in an instant. “I had hoped… but that was foolish, my lady. Forgive my presumptiveness.”
“What did you expect?” Kel’s voice is quiet, but she is frustrated and angry at the same time without quite knowing why. She expects Lalasa to flee at the harshness in her voice, but many things have changed in three years. Lalasa’s head comes up and her shoulders square, and there isn’t a hint of the timid girl Kel once knew in this strong and confident woman standing across from her.
“I didn’t expect anything from you. It was a gift given freely, and I do not regret it, my lady.” Lalasa’s voice is even and firm, her gaze steady.
Kel pushes a hand through her hair, sighing hard and turning away. “Please don’t call me that. Don’t “my lady” me, or call me by my title. Right now what I need more than anything is for you to consider yourself my equal. I need to be on even footing with you.”
Lalasa swallows hard, and whispers into the still room, “Very well… Keladry.”
The Knight is facing the door, but Lalasa can hear her clearly as she murmurs, “You really did all that for me, without expecting anything from it?” She doesn’t seem to be expecting a reply, and so Lalasa says nothing. Kel will speak when she has thought things through, and Lalasa intends to giver her the time to do it.
Finally, Kel’s shoulders relax. Without turning around, she asks, “This isn’t going to be easy, is it?”
Hope is bubbling bright in Lalasa’s throat as she says quietly. “The things that are worth it rarely are, Kel. You of all people know that.”
Suddenly, the confusion and self-doubt that have been plaguing her for the past six months leave. Kel knows exactly how she feels and she turns slowly to face Lalasa, smiling ruefully. There is a nervousness in her eyes that Lalasa has never seen before, and she smiles back, trying to reassure the younger woman. In truth she is just as frightened as Kel.
They stare at each other for several long moments before Kel clears her throat. “Would you mind if I visited the shop from time to time?”
Lalasa crosses the room slowly and Kel freezes, watching her. The smaller woman places her hands on the front of Kel’s tunic and the smell of lavendar fills her nose as Lalasa stands on her toes to place a feather-light kiss on her cheek.
“I’d like that, Kel.”