Post by journeycat on Apr 14, 2010 14:59:21 GMT 10
Title: Simple Design
Rating: G
Word Count: 476
Prompt: #20 Faith
Summary: Seaver knew it would be worth it in the end.
-----
It is several years after their Ordeal, and it is strange to see how little has changed. They are the few of their peers who remain at Corus, and they take this day to let their horses stretch their legs.
“Do you want to get married?”
Keladry looks at him, her smile wry. “I’m too busy to even court—I definitely don’t want to think about marriage. Why?”
“Just wondering,” Seaver says, and smiles.
-----
It is Seaver’s twenty-ninth birthday, but Kel can see that he looks unhappy. While their friends toast to many years to come, she leans over and asks softly,
“Are you okay?”
His smile is fleeting. “I’m just tired, I suppose. I just got back from border patrol.”
“Ah.” Her expression is understanding.
Seaver says, “I hear Faleron is courting you.”
“You could say that.”
“Good luck.”
He says little more for the rest of the night.
-----
It is Princess Lianokami’s sixteenth birthday, and Kel feels awkward in a dress. Still, nothing compares to the terrible feeling when, on the balcony, Seaver reaches for her hand.
“I want to confess something,” he says in a low voice.
She is transfixed by his hand on hers. She has seen the signs, but had tried to ignore them.
“You’re such a strong woman,” he continues. “Everything you do takes my breath away. Kel, I lo—”
“Seaver,” Kel interrupts, pained, embarrassed. “Don’t. I don’t feel the same.”
She takes her hand away, and leaves him there. It does not occur to her until later that she is running away.
-----
“Marry me.”
It is an old mantra, and it makes Kel grin at him. Her birthday is tomorrow, and while forty-three does not seem old, she is feeling her age. She is glad that he still thinks she’s worth it, although she knows it’s cruel.
“No,” she says, for the hundredth upon hundredth time.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m quite positive.”
“I’ll ask tomorrow, then.”
“The answer is always no, silly. When will you learn?”
The scar dragging along his jaw flexes with his smile. “When will you learn I won’t give up?”
-----
It is Roald’s coronation, and it is both exciting and tragic. There were half-joking rumors surfacing that old King Jonathan was drinking from a fountain of youth, quickly and harshly quelled when he abruptly died one night. Kel fixes Seaver’s hair, and thinks that the gray in it makes him look distinguished.
“You don’t have to fuss over me.”
“I can’t let my husband be seen with hair like this.
He chuckles. “I like the way that sounds.”
She rests her hands on his shoulders, and looks up at him seriously. “Why did you wait for so long?”
“I was waiting for you to say yes.”
“How did you know I would?”
“I didn’t,” he says, and smiles.
Rating: G
Word Count: 476
Prompt: #20 Faith
Summary: Seaver knew it would be worth it in the end.
-----
It is several years after their Ordeal, and it is strange to see how little has changed. They are the few of their peers who remain at Corus, and they take this day to let their horses stretch their legs.
“Do you want to get married?”
Keladry looks at him, her smile wry. “I’m too busy to even court—I definitely don’t want to think about marriage. Why?”
“Just wondering,” Seaver says, and smiles.
-----
It is Seaver’s twenty-ninth birthday, but Kel can see that he looks unhappy. While their friends toast to many years to come, she leans over and asks softly,
“Are you okay?”
His smile is fleeting. “I’m just tired, I suppose. I just got back from border patrol.”
“Ah.” Her expression is understanding.
Seaver says, “I hear Faleron is courting you.”
“You could say that.”
“Good luck.”
He says little more for the rest of the night.
-----
It is Princess Lianokami’s sixteenth birthday, and Kel feels awkward in a dress. Still, nothing compares to the terrible feeling when, on the balcony, Seaver reaches for her hand.
“I want to confess something,” he says in a low voice.
She is transfixed by his hand on hers. She has seen the signs, but had tried to ignore them.
“You’re such a strong woman,” he continues. “Everything you do takes my breath away. Kel, I lo—”
“Seaver,” Kel interrupts, pained, embarrassed. “Don’t. I don’t feel the same.”
She takes her hand away, and leaves him there. It does not occur to her until later that she is running away.
-----
“Marry me.”
It is an old mantra, and it makes Kel grin at him. Her birthday is tomorrow, and while forty-three does not seem old, she is feeling her age. She is glad that he still thinks she’s worth it, although she knows it’s cruel.
“No,” she says, for the hundredth upon hundredth time.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m quite positive.”
“I’ll ask tomorrow, then.”
“The answer is always no, silly. When will you learn?”
The scar dragging along his jaw flexes with his smile. “When will you learn I won’t give up?”
-----
It is Roald’s coronation, and it is both exciting and tragic. There were half-joking rumors surfacing that old King Jonathan was drinking from a fountain of youth, quickly and harshly quelled when he abruptly died one night. Kel fixes Seaver’s hair, and thinks that the gray in it makes him look distinguished.
“You don’t have to fuss over me.”
“I can’t let my husband be seen with hair like this.
He chuckles. “I like the way that sounds.”
She rests her hands on his shoulders, and looks up at him seriously. “Why did you wait for so long?”
“I was waiting for you to say yes.”
“How did you know I would?”
“I didn’t,” he says, and smiles.
