Post by Lisa on May 15, 2011 2:40:28 GMT 10
Title: Finding Her Center
Rating: G
Word Count: 316
Pairing: Maura/Kel
Fight: 3/B
Summary: When the day’s work is done, she comes home to remember who she is, and why she does what she does.
When she shows up, she looks exhausted. It’s like she’s been chasing thieves for three days – and perhaps she has. Her eyes are dull, her mouth set into a frown that even my kiss can’t alter. We walk from the stables to the kitchens, so I can get a nice meal in her. Her feet drag with fatigue, as well as something more.
After a bit of bread and soup, her face is less drawn and has more color. But her heart is still heavy.
“Talk to me,” I urge, taking her hand.
She shakes her head slightly, but not as a refusal. More a hesitation. “It’s exhausting,” she says, breaking a piece of crust off of the remainder of the loaf of bread. “A town is raided, so we hunt the bandits down. And there were discover families with no food, no shelter, trying to live off the land but unable to. And I’m supposed to bring them in for punishment. Watch them be hanged.”
I take her hand, squeezing her fingers gently. Tears well in her eyes, but I know that addressing that will make her feel worse. “You’re home now,” I whisper, kissing the dry, cracked skin of her knuckles.
“Yes,” she murmurs, closing her eyes. “Home, where the nobles take care of the tenants and the Lady of Dunlath uses her economic prowess to make sure no one needs to steal in order to eat.”
“And where the Lady Knight of Dunlath cares enough to work herself into near illness with worry?”
“Where the lady knight just wants to sleep,” Kel replies, leaning against me. Her weight is comfortable, after years together. “And hopes that you might join her.”
All of our time together has taught me that this is the way to relieve her exhaustion and misery – to simply spend time with her and let it slowly slip away from her.
QC: by Cassandra
Rating: G
Word Count: 316
Pairing: Maura/Kel
Fight: 3/B
Summary: When the day’s work is done, she comes home to remember who she is, and why she does what she does.
When she shows up, she looks exhausted. It’s like she’s been chasing thieves for three days – and perhaps she has. Her eyes are dull, her mouth set into a frown that even my kiss can’t alter. We walk from the stables to the kitchens, so I can get a nice meal in her. Her feet drag with fatigue, as well as something more.
After a bit of bread and soup, her face is less drawn and has more color. But her heart is still heavy.
“Talk to me,” I urge, taking her hand.
She shakes her head slightly, but not as a refusal. More a hesitation. “It’s exhausting,” she says, breaking a piece of crust off of the remainder of the loaf of bread. “A town is raided, so we hunt the bandits down. And there were discover families with no food, no shelter, trying to live off the land but unable to. And I’m supposed to bring them in for punishment. Watch them be hanged.”
I take her hand, squeezing her fingers gently. Tears well in her eyes, but I know that addressing that will make her feel worse. “You’re home now,” I whisper, kissing the dry, cracked skin of her knuckles.
“Yes,” she murmurs, closing her eyes. “Home, where the nobles take care of the tenants and the Lady of Dunlath uses her economic prowess to make sure no one needs to steal in order to eat.”
“And where the Lady Knight of Dunlath cares enough to work herself into near illness with worry?”
“Where the lady knight just wants to sleep,” Kel replies, leaning against me. Her weight is comfortable, after years together. “And hopes that you might join her.”
All of our time together has taught me that this is the way to relieve her exhaustion and misery – to simply spend time with her and let it slowly slip away from her.
QC: by Cassandra