Post by Rosie on Jun 15, 2012 15:13:29 GMT 10
Title: Keys to the Castle
Rating: G
Prompt: #70, Secret Passageways
Summary: It doesn't take Douglass long to start uncovering Dunlath's secrets.
Douglass had found that, by and large, people with secrets to keep did not blurt them out immediately. The trick was to let them think you were satisfied with their responses, and then allow them to betray themselves. Most of the time, they were not even aware they had done so.
It was what made him a good spy, mostly, though a lack of ruthlessness let him down on that count. Once he had uncovered somebody's secrets, he was reluctant to give it all up in the name of service of the realm.
Loyalty is a two-way street, he said to Myles.
And he was abruptly sent to Dunlath.
Dunlath was not a place that was eager to divulge its secrets. He coaxed and prodded, though, and like its mistress, the fief gave way to his eagerness. Hangings shifted to reveal alcoves, bookcases moved to show a network of corridors. The castle both enabled and disabled secrets, depending on which side of the wall you were.
He used the passages sparingly; more to move around than to keep an eye on Maura. Maura was a steady girl, and she would come to him in her own time.
Some things you can't help stumbling on, however, and Douglass couldn't help but note that the passageways were free of cobwebs, and not as dusty as he would have expected.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Lord Theodore?" Douglass asked, drumming his fingers on his desk.
Lord Theodore didn't deign to answer, but then, he was a bear of few words. He obviously agreed that Douglass should give the passageways over to their rightful owner. Douglass wouldn't want Maura to think he'd been snooping around, in case it shattered their delicately balanced relationship. In one sense, he held all the cards, but if she started to pull away, the pack would tumble down.
In the end, his worrying was in vain.
"I want to show you something," Maura informed him, her brown eyes serious. "When I first showed you around the castle - well, I didn't exactly show you everything. After Yolane-" She blew out her cheeks, and changed tact. "You're living here, and I want to be able to trust you."
Understanding that declarations of his integrity wouldn't help matters, Douglass remained silent.
"But that means having you trust me in return," said the oldest ten-year-old he had ever met. "So, here are the secrets of my home." She lifted up Scrap, who had begun to wind around her ankles, and opened the hidden door in the fireplace. "There."
He had found this door in his second week, but he knelt before it now, examining the hidden handle. "Maura, I-"
"Now we can both use the passageways without worrying we'll run into each other," Maura said with a smile.
Rating: G
Prompt: #70, Secret Passageways
Summary: It doesn't take Douglass long to start uncovering Dunlath's secrets.
Douglass had found that, by and large, people with secrets to keep did not blurt them out immediately. The trick was to let them think you were satisfied with their responses, and then allow them to betray themselves. Most of the time, they were not even aware they had done so.
It was what made him a good spy, mostly, though a lack of ruthlessness let him down on that count. Once he had uncovered somebody's secrets, he was reluctant to give it all up in the name of service of the realm.
Loyalty is a two-way street, he said to Myles.
And he was abruptly sent to Dunlath.
Dunlath was not a place that was eager to divulge its secrets. He coaxed and prodded, though, and like its mistress, the fief gave way to his eagerness. Hangings shifted to reveal alcoves, bookcases moved to show a network of corridors. The castle both enabled and disabled secrets, depending on which side of the wall you were.
He used the passages sparingly; more to move around than to keep an eye on Maura. Maura was a steady girl, and she would come to him in her own time.
Some things you can't help stumbling on, however, and Douglass couldn't help but note that the passageways were free of cobwebs, and not as dusty as he would have expected.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Lord Theodore?" Douglass asked, drumming his fingers on his desk.
Lord Theodore didn't deign to answer, but then, he was a bear of few words. He obviously agreed that Douglass should give the passageways over to their rightful owner. Douglass wouldn't want Maura to think he'd been snooping around, in case it shattered their delicately balanced relationship. In one sense, he held all the cards, but if she started to pull away, the pack would tumble down.
In the end, his worrying was in vain.
"I want to show you something," Maura informed him, her brown eyes serious. "When I first showed you around the castle - well, I didn't exactly show you everything. After Yolane-" She blew out her cheeks, and changed tact. "You're living here, and I want to be able to trust you."
Understanding that declarations of his integrity wouldn't help matters, Douglass remained silent.
"But that means having you trust me in return," said the oldest ten-year-old he had ever met. "So, here are the secrets of my home." She lifted up Scrap, who had begun to wind around her ankles, and opened the hidden door in the fireplace. "There."
He had found this door in his second week, but he knelt before it now, examining the hidden handle. "Maura, I-"
"Now we can both use the passageways without worrying we'll run into each other," Maura said with a smile.
Fantastic use of the prompt. I love getting a glimpse of spy!Douglass, and his take on loyalty is so lovely. I also love the inclusion of Lord Theodore, and the quote Kyp mentioned.
Maybe once we'd have seen it during Smackdown!