Post by Tamari on May 1, 2012 9:57:46 GMT 10
Series: Of Freedom
Title: Singing of Things Unknown
Rating: PG
Event: 4x100 Relay
Words: 400 (100 per section)
Summary: Sometimes, they have a happy ending, and sometimes they don’t, but at least they have something.
Author’s Notes: Titles (for series and fics) are taken from Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. The ninth line of the first fic is partially from Sophocles, and the last line of the last fic is partially from Shakespeare.
I.
Lianne slips out the balcony doors and leans against the railing.
“Tough night?”
She spins.
“I’m fine. You?”
The snub-nosed man shrugs. “I’ve been better. Lerant of Eldorne.” He bows.
She curtseys. “Lianne. It’s a pleasure. I…I thought you were in the King’s Own?” She eyes his plain tunic.
“How did you- it doesn’t matter. I’m not. The Giantkiller can’t take traitors into his army,” he says bitterly.
“But you’re not one, are you?” she says.
Lerant laughs sharply. “From a bad crow, a bad egg.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“Do you think my opinion matters?”
She is silent.
II.
“You don’t have to do this,” he says.
“Yes, I do.” Her sapphire eyes are hard. “Don’t expect to understand, Lerant. I have my duty, whatever you think of it.”
Lerant stares.
She shakes her head. “And now you have nothing to say.”
“Wait,” he says desperately.
She smiles cynically. “I’ve waited long enough. Tortall is waiting, and Carthak is waiting, and it’s time.”
“You can’t marry him, Lianne. I love you.”
“Love has nothing to do with it,” Lianne says, her voice harsh.
“If Kalasin was oldest-”
“But she’s not.” Lianne adjusts her veil, and he watches her leave.
III.
Once the queen is dead, it’s acceptable, even expected, for the king to take another wife.
The unexpected part is when he picks a known traitor- Delia of Eldorne, to be exact. Liam, Jasson, and Vania leave court immediately, but Lianne and Roald are left to deal with the backlash.
The first child’s birth drives even Lianne away from court, and Lianne is Lianne, for Mithros’ sake, a peacekeeper from birth.
Not to mention that it makes her relationship with Lerant of Eldorne very uncomfortable, and explaining their family tree to the priests officiating the wedding is even more so.
IV.
What in the Eastern Lands possessed his parents to name him Lian?
Tribute to his grandmother or not, there was already a Liam in the family! Is confusion something Jonathan and Thayet enjoy?
Then he meets her.
“Lian.”
He suddenly loves his name.
“Your parents would never approve,” she says.
“I don’t care.”
“I do!”
“They’re my parents, not yours,” Lian says. “I’d love you even if you were a centaur, Lerna, so quit complaining.”
Lerna grins. “That’s a bit creepy, Your Highness.”
They laugh. Maybe she is of Eldorne and he is of Conte, but what’s in a name?
Title: Singing of Things Unknown
Rating: PG
Event: 4x100 Relay
Words: 400 (100 per section)
Summary: Sometimes, they have a happy ending, and sometimes they don’t, but at least they have something.
Author’s Notes: Titles (for series and fics) are taken from Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. The ninth line of the first fic is partially from Sophocles, and the last line of the last fic is partially from Shakespeare.
Singing of Things Unknown
[/u]I.
Lianne slips out the balcony doors and leans against the railing.
“Tough night?”
She spins.
“I’m fine. You?”
The snub-nosed man shrugs. “I’ve been better. Lerant of Eldorne.” He bows.
She curtseys. “Lianne. It’s a pleasure. I…I thought you were in the King’s Own?” She eyes his plain tunic.
“How did you- it doesn’t matter. I’m not. The Giantkiller can’t take traitors into his army,” he says bitterly.
“But you’re not one, are you?” she says.
Lerant laughs sharply. “From a bad crow, a bad egg.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“Do you think my opinion matters?”
She is silent.
II.
“You don’t have to do this,” he says.
“Yes, I do.” Her sapphire eyes are hard. “Don’t expect to understand, Lerant. I have my duty, whatever you think of it.”
Lerant stares.
She shakes her head. “And now you have nothing to say.”
“Wait,” he says desperately.
She smiles cynically. “I’ve waited long enough. Tortall is waiting, and Carthak is waiting, and it’s time.”
“You can’t marry him, Lianne. I love you.”
“Love has nothing to do with it,” Lianne says, her voice harsh.
“If Kalasin was oldest-”
“But she’s not.” Lianne adjusts her veil, and he watches her leave.
III.
Once the queen is dead, it’s acceptable, even expected, for the king to take another wife.
The unexpected part is when he picks a known traitor- Delia of Eldorne, to be exact. Liam, Jasson, and Vania leave court immediately, but Lianne and Roald are left to deal with the backlash.
The first child’s birth drives even Lianne away from court, and Lianne is Lianne, for Mithros’ sake, a peacekeeper from birth.
Not to mention that it makes her relationship with Lerant of Eldorne very uncomfortable, and explaining their family tree to the priests officiating the wedding is even more so.
IV.
What in the Eastern Lands possessed his parents to name him Lian?
Tribute to his grandmother or not, there was already a Liam in the family! Is confusion something Jonathan and Thayet enjoy?
Then he meets her.
“Lian.”
He suddenly loves his name.
“Your parents would never approve,” she says.
“I don’t care.”
“I do!”
“They’re my parents, not yours,” Lian says. “I’d love you even if you were a centaur, Lerna, so quit complaining.”
Lerna grins. “That’s a bit creepy, Your Highness.”
They laugh. Maybe she is of Eldorne and he is of Conte, but what’s in a name?