Post by housewife on Dec 10, 2012 21:44:32 GMT 10
Title: Beltane Blessings
Rating: G
Prompt: Winter Warmth
Summary: A bedtime story about Jon and Thayet's reign.
Notes: I finally got this down on the proverbial paper, woohoo! Unfortunately, halfway through planning, I realised that Beltane is most decidedly not in the middle of winter, but I really liked the idea of jumping over the embers, so I've decided it's actually a metaphorical winter which needs warming. Canon or quasi-canon be damned, at this point Jon has only recently married Thayet, in probably the first year of his reign (I imagine the precise details get sketchy as the story is passed down, anyway). Also, bonfires in the streets. Perfectly safe.
It was a tired country, a struggling country. Mithros knew the trials the new monarchs would have, uniting its people and keeping their faith after the events of the coronation, and in the face of the years to come when the land needed to recover. It had come to the aid of its true king, aided by the Dominion Jewel, but few would care about that detail when their crops failed, year after year, and their children starved.
That was news Jon didn’t yet know, this first Beltane, and there was no need to worry him now. The new King’s face was aged beyond his years, careworn and lined, but tonight it was lifted in joy. He wandered the streets of Corus with his new bride the Queen, revelling in the love he felt for her and the Beltane festivities.
And tonight, tentatively and perhaps for the first time, the city smiled with him.
Standing together, unnoticed at the sidelines, Mithros and the Maiden Goddess watched. They knew the country’s troubles, they knew the difficulties Jon faced, but they also felt the hope of the people, and they knew he was the righteous king. Together with Thayet, he would rule well and justly. This they knew.
And yet, when it came to the point in the evening which made Beltane the celebration it was known for, when all the bonfires had burned low and the King and Queen lined up with others, hand in hand to jump over the embers, then the Goddess nudged her partner over to stand behind them, yet unnoticed.
They did not reveal themselves until they, too, jumped. The crowd seemed as if frozen; the King and Queen, turning to see the next couple, were shocked. Thayet stood, white and stricken, before sinking into a deep curtsey, while Jon bowed his head low and dropped to his knees.
Not a word was spoken, but it was a moment that history would never forget. The Goddess first, then Mithros too, drew off their cloaks and draped them over the young monarchs, who had gone uncloaked in the warm evening. Then, without quite disappearing, the gods simply were not there anymore, and sound and movement returned to the people.
An inner light now filled the couple, warming everyone they met, charming their people and raising the hopes of all. From that night, stories travelled far and wide, to the corners of their land and even beyond, and all people would know this.
Blessed indeed was the reign of Jon and Thayet.
Rating: G
Prompt: Winter Warmth
Summary: A bedtime story about Jon and Thayet's reign.
Notes: I finally got this down on the proverbial paper, woohoo! Unfortunately, halfway through planning, I realised that Beltane is most decidedly not in the middle of winter, but I really liked the idea of jumping over the embers, so I've decided it's actually a metaphorical winter which needs warming. Canon or quasi-canon be damned, at this point Jon has only recently married Thayet, in probably the first year of his reign (I imagine the precise details get sketchy as the story is passed down, anyway). Also, bonfires in the streets. Perfectly safe.
It was a tired country, a struggling country. Mithros knew the trials the new monarchs would have, uniting its people and keeping their faith after the events of the coronation, and in the face of the years to come when the land needed to recover. It had come to the aid of its true king, aided by the Dominion Jewel, but few would care about that detail when their crops failed, year after year, and their children starved.
That was news Jon didn’t yet know, this first Beltane, and there was no need to worry him now. The new King’s face was aged beyond his years, careworn and lined, but tonight it was lifted in joy. He wandered the streets of Corus with his new bride the Queen, revelling in the love he felt for her and the Beltane festivities.
And tonight, tentatively and perhaps for the first time, the city smiled with him.
Standing together, unnoticed at the sidelines, Mithros and the Maiden Goddess watched. They knew the country’s troubles, they knew the difficulties Jon faced, but they also felt the hope of the people, and they knew he was the righteous king. Together with Thayet, he would rule well and justly. This they knew.
And yet, when it came to the point in the evening which made Beltane the celebration it was known for, when all the bonfires had burned low and the King and Queen lined up with others, hand in hand to jump over the embers, then the Goddess nudged her partner over to stand behind them, yet unnoticed.
They did not reveal themselves until they, too, jumped. The crowd seemed as if frozen; the King and Queen, turning to see the next couple, were shocked. Thayet stood, white and stricken, before sinking into a deep curtsey, while Jon bowed his head low and dropped to his knees.
Not a word was spoken, but it was a moment that history would never forget. The Goddess first, then Mithros too, drew off their cloaks and draped them over the young monarchs, who had gone uncloaked in the warm evening. Then, without quite disappearing, the gods simply were not there anymore, and sound and movement returned to the people.
An inner light now filled the couple, warming everyone they met, charming their people and raising the hopes of all. From that night, stories travelled far and wide, to the corners of their land and even beyond, and all people would know this.
Blessed indeed was the reign of Jon and Thayet.