Post by Kris11 on Dec 11, 2013 14:21:51 GMT 10
Title: A Day Spent Abed
Rating: G
For: Idleness
Prompt: Ilane and Kel spending quality mother-daughter time together
Summary: After Ilane protects the sacred Yamani Swords from pirates, she decides she and Kel need a day off.
Notes: This got away from me.
Ilane woke up with a start, her hand going to her hip to grab a weapon she didn’t have, getting tangled in the blankets as she fumbled. Fully awake, she lay still in bed for a long moment, muscles tense with the dream of the attack, of her and Keladry’s run through the palace with the Swords, of how close they had come to death or injury. It was another few minutes until she could relax and sit up in bed, looking around the simple light room. It was past dawn. Piers had early morning meetings with other ambassadors and the Emperor’s ministers every day, and would have left the room quietly hours before. Without a fief to care for, Ilane often found she had an excess of spare time, though she kept herself busy with her own networking among the ladies of court. After the… eventful week she’d had, she thought she deserved an extra bit of sleep, but knew better than to close her eyes when her heart still fluttered wildly in the nightmare’s aftermath.
Instead, she rose from the floor-level bed and began to dress herself. She padded through the bedchamber and into her family’s shared common room on bare feet, the wood cold against her soles. She slipped into Kel’s room quietly, crossing to where her daughter slept on her own low wooden bed. She was growing quickly, would have Ilane’s height, but for now the five year old was so small tucked under her blanket, one hand up near her face in a loose fist on her pillow. She was breathing evenly, Ilane’s own nightmares not haunting her daughter’s sleep.
Sitting gracefully on its edge, she reached out to brush Kel’s hair away from her face. Kel murmured sleepily before her eyes fluttered open. There was a brief moment of confusion before her expression glazed over, Yamani-smooth, as completely expressionless as if she’d put on a mask. Ilane, as always, felt a moment of discomfort. She understood the necessity; she and her children represented Piers and they had to fit into society for him to do his job well, but there was something she hated about having her baby hide her emotions, even from her.
“Mama?” Kel yawned. “What’s happening?”
“Nothing, dear heart. It’s morning.”
“Do we have to get up?”
“No,” Ilane decided. “No, today we’re just going to stay abed.” She pulled the blankets off Kel, making the girl squirm as the cold air of the Isle hit her bare legs. Tugging her arms, she maneuvered the two of them until they were curled together on the pallet. She grabbed the blanket again and shook it, letting it billow into the air above them before it settled over their heads. Kel's control slipped in her delight, and both were set off giggling, curled up underneath in their own world. Kel tucked her head against Ilane’s shoulder and set a small hand on her cheek.
The servants would come in shortly and Ilane knew she’d send them away, instead of rising to do her duty. Just for today. Ilane and Kel needed the time to recover together, however they wished and a day spent abed seemed just what any knowledgeable healer would recommend. Kel was still sleepy, her blinking eyes slowing and growing heavier as Ilane told her of Tortall and Corus, of Midwinter celebrations, of home.
Rating: G
For: Idleness
Prompt: Ilane and Kel spending quality mother-daughter time together
Summary: After Ilane protects the sacred Yamani Swords from pirates, she decides she and Kel need a day off.
Notes: This got away from me.
Ilane woke up with a start, her hand going to her hip to grab a weapon she didn’t have, getting tangled in the blankets as she fumbled. Fully awake, she lay still in bed for a long moment, muscles tense with the dream of the attack, of her and Keladry’s run through the palace with the Swords, of how close they had come to death or injury. It was another few minutes until she could relax and sit up in bed, looking around the simple light room. It was past dawn. Piers had early morning meetings with other ambassadors and the Emperor’s ministers every day, and would have left the room quietly hours before. Without a fief to care for, Ilane often found she had an excess of spare time, though she kept herself busy with her own networking among the ladies of court. After the… eventful week she’d had, she thought she deserved an extra bit of sleep, but knew better than to close her eyes when her heart still fluttered wildly in the nightmare’s aftermath.
Instead, she rose from the floor-level bed and began to dress herself. She padded through the bedchamber and into her family’s shared common room on bare feet, the wood cold against her soles. She slipped into Kel’s room quietly, crossing to where her daughter slept on her own low wooden bed. She was growing quickly, would have Ilane’s height, but for now the five year old was so small tucked under her blanket, one hand up near her face in a loose fist on her pillow. She was breathing evenly, Ilane’s own nightmares not haunting her daughter’s sleep.
Sitting gracefully on its edge, she reached out to brush Kel’s hair away from her face. Kel murmured sleepily before her eyes fluttered open. There was a brief moment of confusion before her expression glazed over, Yamani-smooth, as completely expressionless as if she’d put on a mask. Ilane, as always, felt a moment of discomfort. She understood the necessity; she and her children represented Piers and they had to fit into society for him to do his job well, but there was something she hated about having her baby hide her emotions, even from her.
“Mama?” Kel yawned. “What’s happening?”
“Nothing, dear heart. It’s morning.”
“Do we have to get up?”
“No,” Ilane decided. “No, today we’re just going to stay abed.” She pulled the blankets off Kel, making the girl squirm as the cold air of the Isle hit her bare legs. Tugging her arms, she maneuvered the two of them until they were curled together on the pallet. She grabbed the blanket again and shook it, letting it billow into the air above them before it settled over their heads. Kel's control slipped in her delight, and both were set off giggling, curled up underneath in their own world. Kel tucked her head against Ilane’s shoulder and set a small hand on her cheek.
The servants would come in shortly and Ilane knew she’d send them away, instead of rising to do her duty. Just for today. Ilane and Kel needed the time to recover together, however they wished and a day spent abed seemed just what any knowledgeable healer would recommend. Kel was still sleepy, her blinking eyes slowing and growing heavier as Ilane told her of Tortall and Corus, of Midwinter celebrations, of home.