Post by whimonda on Apr 10, 2015 21:59:36 GMT 10
Series: Promised
Title: Days and Seconds
Rating: PG
Event: Just in Jousting
Competition: Pentathlon
Words: 981
Summary: Dove has had a long day. (Warning for slight mention of attempted assassination.)
Comments: This started off a structured fic and then sort of became a rambling blurting of lots of headcanons...so not the best writing but anyway.
~
As Queen Dovasary entered her rooms she breathed deeply of the silence. The quiet contemplative atmosphere had been a lure at the edge of her thoughts all afternoon. Her day had been lacking in the extreme of quiet moments.
Aly had brought more reports of yet another luarin extremist group forming on Imahyn and word that they could be attempting another assassination, not that even a determined assassin could get remotely close to her with the almost humorous levels of security Taybur, Aly and Fesgao had devised. She could have sworn she saw them smirk at the thought of what they could inflict on this new poor soul who apparently wanted to kill her, Taybur in particular was distinctly vengeful to anyone even considering regicide.
She wasn’t quite sure how to go about stopping these groups from appearing, when it came to managing finances, treaties, and laws she was confident and knew inwardly that she was succeeding, but persuading people that they should trust and follow her, not her forte. It was getting easier, gradually; she had been queen for two years now and had done more public appearances than any of the Rittevons had done in a decade, and some of the first charity projects done in the last century. She had even grown to enjoy hosting delegations, well particularly those from Tortall and Carthak. The Yamani diplomats had been a fascinating experience, but she couldn’t have exactly made a worse impression on them than Oron, as far as she remembered they had left in disgust from their only visit when he was King. Since the incident with the dung the Tyran’s had not returned, although they continued to grant loans so they couldn’t have been too offended. This month was the first time a delegation from Tusaine had visited, and their departure could not come soon enough.
“Idiotic misogynists,” muttered the young queen as she liberated her aching scalp and piled the shining pins on her dresser. It had taken a few months to find a set of maidservants who respected her privacy, this set was the tenth, and knew better than to insist on undoing her hair for her. The Tusainian ambassador had the barbed compliments and loaded questions of diplomacy down to a fine art, and his comments about women as rulers were just carefully worded enough for her to be unable to show offence but blatant enough that every single person understood what he was really saying. It was probably lucky Sarai wasn’t here, although Dove would happily have set her sister upon the ambassador after the fourth time he asked when she was planning on marrying.
Her hair untied, Dovasary turned to the balcony and its view of the enormous walls, with just a glimpse of her sprawling city, all smells and sounds and beautiful chaos. As she breathed in and relaxed for a moment there was a rather large squawk and she stepped back as a small crow landed hard on the railing, that she had insisted be put on all palace balconies after Imajane jumped, and teetered backwards forwards backwards forwards before toppling onto her tiled floor. Slowly the glossy black feathers, accented with bright ochre that distinguished it from regular crows, shifted back into the skin and bright flaming hair of a toddler. “Auntie Dove!” gleefully cried the infant.
1, 2, 3
“Hello Ulasu! You almost managed to stay on the railing that time, well done.” Dove smiled back as the determined little girl clambered to her feet and grinned with excitement.
4, 5, 6
“Auntie dove, how you?”
In response Dove sat cross legged, “I am alright little one, your Common improves every time I see you. That was very near perfect, it just needs an ‘are’ sound, so ‘How are you?’”
7, 8, 9
“How are you?” repeated Ulasu, face wrinkled with concentration as she pronounced the sentence.
“I am very good thank you Ulasu, how are you?”
Again the face wrinkled, “Good,” she carefully made the ‘d’ sound, but struggled with the ‘th’, “tank you auntie dove.”
10, 11, 12
Rattle, click, bang
The door swung open as Aly strode inside then sighed, “Ulasu, there you are, sweetheart you know you aren’t allowed to fly places without your father.”
Dove smirked, “Twelve seconds Aly, you’re slipping, just because she always comes to my rooms doesn’t mean you can stop being constantly vigilant,” she said in a teasing tone.
Aly’s mouth twitched but she replied in her blandest tone, “Well I was sure you were in an exceedingly sociable mood after your wonderful day entertaining those angels from Tusaine.”
Dove’s face involuntarily scowled, “Ugh, don’t remind me, please. They don’t leave for another two weeks.”
“Well we could always have Nawat arrange an unpleasant surprise while they are perusing the gardens; he has a talent for that.” Aly was smirking again.
“I should not be as tempted as I am, how undiplomatic of me,” Dove turned her eyes to the little girl examining one of her shinier hair pins and seemingly considering tucking it in her pocket, “You know I have never met an infant anywhere near as advanced as Ulasu, or any of your three really at their age, talking, walking, flying, she seems more intelligent every time I meet her.”
“Yes, they are a challenge to keep up with; Nawat thinks it might be because of the faster maturity rate of crows that their brains and motor skills are developing so quickly. You are her favourite person in the palace you know, every third phrase she says is Auntie Dove.”
“Well I’m flattered, it’s lovely spending time with her, she is probably more intelligent than half the people in court,” Dove sighed, and then her eyes sparkled and she spoke with delight and a hint of mischief, “and I cannot wait to teach her how to play chess.”
Title: Days and Seconds
Rating: PG
Event: Just in Jousting
Competition: Pentathlon
Words: 981
Summary: Dove has had a long day. (Warning for slight mention of attempted assassination.)
Comments: This started off a structured fic and then sort of became a rambling blurting of lots of headcanons...so not the best writing but anyway.
~
As Queen Dovasary entered her rooms she breathed deeply of the silence. The quiet contemplative atmosphere had been a lure at the edge of her thoughts all afternoon. Her day had been lacking in the extreme of quiet moments.
Aly had brought more reports of yet another luarin extremist group forming on Imahyn and word that they could be attempting another assassination, not that even a determined assassin could get remotely close to her with the almost humorous levels of security Taybur, Aly and Fesgao had devised. She could have sworn she saw them smirk at the thought of what they could inflict on this new poor soul who apparently wanted to kill her, Taybur in particular was distinctly vengeful to anyone even considering regicide.
She wasn’t quite sure how to go about stopping these groups from appearing, when it came to managing finances, treaties, and laws she was confident and knew inwardly that she was succeeding, but persuading people that they should trust and follow her, not her forte. It was getting easier, gradually; she had been queen for two years now and had done more public appearances than any of the Rittevons had done in a decade, and some of the first charity projects done in the last century. She had even grown to enjoy hosting delegations, well particularly those from Tortall and Carthak. The Yamani diplomats had been a fascinating experience, but she couldn’t have exactly made a worse impression on them than Oron, as far as she remembered they had left in disgust from their only visit when he was King. Since the incident with the dung the Tyran’s had not returned, although they continued to grant loans so they couldn’t have been too offended. This month was the first time a delegation from Tusaine had visited, and their departure could not come soon enough.
“Idiotic misogynists,” muttered the young queen as she liberated her aching scalp and piled the shining pins on her dresser. It had taken a few months to find a set of maidservants who respected her privacy, this set was the tenth, and knew better than to insist on undoing her hair for her. The Tusainian ambassador had the barbed compliments and loaded questions of diplomacy down to a fine art, and his comments about women as rulers were just carefully worded enough for her to be unable to show offence but blatant enough that every single person understood what he was really saying. It was probably lucky Sarai wasn’t here, although Dove would happily have set her sister upon the ambassador after the fourth time he asked when she was planning on marrying.
Her hair untied, Dovasary turned to the balcony and its view of the enormous walls, with just a glimpse of her sprawling city, all smells and sounds and beautiful chaos. As she breathed in and relaxed for a moment there was a rather large squawk and she stepped back as a small crow landed hard on the railing, that she had insisted be put on all palace balconies after Imajane jumped, and teetered backwards forwards backwards forwards before toppling onto her tiled floor. Slowly the glossy black feathers, accented with bright ochre that distinguished it from regular crows, shifted back into the skin and bright flaming hair of a toddler. “Auntie Dove!” gleefully cried the infant.
1, 2, 3
“Hello Ulasu! You almost managed to stay on the railing that time, well done.” Dove smiled back as the determined little girl clambered to her feet and grinned with excitement.
4, 5, 6
“Auntie dove, how you?”
In response Dove sat cross legged, “I am alright little one, your Common improves every time I see you. That was very near perfect, it just needs an ‘are’ sound, so ‘How are you?’”
7, 8, 9
“How are you?” repeated Ulasu, face wrinkled with concentration as she pronounced the sentence.
“I am very good thank you Ulasu, how are you?”
Again the face wrinkled, “Good,” she carefully made the ‘d’ sound, but struggled with the ‘th’, “tank you auntie dove.”
10, 11, 12
Rattle, click, bang
The door swung open as Aly strode inside then sighed, “Ulasu, there you are, sweetheart you know you aren’t allowed to fly places without your father.”
Dove smirked, “Twelve seconds Aly, you’re slipping, just because she always comes to my rooms doesn’t mean you can stop being constantly vigilant,” she said in a teasing tone.
Aly’s mouth twitched but she replied in her blandest tone, “Well I was sure you were in an exceedingly sociable mood after your wonderful day entertaining those angels from Tusaine.”
Dove’s face involuntarily scowled, “Ugh, don’t remind me, please. They don’t leave for another two weeks.”
“Well we could always have Nawat arrange an unpleasant surprise while they are perusing the gardens; he has a talent for that.” Aly was smirking again.
“I should not be as tempted as I am, how undiplomatic of me,” Dove turned her eyes to the little girl examining one of her shinier hair pins and seemingly considering tucking it in her pocket, “You know I have never met an infant anywhere near as advanced as Ulasu, or any of your three really at their age, talking, walking, flying, she seems more intelligent every time I meet her.”
“Yes, they are a challenge to keep up with; Nawat thinks it might be because of the faster maturity rate of crows that their brains and motor skills are developing so quickly. You are her favourite person in the palace you know, every third phrase she says is Auntie Dove.”
“Well I’m flattered, it’s lovely spending time with her, she is probably more intelligent than half the people in court,” Dove sighed, and then her eyes sparkled and she spoke with delight and a hint of mischief, “and I cannot wait to teach her how to play chess.”