Post by rainstormamaya on Jun 30, 2009 23:46:08 GMT 10
Title: Lord Theodore And The Broken Ankle
Summary: Douglass, Sacherell and Our Hero come across a toddler in distress.
Rating: G
Series: Early Immortals, maybe?
Warnings: n/a
Note: A bit of silly fluff for Lord Theodore Day, but my first Tamora Pierce bunny in ages.
~~~
Douglass looked at Sacherell, and Sacherell looked at Douglass, and they both looked at Alan of Pirate’s Swoop, five years old, sitting on the floor and sobbing his little heart out, and as one they cursed several people. George of Pirate’s Swoop, for being off performing espionage-type activities about which they did not care to enquire and consequently not being here to cope with his son, Alanna of Pirate’s Swoop for being off killing spidrens and consequently not being here to cope with her son, Thom of Pirate’s Swoop for having gone and hidden himself in the most obscure corner of the library known to man rather than looking after his little siblings, and most of all, Alianne of Pirate’s Swoop for daring her brother to climb a tree and then running away, leaving him stuck at the top until he fell off and broke his ankle.
The pitiful scream that resulted from the broken ankle had fetched Douglass and Sacherell post-haste to the sunny courtyard, but it was in a rather empty part of the palace and the reason they’d been there was because Douglass had insisted on going to a little-known door out of the palace that meant you had to walk about half the distance to reach the only shop in Corus that mended teddy bears than you would otherwise. The fact that it took at least an extra half-an-hour to find your way to said little-known door had apparently passed him by, but Sacherell thanked the Gods that he’d gone along with Douglass and agreed to use that door, because otherwise the poor boy could have been sitting crying on the floor for hours without anyone knowing.
“Want Mama!” Alan wailed, face screwed up, scrubbing his eyes with his fists. “Mama!”
“Oh dear,” Sacherell said. “Alan, she isn’t here, I’m afraid. Look, let me carry you to the Healers’ Wing and we can sort your poor ankle out...” He tried to scoop Alan up.
“No, don’t!” Douglass said agitatedly. “We’ll have to splint it first.”
“What with?” Sacherell hissed. They looked around the bare courtyard. Douglass took a firmer grip on the package in which Lord Theodore currently resided, and chewed his thumbnail thoughtfully.
“Good point. If I run for help, and you stay here-“
“Why should I stay here?” Sacherell snapped. “You have all the sense of direction of a gnat sky-high on poppy brick! You’ll get bloody lost!”
“No I won’t,” Douglass said, offended. “And you’re better with small children than I am-“
“Cough hack Maura.”
“-it’s not the same thing at all, Maura is very sensible and much better at climbing trees, and I’m her guardian, not her nursemaid!”
Alan, oblivious to the discussion of who was better at child-care, howled.
“Oh- look,” Douglass said, distressed, and picked at the string on the package until Lord Theodore appeared in all his tatty, chewed glory (Maura had had words with Short Snout, and the wolf had apologised for his improper mastication of the teddy bear, but that didn’t change the fact that Lord Theodore was about to lose a leg, was missing half an ear, and looked like he’d been dragged through several bushes and a barrel of gravel backwards.) “Here, Alan, lookit. It’s a bear.”
“He’s five, not stupid,” Sacherell commented, convinced whatever Douglass was up to was not going to work, but Alan’s sobbing had abated a bit, and he plugged his mouth with his thumb, staring at the bear with watery red-rimmed hazel eyes.
Douglass danced the bear up and down in front of Alan. “It’s Lord Theodore. Have you met Lord Theodore before, Alan? Quick Sacherell run for it while he’s distracted. Lord Theodore is a very very brave bear. He’s been living in Dunlath protecting Lady Maura, but before that he travelled to the Roof of the World with your mama except he’s so modest he asked her not to talk about it. He’s been knighted, ages and ages ago before you were even born, but the conservatives made your Uncle Jon not talk about it. Would you like him to tell you about his adventures in Tusaine? Oh, and he says you can call him Lord Theo, by the way, that’s a very great compliment you know...”
Sacherell legged it in search of Duke Baird, but although Alan’s ankle was strapped up and healed within the day, Alianne suitably chastised and Alan appropriately cosseted by his nursemaid, his parents and anyone in reach and susceptible to the charm of a sweet little boy with a sore ankle, the consequences were far-reaching. Alan became very attached to Lord Theodore, and hung onto him for weeks until Douglass made up a story about the bear’s needing to go on a very important quest, and promising to send Alan letters about Lord Theodore’s adventures: he did send the letter, which was how Alan learned how to read. Douglass and Sacherell acquired a certain amount of reflected glory because of their rescue of the small boy, which a number of Thayet’s ladies-in-waiting thought was just too kind of them and showed what good people they were, willing to help a child in distress: wary Sacherell managed to stay away from the flirts, Douglass did not, and the less said about the incident where Sacherell had to rescue Douglass from a lady’s vengeful fiancé, the better.
And yet in a way, it was only a drop in the ocean of Lord Theodore’s achievements, and another person who revered and respected him as was his due; and Lord Theodore lived on in the memories of people like Alan of Pirate’s Swoop, the most comforting, kind, courageous, valiant teddy bear the realm of Tortall ever saw.
Summary: Douglass, Sacherell and Our Hero come across a toddler in distress.
Rating: G
Series: Early Immortals, maybe?
Warnings: n/a
Note: A bit of silly fluff for Lord Theodore Day, but my first Tamora Pierce bunny in ages.
~~~
Douglass looked at Sacherell, and Sacherell looked at Douglass, and they both looked at Alan of Pirate’s Swoop, five years old, sitting on the floor and sobbing his little heart out, and as one they cursed several people. George of Pirate’s Swoop, for being off performing espionage-type activities about which they did not care to enquire and consequently not being here to cope with his son, Alanna of Pirate’s Swoop for being off killing spidrens and consequently not being here to cope with her son, Thom of Pirate’s Swoop for having gone and hidden himself in the most obscure corner of the library known to man rather than looking after his little siblings, and most of all, Alianne of Pirate’s Swoop for daring her brother to climb a tree and then running away, leaving him stuck at the top until he fell off and broke his ankle.
The pitiful scream that resulted from the broken ankle had fetched Douglass and Sacherell post-haste to the sunny courtyard, but it was in a rather empty part of the palace and the reason they’d been there was because Douglass had insisted on going to a little-known door out of the palace that meant you had to walk about half the distance to reach the only shop in Corus that mended teddy bears than you would otherwise. The fact that it took at least an extra half-an-hour to find your way to said little-known door had apparently passed him by, but Sacherell thanked the Gods that he’d gone along with Douglass and agreed to use that door, because otherwise the poor boy could have been sitting crying on the floor for hours without anyone knowing.
“Want Mama!” Alan wailed, face screwed up, scrubbing his eyes with his fists. “Mama!”
“Oh dear,” Sacherell said. “Alan, she isn’t here, I’m afraid. Look, let me carry you to the Healers’ Wing and we can sort your poor ankle out...” He tried to scoop Alan up.
“No, don’t!” Douglass said agitatedly. “We’ll have to splint it first.”
“What with?” Sacherell hissed. They looked around the bare courtyard. Douglass took a firmer grip on the package in which Lord Theodore currently resided, and chewed his thumbnail thoughtfully.
“Good point. If I run for help, and you stay here-“
“Why should I stay here?” Sacherell snapped. “You have all the sense of direction of a gnat sky-high on poppy brick! You’ll get bloody lost!”
“No I won’t,” Douglass said, offended. “And you’re better with small children than I am-“
“Cough hack Maura.”
“-it’s not the same thing at all, Maura is very sensible and much better at climbing trees, and I’m her guardian, not her nursemaid!”
Alan, oblivious to the discussion of who was better at child-care, howled.
“Oh- look,” Douglass said, distressed, and picked at the string on the package until Lord Theodore appeared in all his tatty, chewed glory (Maura had had words with Short Snout, and the wolf had apologised for his improper mastication of the teddy bear, but that didn’t change the fact that Lord Theodore was about to lose a leg, was missing half an ear, and looked like he’d been dragged through several bushes and a barrel of gravel backwards.) “Here, Alan, lookit. It’s a bear.”
“He’s five, not stupid,” Sacherell commented, convinced whatever Douglass was up to was not going to work, but Alan’s sobbing had abated a bit, and he plugged his mouth with his thumb, staring at the bear with watery red-rimmed hazel eyes.
Douglass danced the bear up and down in front of Alan. “It’s Lord Theodore. Have you met Lord Theodore before, Alan? Quick Sacherell run for it while he’s distracted. Lord Theodore is a very very brave bear. He’s been living in Dunlath protecting Lady Maura, but before that he travelled to the Roof of the World with your mama except he’s so modest he asked her not to talk about it. He’s been knighted, ages and ages ago before you were even born, but the conservatives made your Uncle Jon not talk about it. Would you like him to tell you about his adventures in Tusaine? Oh, and he says you can call him Lord Theo, by the way, that’s a very great compliment you know...”
Sacherell legged it in search of Duke Baird, but although Alan’s ankle was strapped up and healed within the day, Alianne suitably chastised and Alan appropriately cosseted by his nursemaid, his parents and anyone in reach and susceptible to the charm of a sweet little boy with a sore ankle, the consequences were far-reaching. Alan became very attached to Lord Theodore, and hung onto him for weeks until Douglass made up a story about the bear’s needing to go on a very important quest, and promising to send Alan letters about Lord Theodore’s adventures: he did send the letter, which was how Alan learned how to read. Douglass and Sacherell acquired a certain amount of reflected glory because of their rescue of the small boy, which a number of Thayet’s ladies-in-waiting thought was just too kind of them and showed what good people they were, willing to help a child in distress: wary Sacherell managed to stay away from the flirts, Douglass did not, and the less said about the incident where Sacherell had to rescue Douglass from a lady’s vengeful fiancé, the better.
And yet in a way, it was only a drop in the ocean of Lord Theodore’s achievements, and another person who revered and respected him as was his due; and Lord Theodore lived on in the memories of people like Alan of Pirate’s Swoop, the most comforting, kind, courageous, valiant teddy bear the realm of Tortall ever saw.