Fic: More Legendland Bingo fills
Last five before I move onto extras.
Title: Mistletoe
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Cara, implied Cara/Zedd
Rating: PG
Word Count: 409
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'mistletoe' for
legendland bingo card.
Summary: Zedd is imbued with the spirit of the Season.
-o-
Zedd is imbued with the spirit of the Season, and by that Cara means that he's managed to drink lots and lots of mulled wine to celebrate the onset of the shortest day.
It's too sweet a beverage for Cara. She prefers the tartness of a white, something sharp and borderline bitter, to the sweet, dulcet tones of a red, never mind a red spiced up and sweetened with autumn fruit. But it's amusing to see Zedd that merry, watching as he spreads good cheer - with liberal kisses to accompany it - among the denizens of the village in which they're staying.
"Cara, my dear!" He spots her in the shadows, throwing his arms wide open as he greets her. His face is beaming, happy in a way that gives her pause and leaves her wary. "Come and join the party!"
She doesn't party. She doesn't dance or make merry or let herself get drunk on spiced wine and the spirit of the season. And yet, somehow, she lets Zedd drag her from her safe and quiet corner into the centre of the room, where people are laughing and spinning, around and around underneath the winter greenery that hangs overhead.
"Merry WinterFest," Zedd says as he catches hold of her, steadying her as someone spins past, far too fast for their feet; they stumble and half-fall, but Cara stays upright, thanks to Zedd's wiry strength. He laughs softly in her ear, but there's no malice in it, and when she turns her head, his eyes are soft and kind.
"Merry WinterFest, my dear," he repeats, the corners of his mouth quirking up. "And may the coming year hold all that you hope for it."
She lets her eyes drift past him to where Kahlan and Richard are curled up together, laughing and happy, so happy it makes her heart ache. She loves them both, in her own way, and cannot have either.
She opens her mouth, ready to say something cutting to Zedd, something to push her away, but the Wizard is stubborn - he always has been, and this evening is no exception. Instead, he raises his eyes to the greenery overhead, and then grins at her, a beaming smile that immediately puts her on guard.
The mistletoe nestled up above isn't a surprise after that, but the way that Zedd kisses is a revelation. Perhaps the coming year might hold more than hope than she feared.
The End
-o-
Title: Following The Leader
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Cara, implied Cara/Leo
Rating: PG
Word Count: 403
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'I wanna like you' for
legendland bingo card.
Summary: Leo is following her again.
-o-
Leo was following her again, dogging her heels like an annoying puppy. It wasn't even as though he was being intrusive, butting into her thoughts or wanting to make conversation. He was just there, everpresent if quiet.
She turned her head and gave him another look, one that would have made a lesser man quail, but it apparently didn't have any effect on Seekers. She should have guessed that already - whenever she used that look on Richard, he simply swallowed a smile and gave her one of his limpid, good-natured looks back.
Leo didn't bother to swallow his smile; he simply let it spread across his face, big and beaming as though it had every right to sit there.
She turned her face to the front again and scowled, even though he couldn't see it, and quickened her pace.
Leo matched her, step for step, always the same distance behind. But again, he made no attempt to approach her or encroach on her personal space.
She was finding the whole thing intensely frustrating, and patience had never been one of her strong points. It was hardly surprising that she finally snapped.
"What do you want?" she bit out, spinning on her heel to face him. He blinked at her, that smile slowly forming on his face again. It wasn't mocking, which was the only reason he kept his teeth, but it still managed to disconcert her, as warm and welcoming as it was.
"What makes you think I want anything?" he asked evenly. "Maybe I just like the pace you set, or find you break the breeze."
Her scowl deepened, but again it didn't faze him.
"Or maybe," he continued, still mild, still warmer than he should be, "I just like you and would like you to like me back."
She snorted. "I don't like you," she said, making it sound as uncomplimentary as she could. "And I'm not going to like you."
That decided, she spun on her heel again, setting a pace that hopefully he'd have to struggle to match, and would leave him with too little breath if he did, none left to keep on spouting such nonsense.
But there was a small treacherous part of her that hoped he'd see through such a blatant lie.
Seekers, after all, weren't known to be stupid even if she was beginning to think that she couldn't claim the same about her.
The End
-o-
Title: Shadows
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Chase
Rating: PG
Word Count: 256
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'past and the chase' for
legendland bingo card.
Summary: The life of a Boundary Warden was a hard and lonely one.
-o-
The life of a Boundary Warden was a hard and lonely one, but Chase Brandstone had known that before he'd ever taken on the role. It suited him, in spite of the hardship and being separated from his beloved Emma and his children. There was a peace to be found in walking the margins of his world, making sure that those who dwelled in the Midlands were safe from heart hounds and worse.
And so he rode hard roads, making sure that the young and foolish - or old and foolish, which was not unheard of - did not stray too close to the veil spilling up from the Underworld. That way lay madness and death, when the reckless were pulled down into the Keeper's domain, and no coney or deer was worth venturing that close to the edges separating this world from the next, no matter what the poachers in the taverns claimed.
Most days he saw no one, heard nothing but the whispers of the spirits trapped within the Boundary, whose voices he knew to be false. They never tempted him to step closer - all he loved were on this side, in Hartland. There was nothing for him on the other side of the veil.
But sometimes shapes shifted in the green depths, teeth flashing as the light swirled. And those were the times when his heart raced, when he bared his own teeth, ready to defend his homeland from the creatures that lurked within.
Those were the times he truly felt alive.
The End
-o-
Title: Leather and Lace
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Denna
Rating: PG
Word Count: 315
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'lace and leather' for
legendland bingo card.
Summary: Leaving the Mord'Sith is easier than Denna thought it would be.
-o-
Leaving the Mord'Sith is easier than Denna thought it would be, but then she's always been a survivor. Always seen more clearly than her Sisters, and her Sisters have always seen more clearly than most.
She doesn't look back. She doesn't need to - there can be no return, no regaining of the Lord Rahl's favour. She has failed him for the last time and her only reward will be death at his hand.
It's strangely freeing, knowing that, that there's nothing to be lost and everything to be gained. It's not even as if she is running from the past towards a future - she's not sure she has a future, but then she's always been better at living in the moment.
She doesn't stop running for weeks, always hiding her tracks, heading to places that her remaining Sisters would never think to search. When she does finally stop, it's not because she has nowhere else to go, or because she's given up. She's never had anywhere to go. She simply stops because she chooses to.
She is, as she has always been, Mistress of her own fate.
The town in which she pauses isn't remarkable - it's relatively affluent, built on the back of trade, but that's nothing unusual for the Midlands. It does, however, mean that there's a flourishing service industry - where there's money, there are always a myriad of ways to spend it, and parting fools from their gold is just another way to control them, another way to keep score.
It's easy to slip into a new life, a new role in this new town. Even easier than it was to leave her Sisters in the first place. And it suits her - there's fine line between pain and pleasure, and Denna has always been a Mistress of both.
It's hardly surprising then that she suits lace as much as she ever suited leather.
The End
-o-
Title: Winter's Breath
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Kahlan
Rating: PG
Word Count: 261
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'winter's night and day' for
legendland bingo card.
Summary: When winter comes, the world grows still.
-o-
When winter comes, the world grows still. The earth turns to iron and white frost paints the leaves and the rocks, fragile lace crawling across every window pane.
They sleep indoors when they can - around the hearths of sympathetic families, those willing to risk D'Haran wrath. But they try to limit that to the coldest of nights, when the winds are at their most bitter, howling through the trees, and the icy edge to the air cuts like a knife. The risk is not worth it - better that they freeze than others die.
On the nights when the weather is more mild, when shelter is beyond their reach, they build up their fire until sparks from it dance in the air, crackling as it burns brightly. Kahlan is almost warm, wrapped in her blankets and watching the flames until sleep finally claims her. But in the morning, when she wakes, her cheeks that burn with the cold, her nose frozen and frost on her eyelashes and in her hair. It takes time to warm up, for the chill to leave her bones, but it's worth it just to leave through the crispest days.
The forest is silent but for the sound of their horses' hooves, ringing out clearly in the stillness, and the sun shines down brightly, leaving halos around the leaves in the wintry air.
She takes in a deep breath, feeling the air tingling in her lungs, shivering its way throughout her body.
She feels alive while the rest of the world slumbers, waiting for the spring's wakening touch.
The End
Title: Mistletoe
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Cara, implied Cara/Zedd
Rating: PG
Word Count: 409
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'mistletoe' for
legendland bingo card.
Summary: Zedd is imbued with the spirit of the Season.
-o-
Zedd is imbued with the spirit of the Season, and by that Cara means that he's managed to drink lots and lots of mulled wine to celebrate the onset of the shortest day.
It's too sweet a beverage for Cara. She prefers the tartness of a white, something sharp and borderline bitter, to the sweet, dulcet tones of a red, never mind a red spiced up and sweetened with autumn fruit. But it's amusing to see Zedd that merry, watching as he spreads good cheer - with liberal kisses to accompany it - among the denizens of the village in which they're staying.
"Cara, my dear!" He spots her in the shadows, throwing his arms wide open as he greets her. His face is beaming, happy in a way that gives her pause and leaves her wary. "Come and join the party!"
She doesn't party. She doesn't dance or make merry or let herself get drunk on spiced wine and the spirit of the season. And yet, somehow, she lets Zedd drag her from her safe and quiet corner into the centre of the room, where people are laughing and spinning, around and around underneath the winter greenery that hangs overhead.
"Merry WinterFest," Zedd says as he catches hold of her, steadying her as someone spins past, far too fast for their feet; they stumble and half-fall, but Cara stays upright, thanks to Zedd's wiry strength. He laughs softly in her ear, but there's no malice in it, and when she turns her head, his eyes are soft and kind.
"Merry WinterFest, my dear," he repeats, the corners of his mouth quirking up. "And may the coming year hold all that you hope for it."
She lets her eyes drift past him to where Kahlan and Richard are curled up together, laughing and happy, so happy it makes her heart ache. She loves them both, in her own way, and cannot have either.
She opens her mouth, ready to say something cutting to Zedd, something to push her away, but the Wizard is stubborn - he always has been, and this evening is no exception. Instead, he raises his eyes to the greenery overhead, and then grins at her, a beaming smile that immediately puts her on guard.
The mistletoe nestled up above isn't a surprise after that, but the way that Zedd kisses is a revelation. Perhaps the coming year might hold more than hope than she feared.
The End
-o-
Title: Following The Leader
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Cara, implied Cara/Leo
Rating: PG
Word Count: 403
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'I wanna like you' for
legendland bingo card.
Summary: Leo is following her again.
-o-
Leo was following her again, dogging her heels like an annoying puppy. It wasn't even as though he was being intrusive, butting into her thoughts or wanting to make conversation. He was just there, everpresent if quiet.
She turned her head and gave him another look, one that would have made a lesser man quail, but it apparently didn't have any effect on Seekers. She should have guessed that already - whenever she used that look on Richard, he simply swallowed a smile and gave her one of his limpid, good-natured looks back.
Leo didn't bother to swallow his smile; he simply let it spread across his face, big and beaming as though it had every right to sit there.
She turned her face to the front again and scowled, even though he couldn't see it, and quickened her pace.
Leo matched her, step for step, always the same distance behind. But again, he made no attempt to approach her or encroach on her personal space.
She was finding the whole thing intensely frustrating, and patience had never been one of her strong points. It was hardly surprising that she finally snapped.
"What do you want?" she bit out, spinning on her heel to face him. He blinked at her, that smile slowly forming on his face again. It wasn't mocking, which was the only reason he kept his teeth, but it still managed to disconcert her, as warm and welcoming as it was.
"What makes you think I want anything?" he asked evenly. "Maybe I just like the pace you set, or find you break the breeze."
Her scowl deepened, but again it didn't faze him.
"Or maybe," he continued, still mild, still warmer than he should be, "I just like you and would like you to like me back."
She snorted. "I don't like you," she said, making it sound as uncomplimentary as she could. "And I'm not going to like you."
That decided, she spun on her heel again, setting a pace that hopefully he'd have to struggle to match, and would leave him with too little breath if he did, none left to keep on spouting such nonsense.
But there was a small treacherous part of her that hoped he'd see through such a blatant lie.
Seekers, after all, weren't known to be stupid even if she was beginning to think that she couldn't claim the same about her.
The End
-o-
Title: Shadows
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Chase
Rating: PG
Word Count: 256
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'past and the chase' for
legendland bingo card.
Summary: The life of a Boundary Warden was a hard and lonely one.
-o-
The life of a Boundary Warden was a hard and lonely one, but Chase Brandstone had known that before he'd ever taken on the role. It suited him, in spite of the hardship and being separated from his beloved Emma and his children. There was a peace to be found in walking the margins of his world, making sure that those who dwelled in the Midlands were safe from heart hounds and worse.
And so he rode hard roads, making sure that the young and foolish - or old and foolish, which was not unheard of - did not stray too close to the veil spilling up from the Underworld. That way lay madness and death, when the reckless were pulled down into the Keeper's domain, and no coney or deer was worth venturing that close to the edges separating this world from the next, no matter what the poachers in the taverns claimed.
Most days he saw no one, heard nothing but the whispers of the spirits trapped within the Boundary, whose voices he knew to be false. They never tempted him to step closer - all he loved were on this side, in Hartland. There was nothing for him on the other side of the veil.
But sometimes shapes shifted in the green depths, teeth flashing as the light swirled. And those were the times when his heart raced, when he bared his own teeth, ready to defend his homeland from the creatures that lurked within.
Those were the times he truly felt alive.
The End
-o-
Title: Leather and Lace
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Denna
Rating: PG
Word Count: 315
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'lace and leather' for
legendland bingo card.
Summary: Leaving the Mord'Sith is easier than Denna thought it would be.
-o-
Leaving the Mord'Sith is easier than Denna thought it would be, but then she's always been a survivor. Always seen more clearly than her Sisters, and her Sisters have always seen more clearly than most.
She doesn't look back. She doesn't need to - there can be no return, no regaining of the Lord Rahl's favour. She has failed him for the last time and her only reward will be death at his hand.
It's strangely freeing, knowing that, that there's nothing to be lost and everything to be gained. It's not even as if she is running from the past towards a future - she's not sure she has a future, but then she's always been better at living in the moment.
She doesn't stop running for weeks, always hiding her tracks, heading to places that her remaining Sisters would never think to search. When she does finally stop, it's not because she has nowhere else to go, or because she's given up. She's never had anywhere to go. She simply stops because she chooses to.
She is, as she has always been, Mistress of her own fate.
The town in which she pauses isn't remarkable - it's relatively affluent, built on the back of trade, but that's nothing unusual for the Midlands. It does, however, mean that there's a flourishing service industry - where there's money, there are always a myriad of ways to spend it, and parting fools from their gold is just another way to control them, another way to keep score.
It's easy to slip into a new life, a new role in this new town. Even easier than it was to leave her Sisters in the first place. And it suits her - there's fine line between pain and pleasure, and Denna has always been a Mistress of both.
It's hardly surprising then that she suits lace as much as she ever suited leather.
The End
-o-
Title: Winter's Breath
Author: alyse
Fandom: Legend of the Seeker
Character: Kahlan
Rating: PG
Word Count: 261
Author's Notes: Written for my bingo square 'winter's night and day' for
legendland bingo card.
Summary: When winter comes, the world grows still.
-o-
When winter comes, the world grows still. The earth turns to iron and white frost paints the leaves and the rocks, fragile lace crawling across every window pane.
They sleep indoors when they can - around the hearths of sympathetic families, those willing to risk D'Haran wrath. But they try to limit that to the coldest of nights, when the winds are at their most bitter, howling through the trees, and the icy edge to the air cuts like a knife. The risk is not worth it - better that they freeze than others die.
On the nights when the weather is more mild, when shelter is beyond their reach, they build up their fire until sparks from it dance in the air, crackling as it burns brightly. Kahlan is almost warm, wrapped in her blankets and watching the flames until sleep finally claims her. But in the morning, when she wakes, her cheeks that burn with the cold, her nose frozen and frost on her eyelashes and in her hair. It takes time to warm up, for the chill to leave her bones, but it's worth it just to leave through the crispest days.
The forest is silent but for the sound of their horses' hooves, ringing out clearly in the stillness, and the sun shines down brightly, leaving halos around the leaves in the wintry air.
She takes in a deep breath, feeling the air tingling in her lungs, shivering its way throughout her body.
She feels alive while the rest of the world slumbers, waiting for the spring's wakening touch.
The End