Writing Exercise: Smallville/Amberverse, Gen, PG, It was a rainy day...
April 4, Writing Journal exercise.
Prompt: It was a rainy day
Tool: Amber/Smallville
Title:
It was a rainy day the first time Julian had come to this place. He could have changed that of course, but he didn’t. The greyness of the day had suited his mood. It had also made Lillian stand out as stray bits of light reflected off her deep red hair in brilliant flashes, and her pale skin shone white against the darkness of the sky. He had loved her from the moment he saw her. She had always sworn she loved him as well, but something in her was torn. She wouldn’t leave her world or the mortal man she loved with no less devotion. Julian had promised her that he wouldn’t come back, and he had kept that promise for twenty-three years. He wished now that he hadn’t.
Children were rare in Amber, and rarer among the royal line. There were only a handful right now, all of them easily counted. Merlin, Corwin’s son who now sits on the throne of Chaos; Martin, Random’s son, killed by a traitorous hand; Dara, Benedict’s demon spawn and Merlin's mother. And there was Brand's son.
He should have known. The power of his blood should have called him back to this place again and again. The power of his oath had prevented that. Even now, it seemed only a distant echo as he stood and faced the young man with his face, all the more similar for the shocking lack of hair.
Lex was startled. Few people made it past his security. Fewer still would simply stand in front of his desk watching him, making no demands. He narrowed his eyes and spoke in a cool tone. "Who are you?"
The soft smile that the man had been wearing faded, his mouth drawing into a downward quirk, an expression that Lex recognized from his own bathroom mirror. "She never told you?" The voice too was familiar, though he hoped his own held at least a shade less bitterness.
Lex stood. This was strange and he wanted answers, now. "Who are you?"
The man bowed in a manner that wouldn't have been out of place in the courts of two hundred years ago. "I am Julian, Prince of Amber and protector of Arden." He looked Lex in the eyes. "I am your father."
Lex dropped the papers he had been holding since before this conversation began. He knew who his father was. He didn't like the man, but he knew who he was. "That isn't possible."
The man raised an eyebrow. "I assure you it is." He sits in the chair across the expanse of Lex's desk and not knowing what else to do, Lex collapses back into his own chair. "You have your mother's eyes, but beyond that you are your father's son. I would never have left had I known you were to be born."
"Who are you?" Lex was getting very tired of asking this question.
Julian sighed, "I can't believe she told you nothing of me. For all her eccentricities, Lillian was always honest to a fault."
Lex is startled at the mention of his mother's name, though he doesn't know why he should be. The information is easy enough to attain. "My mother died when I was a child. I can assure you that she never breathed a word that would make me question my parentage."
"Ah, that would explain it. She had very peculiar ideas about what children should know." Julian smiled fondly.
"Look, I don't know why you think this tactic would work with me, but I'm not going to give you anything. You might as well drop the ruse."
Julian smirked. "You have nothing that I need, Alexander. But there is much that I can offer you." He pulled what looked like a deck of cards from his pocket. "I can offer you a place within the courts of Amber." He lay a card on the desk in front of Lex. Lex cautiously picked it up. It was cooler than he would expect for cardboard kept in a pocket near one's body. On it was a picture of a city, but not a modern city. This city reminded him of the cover of a fantasy novel, which he absolutely would not admit to having read as a child. He lay it back down without comment. "I can offer you family." Julian continues. He doesn't reiterate that he is Lex's father as expected. Instead he lays another card on the table. "My baby brother, Random, King of Amber." This card has an image of a small statured man dressed in highly stylized clothes in the style of medieval courts in orange and brown. Julian lays another card on the table. "My elder brother, Benedict, master swordsman." An only slightly older man is pictured here in similar stylized clothes. He's stockily built, but still small. Another card hits the table. "My brother, Corwin." There is something in this man's smile and the grace with which he wears his black and silver cloak that Lex can identify with. He brushes his fingers over the card, his brow creasing, seeing family for the first time. Julian draws his breath in just a little sharply. He's not pleased with this bit of recognition. Another card, "My sister Fiona." The woman in this picture is stunning with long dark hair and sharp features that if he's honest he recognizes from his own mirror. Lex picks up the card and it too is cool to the touch. He looks from the image to the man seated across from him. Their relationship is clear. "There are others. I can offer you never dreamed of power."
"Tell me." The words are almost a command and Julian bristles. In a moment it passes as he recalls that this young man has no reason to offer him any consideration. Blood is hardly enough to one who doesn't understand it's worth.
Julian jerks his head in an abrupt nod. "I came to this place years ago. It was probably foolish of me, but I was looking after the interests of another brother, a brother I have since lost in battle. I met your mother here. Lillian was engaged, but we were drawn to each other. She told me that she loved me and I asked her to leave, to return to Arden with me."
Julian falls silent and after a moment, Lex says. "Clearly she didn't."
"Clearly." Julian says the single word in a dry, almost sarcastic tone of voice, but there is such pain in his eyes that even Lex cannot ignore it. "She asked me to leave, not to return here." He closes his eyes, squeezing them tightly shut. "I gave her my word." When his eyes open again there is a pleading in them. "The oath of a child of Amber is a powerful thing. Children are rare in Amber. Normally my blood would have called to me, but the power of my word to her kept the knowledge of your birth from me."
"What is Amber?" It was probably telling that Lex did not ask where Amber was. Nor did he question the power of an oath from his lineage.
"Amber is the world as it truly is, emblematic of order. You were born in shadow which is a reflection of the truth of Amber. I can take you there. I can teach you to walk the shadows as I do." Julian offers.
Prompt: It was a rainy day
Tool: Amber/Smallville
Title:
It was a rainy day the first time Julian had come to this place. He could have changed that of course, but he didn’t. The greyness of the day had suited his mood. It had also made Lillian stand out as stray bits of light reflected off her deep red hair in brilliant flashes, and her pale skin shone white against the darkness of the sky. He had loved her from the moment he saw her. She had always sworn she loved him as well, but something in her was torn. She wouldn’t leave her world or the mortal man she loved with no less devotion. Julian had promised her that he wouldn’t come back, and he had kept that promise for twenty-three years. He wished now that he hadn’t.
Children were rare in Amber, and rarer among the royal line. There were only a handful right now, all of them easily counted. Merlin, Corwin’s son who now sits on the throne of Chaos; Martin, Random’s son, killed by a traitorous hand; Dara, Benedict’s demon spawn and Merlin's mother. And there was Brand's son.
He should have known. The power of his blood should have called him back to this place again and again. The power of his oath had prevented that. Even now, it seemed only a distant echo as he stood and faced the young man with his face, all the more similar for the shocking lack of hair.
Lex was startled. Few people made it past his security. Fewer still would simply stand in front of his desk watching him, making no demands. He narrowed his eyes and spoke in a cool tone. "Who are you?"
The soft smile that the man had been wearing faded, his mouth drawing into a downward quirk, an expression that Lex recognized from his own bathroom mirror. "She never told you?" The voice too was familiar, though he hoped his own held at least a shade less bitterness.
Lex stood. This was strange and he wanted answers, now. "Who are you?"
The man bowed in a manner that wouldn't have been out of place in the courts of two hundred years ago. "I am Julian, Prince of Amber and protector of Arden." He looked Lex in the eyes. "I am your father."
Lex dropped the papers he had been holding since before this conversation began. He knew who his father was. He didn't like the man, but he knew who he was. "That isn't possible."
The man raised an eyebrow. "I assure you it is." He sits in the chair across the expanse of Lex's desk and not knowing what else to do, Lex collapses back into his own chair. "You have your mother's eyes, but beyond that you are your father's son. I would never have left had I known you were to be born."
"Who are you?" Lex was getting very tired of asking this question.
Julian sighed, "I can't believe she told you nothing of me. For all her eccentricities, Lillian was always honest to a fault."
Lex is startled at the mention of his mother's name, though he doesn't know why he should be. The information is easy enough to attain. "My mother died when I was a child. I can assure you that she never breathed a word that would make me question my parentage."
"Ah, that would explain it. She had very peculiar ideas about what children should know." Julian smiled fondly.
"Look, I don't know why you think this tactic would work with me, but I'm not going to give you anything. You might as well drop the ruse."
Julian smirked. "You have nothing that I need, Alexander. But there is much that I can offer you." He pulled what looked like a deck of cards from his pocket. "I can offer you a place within the courts of Amber." He lay a card on the desk in front of Lex. Lex cautiously picked it up. It was cooler than he would expect for cardboard kept in a pocket near one's body. On it was a picture of a city, but not a modern city. This city reminded him of the cover of a fantasy novel, which he absolutely would not admit to having read as a child. He lay it back down without comment. "I can offer you family." Julian continues. He doesn't reiterate that he is Lex's father as expected. Instead he lays another card on the table. "My baby brother, Random, King of Amber." This card has an image of a small statured man dressed in highly stylized clothes in the style of medieval courts in orange and brown. Julian lays another card on the table. "My elder brother, Benedict, master swordsman." An only slightly older man is pictured here in similar stylized clothes. He's stockily built, but still small. Another card hits the table. "My brother, Corwin." There is something in this man's smile and the grace with which he wears his black and silver cloak that Lex can identify with. He brushes his fingers over the card, his brow creasing, seeing family for the first time. Julian draws his breath in just a little sharply. He's not pleased with this bit of recognition. Another card, "My sister Fiona." The woman in this picture is stunning with long dark hair and sharp features that if he's honest he recognizes from his own mirror. Lex picks up the card and it too is cool to the touch. He looks from the image to the man seated across from him. Their relationship is clear. "There are others. I can offer you never dreamed of power."
"Tell me." The words are almost a command and Julian bristles. In a moment it passes as he recalls that this young man has no reason to offer him any consideration. Blood is hardly enough to one who doesn't understand it's worth.
Julian jerks his head in an abrupt nod. "I came to this place years ago. It was probably foolish of me, but I was looking after the interests of another brother, a brother I have since lost in battle. I met your mother here. Lillian was engaged, but we were drawn to each other. She told me that she loved me and I asked her to leave, to return to Arden with me."
Julian falls silent and after a moment, Lex says. "Clearly she didn't."
"Clearly." Julian says the single word in a dry, almost sarcastic tone of voice, but there is such pain in his eyes that even Lex cannot ignore it. "She asked me to leave, not to return here." He closes his eyes, squeezing them tightly shut. "I gave her my word." When his eyes open again there is a pleading in them. "The oath of a child of Amber is a powerful thing. Children are rare in Amber. Normally my blood would have called to me, but the power of my word to her kept the knowledge of your birth from me."
"What is Amber?" It was probably telling that Lex did not ask where Amber was. Nor did he question the power of an oath from his lineage.
"Amber is the world as it truly is, emblematic of order. You were born in shadow which is a reflection of the truth of Amber. I can take you there. I can teach you to walk the shadows as I do." Julian offers.