Upon the Snowy Field by Taliesin (PG13?)
Title: Upon The Snowy Field by Taliesin
Fandom: Cadfael (TV series)
Pairing: Cadfael/Hugh Beringar
Categories: Hurt/comfort, Romance
Length: Medium (8408 words)
Rating: Author does not rate - but very mild so a PG 13 at most
Author on LJ: Unknown
Website: Taliesin's Reach
Summary: When Hugh returns to Shrewsbury Abbey in the middle of a snowstorm, he discovers that Cadfael went out hours earlier and no one has seen him since.
Review:
Cadfael slash fiction is rarer than rocking-horse poop; this is the only example that I've ever found, and mercifully it's by a writer who knows how to put together a mediaeval story without it coming out all 'gadzooks' and 'forsoothly'.
Let's be honest, there's nothing innovative about the plot; in essence it's the old fannish standby 'trapped in a snowdrift and huddling together to keep warm', which we've all seen variants of in every fandom there is. That said, however, it provides a wonderful excuse for seclusion, hurt/comfort, snuggling and other creative forms of togetherness. Cadfael is missing from the Abbey in a snowstorm and Hugh goes searching for him; he finds him, gets him to shelter, builds a fire and settles down to the shared bodily warmth routine. From that moment forward the giving and receiving of comfort turns into an exchange of a more intimate nature.
However, just because the plot is an old warhorse, it doesn’t follow that the writing is hackneyed. On the contrary, Taliesin manages to infuse it with all the crisp freshness of the snow itself; she has a good eye for convincing period detail and grapples successfully with the intricacies of Hugh trying to adminster Cadfael's own herbal cures without the requisite knowledge. She also gives us a very affecting portrait of Cadfael seen through Hugh's eyes, although I felt that perhaps we did not quite have the same level of information about Hugh's own feelings - or, indeed, about how Cadfael reconciles his attraction to Hugh with his faith. We are left with the impression that Cadfael has just been waiting for the right man to come along, which perhaps is not quite what the author intended.
Nevertheless this story is absolutely delightful; it is atmospheric and sweetly romantic and one can well imagine the happiness of a few stolen hours snatched from an unforgiving world. As usual, I would have liked to know more; I would have liked to see Cadfael struggling with his conscience, Hugh reconciling his love for Cadfael with his wife and family - who don’t seem to get a mention here, unless I missed it, so this may be intended to be before Hugh's (other?) marriage - or his own Christian faith. Then again, too much reality is not always a good thing in slash fiction and Upon The Snowy Field exists quite well without it, in my opinion; it is a little treasure of a story, entire in itself, and would well repay your time invested in reading it.
Link: Upon The Snowy Field
Fandom: Cadfael (TV series)
Pairing: Cadfael/Hugh Beringar
Categories: Hurt/comfort, Romance
Length: Medium (8408 words)
Rating: Author does not rate - but very mild so a PG 13 at most
Author on LJ: Unknown
Website: Taliesin's Reach
Summary: When Hugh returns to Shrewsbury Abbey in the middle of a snowstorm, he discovers that Cadfael went out hours earlier and no one has seen him since.
Review:
Cadfael slash fiction is rarer than rocking-horse poop; this is the only example that I've ever found, and mercifully it's by a writer who knows how to put together a mediaeval story without it coming out all 'gadzooks' and 'forsoothly'.
Let's be honest, there's nothing innovative about the plot; in essence it's the old fannish standby 'trapped in a snowdrift and huddling together to keep warm', which we've all seen variants of in every fandom there is. That said, however, it provides a wonderful excuse for seclusion, hurt/comfort, snuggling and other creative forms of togetherness. Cadfael is missing from the Abbey in a snowstorm and Hugh goes searching for him; he finds him, gets him to shelter, builds a fire and settles down to the shared bodily warmth routine. From that moment forward the giving and receiving of comfort turns into an exchange of a more intimate nature.
However, just because the plot is an old warhorse, it doesn’t follow that the writing is hackneyed. On the contrary, Taliesin manages to infuse it with all the crisp freshness of the snow itself; she has a good eye for convincing period detail and grapples successfully with the intricacies of Hugh trying to adminster Cadfael's own herbal cures without the requisite knowledge. She also gives us a very affecting portrait of Cadfael seen through Hugh's eyes, although I felt that perhaps we did not quite have the same level of information about Hugh's own feelings - or, indeed, about how Cadfael reconciles his attraction to Hugh with his faith. We are left with the impression that Cadfael has just been waiting for the right man to come along, which perhaps is not quite what the author intended.
Nevertheless this story is absolutely delightful; it is atmospheric and sweetly romantic and one can well imagine the happiness of a few stolen hours snatched from an unforgiving world. As usual, I would have liked to know more; I would have liked to see Cadfael struggling with his conscience, Hugh reconciling his love for Cadfael with his wife and family - who don’t seem to get a mention here, unless I missed it, so this may be intended to be before Hugh's (other?) marriage - or his own Christian faith. Then again, too much reality is not always a good thing in slash fiction and Upon The Snowy Field exists quite well without it, in my opinion; it is a little treasure of a story, entire in itself, and would well repay your time invested in reading it.
Link: Upon The Snowy Field