The Final Dance: Chapter 1, Not A Second I'd Change
Title: The Final Dance
Fandom: Inception
Pairing: Ariadne/Arthur/Eames
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Reincarnation story. Four times their relationship ended in tragedy, never the same way but always the same. This time, will things be happier or will it simply be a different tragedy?
Author's Note: OK, so here we begin to delve into history, and I want to make a few things clear. It's not known if Iras and Charmian, Cleopatra's handmaidens, were her sisters or not. However, it is a possibility, as Auletes did have several bastards. As for her having a relationship with Cleopatra's physician, Olympos, or the two of them being involved with one of Antony's men... Again, fictional conjecture. I am not writing a history paper, but I did want to make a few things clear.
I would have loved you anyway
I'd do it all the same
Not a second I would change
Not a touch that I would trade
Had I known my heart would break
I would've loved you anyway - I Would've Loved You Anyway by Trisha Yearwood
15 August, 30 BC, Alexandria, Egypt
Three days. Three days since the Queen had died, and though Olympos knows he ought to be mourning the loss of one of his oldest friends, he also knows that she would understand that her death has barely registered with him yet. He can't think about Cleopatra, cannot grieve for her when he is already drowning in loss.
He had not thought to lose them both. Rhys, he had been prepared to lose ever since the defeat at Actium. They had all known that Octavian would come to Alexandria, and that Rhys, as one of Antony's bodyguards, would be in the thick of battle. But Iras... Who would have expected that Cleopatra would commit suicide, and that her closest companions would go with her?
Well, no, that isn't fair, and Olympos can admit that to himself, even now. Actually, it's no surprise that Charmian and Iras would go with Cleopatra. The three of them had always been inseparable, from the age of five. He himself hadn't met the girls until they were seven and he eleven. Or rather, he had met Cleopatra then, at a banquet for the Roman general Pompey. It would be another three years before they met again, before his eyes were drawn to the dark-skinned beauty on Cleopatra's right.
Iras was one of Ptolemy Auletes' bastards, as was Charmian and so they were half-sisters to Cleopatra. They were the children of slaves, Iras' mother a Nubian and Charmian's a northern barbarian. And it was in their look, in Iras' warm brown skin and frizzy curls, Charmian's sleek blonde hair and pale blue eyes. He liked Charmian, but Iras had always been the one to draw his attention.
She would ask him about his studies, knowing that even then, he hoped to be a physician. He would talk to her about what it was like to live in the palace, so close to Cleopatra and therefore right in the middle of the danger. Because the Ptolemies were a dangerous family to belong to. When Auletes fled to Rome to get their help in pacifying his angry populace, his elder daughters, Tryphaena and Berenice, stole the throne from him. Then Berenice had Tryphaena poisoned. Through all of that, Cleopatra kept her head down and tried to avoid the notice of those in power. The only people she could lean on were her sisters. Olympos didn't know who Charmian went to for support, but Iras came to him.
They kissed for the first time when Iras was sixteen and he was nineteen, finally almost certified to practice medicine, at least as an assistant. It was almost chaste, light and over quickly, but he knew that her deep brown eyes, staring into his, would forever leave a mark on his soul.
The two of them were together through so much, just the two of them. Cleopatra's ascension to the throne, her being deposed by her brother Ptolemy and younger sister Arsinoe, and of course, the fateful alliance with Caesar. Olympos was one of the few who knew that the story of the carpet was indeed true - many assumed it to be an exaggeration, but it had actually happened just that way.
They were with Cleopatra, sister and close friend, through the birth of her son Caesarion, and he was one of the first to see them after their return from Rome, after Caesar's death. Through everything, Olympos and Iras had shared a quiet romance. Neither of them saw a need to marry - Iras would not have been able to stay as close to Cleopatra if they did, and there was no point when they were already committed to each other.
But then came Antony, and Rhys with him. Rhys, who the Romans called Lucius, was a northern barbarian by birth, with light brown hair and eyes the color of storm clouds. He'd been given the “chance” to serve in the military, and after twenty years his life would be his own. Olympos, who had never been drawn to a man before, had felt his breath catch in his throat the first time he looked into those eyes.
And so had Iras, She was the one who suggested it, cautiously. She had gotten to know Rhys, since Cleopatra and Antony were lovers. She was fond of him, and she wanted him. It was the first time she had wanted anyone else but him, and Olympos would have been jealous if he didn't agree with her. So he smiled and said that of course he wouldn't stop her from taking Rhys as her lover, he had no true claim to her.
He did, however, begin to seek out the soldier. He was curious to know if the man behind those eyes was as compelling as they were. And he was. They spoke of so many things, the difference between Greek and Roman culture, and also between both of those and his own tribe's ways back in Britannia. And then one day, Olympos would never be clear on how, he was with Iras and Rhys together.
After that, the three of them were lovers, partners, somehow making a whole together. Rhys laughed, saying that he'd never realized how much was missing before he met them, and Iras agreed. Olympos knew it too. As right as things had felt with Iras, now... Now they were better, somehow the addition of a third had made their already-strong bond that much stronger, that much more real.
But then had come Actium. And their world began to break apart. Rhys had died defending Alexandria, Olympos forcing himself to look at his lover's body with those eyes forever closed. And then, only a short few days later, he had been ordered by Octavian to Cleopatra's mausoleum, to find Cleopatra dead on top of her sarcophagus, Iras and Charmian slumped nearby. And both times, he had forced the screams back, his throat raw with them nonetheless.
And yet now, three days later, he can't regret a thing. Well, he can. He can regret how it ended, he can swallow back tears and screams and grief until he dies himself, but he cannot regret loving them. Some might; some might say that nothing is worth this level of pain. But he can't bring himself to feel the same way. What he had with them was amazing, and he will remember it. It will hurt, he's sure, for as long as he continues to live, but... There's nothing he would change, except the ending.
~ ~ ~
“BP's dropping! We're losing him!"
Link to the next chapter: fae-boleyn.livejournal.com/9117.html
Fandom: Inception
Pairing: Ariadne/Arthur/Eames
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Reincarnation story. Four times their relationship ended in tragedy, never the same way but always the same. This time, will things be happier or will it simply be a different tragedy?
Author's Note: OK, so here we begin to delve into history, and I want to make a few things clear. It's not known if Iras and Charmian, Cleopatra's handmaidens, were her sisters or not. However, it is a possibility, as Auletes did have several bastards. As for her having a relationship with Cleopatra's physician, Olympos, or the two of them being involved with one of Antony's men... Again, fictional conjecture. I am not writing a history paper, but I did want to make a few things clear.
I would have loved you anyway
I'd do it all the same
Not a second I would change
Not a touch that I would trade
Had I known my heart would break
I would've loved you anyway - I Would've Loved You Anyway by Trisha Yearwood
15 August, 30 BC, Alexandria, Egypt
Three days. Three days since the Queen had died, and though Olympos knows he ought to be mourning the loss of one of his oldest friends, he also knows that she would understand that her death has barely registered with him yet. He can't think about Cleopatra, cannot grieve for her when he is already drowning in loss.
He had not thought to lose them both. Rhys, he had been prepared to lose ever since the defeat at Actium. They had all known that Octavian would come to Alexandria, and that Rhys, as one of Antony's bodyguards, would be in the thick of battle. But Iras... Who would have expected that Cleopatra would commit suicide, and that her closest companions would go with her?
Well, no, that isn't fair, and Olympos can admit that to himself, even now. Actually, it's no surprise that Charmian and Iras would go with Cleopatra. The three of them had always been inseparable, from the age of five. He himself hadn't met the girls until they were seven and he eleven. Or rather, he had met Cleopatra then, at a banquet for the Roman general Pompey. It would be another three years before they met again, before his eyes were drawn to the dark-skinned beauty on Cleopatra's right.
Iras was one of Ptolemy Auletes' bastards, as was Charmian and so they were half-sisters to Cleopatra. They were the children of slaves, Iras' mother a Nubian and Charmian's a northern barbarian. And it was in their look, in Iras' warm brown skin and frizzy curls, Charmian's sleek blonde hair and pale blue eyes. He liked Charmian, but Iras had always been the one to draw his attention.
She would ask him about his studies, knowing that even then, he hoped to be a physician. He would talk to her about what it was like to live in the palace, so close to Cleopatra and therefore right in the middle of the danger. Because the Ptolemies were a dangerous family to belong to. When Auletes fled to Rome to get their help in pacifying his angry populace, his elder daughters, Tryphaena and Berenice, stole the throne from him. Then Berenice had Tryphaena poisoned. Through all of that, Cleopatra kept her head down and tried to avoid the notice of those in power. The only people she could lean on were her sisters. Olympos didn't know who Charmian went to for support, but Iras came to him.
They kissed for the first time when Iras was sixteen and he was nineteen, finally almost certified to practice medicine, at least as an assistant. It was almost chaste, light and over quickly, but he knew that her deep brown eyes, staring into his, would forever leave a mark on his soul.
The two of them were together through so much, just the two of them. Cleopatra's ascension to the throne, her being deposed by her brother Ptolemy and younger sister Arsinoe, and of course, the fateful alliance with Caesar. Olympos was one of the few who knew that the story of the carpet was indeed true - many assumed it to be an exaggeration, but it had actually happened just that way.
They were with Cleopatra, sister and close friend, through the birth of her son Caesarion, and he was one of the first to see them after their return from Rome, after Caesar's death. Through everything, Olympos and Iras had shared a quiet romance. Neither of them saw a need to marry - Iras would not have been able to stay as close to Cleopatra if they did, and there was no point when they were already committed to each other.
But then came Antony, and Rhys with him. Rhys, who the Romans called Lucius, was a northern barbarian by birth, with light brown hair and eyes the color of storm clouds. He'd been given the “chance” to serve in the military, and after twenty years his life would be his own. Olympos, who had never been drawn to a man before, had felt his breath catch in his throat the first time he looked into those eyes.
And so had Iras, She was the one who suggested it, cautiously. She had gotten to know Rhys, since Cleopatra and Antony were lovers. She was fond of him, and she wanted him. It was the first time she had wanted anyone else but him, and Olympos would have been jealous if he didn't agree with her. So he smiled and said that of course he wouldn't stop her from taking Rhys as her lover, he had no true claim to her.
He did, however, begin to seek out the soldier. He was curious to know if the man behind those eyes was as compelling as they were. And he was. They spoke of so many things, the difference between Greek and Roman culture, and also between both of those and his own tribe's ways back in Britannia. And then one day, Olympos would never be clear on how, he was with Iras and Rhys together.
After that, the three of them were lovers, partners, somehow making a whole together. Rhys laughed, saying that he'd never realized how much was missing before he met them, and Iras agreed. Olympos knew it too. As right as things had felt with Iras, now... Now they were better, somehow the addition of a third had made their already-strong bond that much stronger, that much more real.
But then had come Actium. And their world began to break apart. Rhys had died defending Alexandria, Olympos forcing himself to look at his lover's body with those eyes forever closed. And then, only a short few days later, he had been ordered by Octavian to Cleopatra's mausoleum, to find Cleopatra dead on top of her sarcophagus, Iras and Charmian slumped nearby. And both times, he had forced the screams back, his throat raw with them nonetheless.
And yet now, three days later, he can't regret a thing. Well, he can. He can regret how it ended, he can swallow back tears and screams and grief until he dies himself, but he cannot regret loving them. Some might; some might say that nothing is worth this level of pain. But he can't bring himself to feel the same way. What he had with them was amazing, and he will remember it. It will hurt, he's sure, for as long as he continues to live, but... There's nothing he would change, except the ending.
~ ~ ~
“BP's dropping! We're losing him!"
Link to the next chapter: fae-boleyn.livejournal.com/9117.html