For 14valentines, Fic: There'll Be Peace When You Are Done (Merlin/SPN, Gen)
Between RL and conference and post-conference plague, I missed the other days of 14valentines that I planned to do, but I hopefully this will come in under the wire?
Today's issue for 14valentines is International. The essay highlights the issues of interdependence and community, which really spoke to me. We are all in this together.
***
Title: There'll Be Peace When You Are Done
Fandoms: Merlin and SPN. This is probably more a fusion than a crossover?
Rating/Genre: General audiences, Gen
Spoilers: Hm, it is pre-series, but... Merlin up to Excalibur (1.09), SPN up to In the Beginning (4.03), to be most careful, I suppose?
Disclaimer: Merlin and Supernatural belong to their respective owners, I am borrowing them for fun, not profit.
Notes: Inspired by elements in Beltane, by astolat . Title from Carry on Wayward Son by Kanas. Further notes at the end.
Summary: How John Winchester became a hunter.
John was no knight, not of noble blood. He was called John of Winchester, or sometimes simply John Winchester, because there were so many Johns amongst Uther Pendragon's foot soldiers. The name stuck even after Uther was crowned King of Camelot, and John became a member of the Royal Guard. John settled and married a local girl, Mary, from a family of hedgewizards and witches. They had a son, named Dean, who was his father's pride and joy. They were happy.
When John arrived home with the news that Queen Igraine was expecting a child, Mary had looked up from where she was watching Dean play with his wooden knights and smiled, resting a hand on her own rounded belly. “It is a good omen,” she said, and smiled. "Our child will be of an age with the prince or princess."
When the Queen went into labour, six months after Samuel was born, John was on duty in the castle, patrolling the hallways leading to the royal chambers. He watched, concerned, as servants rushed in and out, bringing more hot water, more clean linens as the night dragged on. When he finally headed home, it was with a heavy heart: the infant Prince lived, but the Queen was dead.
Approaching his house in the lower town, he could smell smoke, and he began to run. The neighbours had only just begun to rouse, stumbling out of their doorways. John thrust them aside, shouldering through the door, ignoring the burst of flame and heat.
"Mary!" he yelled, "Mary!" He didn't see her at first, making his way through the flames to Samuel's crib.
"Dean!" His eldest son was collapsed coughing beside the crib.
"Father, I couldn't--"
John pulled Dean to his feet and then reached into the crib, taking Samuel and passing him to Dean. "Take your brother outside as fast as you can! Don’t look back! Now, Dean, go!"
As Dean ran for the door, John cast around desperately, looking for his wife. When a piece of the roof dropped towards him, he looked up and saw her. She was nearly consumed by the fire, pinned to the roof by some unseen force. "Mary, no!" Another beam fell, forcing him back towards the door. Despairing, he turned away, catching up his sons as he passed through the door into the street. The neighbours had started a bucket chain, but John could only hold his sons and watch as his home burned with flames that could not be quenched.
When King Uther declared magic anathema, and began the hunt for all that was supernatural, John of Winchester knelt before his liege and swore himself to this task above all else. Through the first years of the war against sorcery, John was Uther's most dedicated soldier, facing even dragons with a fierce determination that other men whispered was madness, madness like unto the King's own.
After the first great purges had ended, John was summoned before his King. Camelot was free of sorcery, even Mary's own family dead or fled, but still John was not satisfied. He thought he might never be satisfied, and when he met the eyes of the King, he saw the same feeling.
"You have done me good service, John Winchester. I have seen you face down the fire and the whirlwind when other men have broken and fled."
"I will not stop until-- My own wife was taken, sire, the night the Prince was born."
"I see. We have lost much to the evils of sorcery."
"Nimueh yet lives, my lord."
Uther clenched his hands on the arms of his throne. “She is not the only one. Others have fled to more distant kingdoms, places we cannot yet reach. There will be those who still practice magic, who would still visit supernatural evil upon this kingdom. What say you to that, John Winchester?”
"My King, I say that they may hide, but I will find them."
Uther smiled, and it was a cold thing. "That is what I hoped you would say. John Winchester, I release you from your commission in the Royal Guard, and bid you go in service of Camelot, hunting for those that have escaped us, to protect our people from evil." Uther's smile disappeared into a hard line. "And if you hear of Nimueh, you will send a message to me with all speed."
"Yes, sire."
When John Winchester left Camelot, he took his two young sons and his mission. The Winchesters rode a-hunting throughout the land of Albion.
Further notes: Why yes, this does read like the prologue to a longer story, wherein:
Dean and Samuel return to Camelot looking for news of their father,
Sam dreams of Morgana dreaming of the dragon,
Dean charms Gwen and Merlin,
Gaius and Sam get along faaaaar too well,
Arthur beats Dean in a tourney, but Dean wins when the fighting's dirty,
And Merlin's magic and yellow eyes, and Morgana and Sam's gifts lead to dangerous misunderstandings.
...but I have no idea when I would have time to write that. *facepalm*
Today's issue for 14valentines is International. The essay highlights the issues of interdependence and community, which really spoke to me. We are all in this together.
***
Title: There'll Be Peace When You Are Done
Fandoms: Merlin and SPN. This is probably more a fusion than a crossover?
Rating/Genre: General audiences, Gen
Spoilers: Hm, it is pre-series, but... Merlin up to Excalibur (1.09), SPN up to In the Beginning (4.03), to be most careful, I suppose?
Disclaimer: Merlin and Supernatural belong to their respective owners, I am borrowing them for fun, not profit.
Notes: Inspired by elements in Beltane, by astolat . Title from Carry on Wayward Son by Kanas. Further notes at the end.
Summary: How John Winchester became a hunter.
John was no knight, not of noble blood. He was called John of Winchester, or sometimes simply John Winchester, because there were so many Johns amongst Uther Pendragon's foot soldiers. The name stuck even after Uther was crowned King of Camelot, and John became a member of the Royal Guard. John settled and married a local girl, Mary, from a family of hedgewizards and witches. They had a son, named Dean, who was his father's pride and joy. They were happy.
When John arrived home with the news that Queen Igraine was expecting a child, Mary had looked up from where she was watching Dean play with his wooden knights and smiled, resting a hand on her own rounded belly. “It is a good omen,” she said, and smiled. "Our child will be of an age with the prince or princess."
When the Queen went into labour, six months after Samuel was born, John was on duty in the castle, patrolling the hallways leading to the royal chambers. He watched, concerned, as servants rushed in and out, bringing more hot water, more clean linens as the night dragged on. When he finally headed home, it was with a heavy heart: the infant Prince lived, but the Queen was dead.
Approaching his house in the lower town, he could smell smoke, and he began to run. The neighbours had only just begun to rouse, stumbling out of their doorways. John thrust them aside, shouldering through the door, ignoring the burst of flame and heat.
"Mary!" he yelled, "Mary!" He didn't see her at first, making his way through the flames to Samuel's crib.
"Dean!" His eldest son was collapsed coughing beside the crib.
"Father, I couldn't--"
John pulled Dean to his feet and then reached into the crib, taking Samuel and passing him to Dean. "Take your brother outside as fast as you can! Don’t look back! Now, Dean, go!"
As Dean ran for the door, John cast around desperately, looking for his wife. When a piece of the roof dropped towards him, he looked up and saw her. She was nearly consumed by the fire, pinned to the roof by some unseen force. "Mary, no!" Another beam fell, forcing him back towards the door. Despairing, he turned away, catching up his sons as he passed through the door into the street. The neighbours had started a bucket chain, but John could only hold his sons and watch as his home burned with flames that could not be quenched.
When King Uther declared magic anathema, and began the hunt for all that was supernatural, John of Winchester knelt before his liege and swore himself to this task above all else. Through the first years of the war against sorcery, John was Uther's most dedicated soldier, facing even dragons with a fierce determination that other men whispered was madness, madness like unto the King's own.
After the first great purges had ended, John was summoned before his King. Camelot was free of sorcery, even Mary's own family dead or fled, but still John was not satisfied. He thought he might never be satisfied, and when he met the eyes of the King, he saw the same feeling.
"You have done me good service, John Winchester. I have seen you face down the fire and the whirlwind when other men have broken and fled."
"I will not stop until-- My own wife was taken, sire, the night the Prince was born."
"I see. We have lost much to the evils of sorcery."
"Nimueh yet lives, my lord."
Uther clenched his hands on the arms of his throne. “She is not the only one. Others have fled to more distant kingdoms, places we cannot yet reach. There will be those who still practice magic, who would still visit supernatural evil upon this kingdom. What say you to that, John Winchester?”
"My King, I say that they may hide, but I will find them."
Uther smiled, and it was a cold thing. "That is what I hoped you would say. John Winchester, I release you from your commission in the Royal Guard, and bid you go in service of Camelot, hunting for those that have escaped us, to protect our people from evil." Uther's smile disappeared into a hard line. "And if you hear of Nimueh, you will send a message to me with all speed."
"Yes, sire."
When John Winchester left Camelot, he took his two young sons and his mission. The Winchesters rode a-hunting throughout the land of Albion.
Further notes: Why yes, this does read like the prologue to a longer story, wherein:
Dean and Samuel return to Camelot looking for news of their father,
Sam dreams of Morgana dreaming of the dragon,
Dean charms Gwen and Merlin,
Gaius and Sam get along faaaaar too well,
Arthur beats Dean in a tourney, but Dean wins when the fighting's dirty,
And Merlin's magic and yellow eyes, and Morgana and Sam's gifts lead to dangerous misunderstandings.
...but I have no idea when I would have time to write that. *facepalm*