(no subject)
As you all may remember, I spent some time over the summer watching The Tudors while at the same time I was reading Jakob Burkhardt's classic of Renaissance history. Well, one day all of that collapsed into my head (with a little Guy Gavriel Kay thrown in for flavoring) and came out the other side as an idea for a Narnia story. It's nowhere near done, but I feel like posting something in celebration, so here's the first part that I wrote way back at the end of August.
[BTW, have seen the new Narnia movie and was not overly impressed. It wasn't awful, just disappointing. I may devote an entire post to it at some future date.]
This is tentatively titled "Susan of Narnia"
The summer wind blew clean and fresh across the harbor, bearing with it the promise of the ocean beyond. Susan stepped onto the waiting barge, first among her siblings.
She stood at the prow, the waves splitting as the water bore her out to sea. The deck was silent save for the cawing of seabirds and the creaking of timbers, every argument and sentiment already spent. None of Edmund's logic nor Lucy's passion would sway her from this path.
Peter had offered no complaint. He knew well the weight of duty.
The sun escaped from behind a cloud and sparkled off the waves as they left the calm waters around Cair Paravel. The wind blew Susan's hair away from her face. In it she could feel a touch of winter. She stepped up to the side and handed her robe to a waiting nymph. Without it she wore a simple green dress. She was a queen and a sacrifice and did not need jewels to prove her worth.
Lucy grabbed her in a hug, tucking her head into her older sister's neck, and Edmund gripped her hand tight. After a moment they stepped back in unconscious unison, their faces pale and set. Peter caught her gaze and nodded, kingly command and brotherly comfort.
Susan took a deep breath and dove.
She plunged downward, cleaving through the water. When her progress slowed she kicked her legs and pulled with her arms, dragging herself ever deeper. The light dimmed, colors deepening to darker hues. Her ears popped and her chest began to strain, but she did not stay her descent.
Inevitably she slowed and then stopped, arms burning from the strain. She craved breath, her throat convulsing to draw in air where none existed. She waited, vision dimming. Perhaps this was as far as her journey would go.
Arms, strong and cold caught her, held her waist and pulled her in. Persistent lips pressed into hers, breathing into her mouth. Susan gasped into it, fingers clutching at solid shoulders. Her vision cleared, centering on the mermaid's shuttered silver eyes.
The mermaid pulled back, expression blank and implacable. She gazed at Susan for a timeless moment, their bodies pressed flush against each other, their legs intertwined. A sly, knowing smile flickered across her face and she leaned, catching Susan's mouth in a kiss.
Susan opened for her and found herself caught in a timeless moment. Ages passed around them, the sea ever changing and unchanged, while the surged together, their boundaries blurring and coming undone.
Susan's hands pierced ocean's limit, pulling her into the air beyond. She gasped, eyes dazzled by the brilliant sunlight that sparked off of water and air alike.
A strong arm caught her own, lifting her up. She was wrapped in a dry robe and her siblings' arms. When they released her, Peter stood before her. He lifted her left hand and revealed the band wrapped around her ring finger, silver and blue and green.
He nodded at her, pride and love in his eyes. The sacrifice had been enough, the bargain had been made. Narnia's empire was theirs to take.
comments at http://liptonrm.dreamwidth.org/24302.html.
[BTW, have seen the new Narnia movie and was not overly impressed. It wasn't awful, just disappointing. I may devote an entire post to it at some future date.]
This is tentatively titled "Susan of Narnia"
The summer wind blew clean and fresh across the harbor, bearing with it the promise of the ocean beyond. Susan stepped onto the waiting barge, first among her siblings.
She stood at the prow, the waves splitting as the water bore her out to sea. The deck was silent save for the cawing of seabirds and the creaking of timbers, every argument and sentiment already spent. None of Edmund's logic nor Lucy's passion would sway her from this path.
Peter had offered no complaint. He knew well the weight of duty.
The sun escaped from behind a cloud and sparkled off the waves as they left the calm waters around Cair Paravel. The wind blew Susan's hair away from her face. In it she could feel a touch of winter. She stepped up to the side and handed her robe to a waiting nymph. Without it she wore a simple green dress. She was a queen and a sacrifice and did not need jewels to prove her worth.
Lucy grabbed her in a hug, tucking her head into her older sister's neck, and Edmund gripped her hand tight. After a moment they stepped back in unconscious unison, their faces pale and set. Peter caught her gaze and nodded, kingly command and brotherly comfort.
Susan took a deep breath and dove.
She plunged downward, cleaving through the water. When her progress slowed she kicked her legs and pulled with her arms, dragging herself ever deeper. The light dimmed, colors deepening to darker hues. Her ears popped and her chest began to strain, but she did not stay her descent.
Inevitably she slowed and then stopped, arms burning from the strain. She craved breath, her throat convulsing to draw in air where none existed. She waited, vision dimming. Perhaps this was as far as her journey would go.
Arms, strong and cold caught her, held her waist and pulled her in. Persistent lips pressed into hers, breathing into her mouth. Susan gasped into it, fingers clutching at solid shoulders. Her vision cleared, centering on the mermaid's shuttered silver eyes.
The mermaid pulled back, expression blank and implacable. She gazed at Susan for a timeless moment, their bodies pressed flush against each other, their legs intertwined. A sly, knowing smile flickered across her face and she leaned, catching Susan's mouth in a kiss.
Susan opened for her and found herself caught in a timeless moment. Ages passed around them, the sea ever changing and unchanged, while the surged together, their boundaries blurring and coming undone.
Susan's hands pierced ocean's limit, pulling her into the air beyond. She gasped, eyes dazzled by the brilliant sunlight that sparked off of water and air alike.
A strong arm caught her own, lifting her up. She was wrapped in a dry robe and her siblings' arms. When they released her, Peter stood before her. He lifted her left hand and revealed the band wrapped around her ring finger, silver and blue and green.
He nodded at her, pride and love in his eyes. The sacrifice had been enough, the bargain had been made. Narnia's empire was theirs to take.
comments at http://liptonrm.dreamwidth.org/24302.html.