Bedtime Story (Girl Genius, PG-13)
Title: Bedtime Story
Characters: Klaus, Lucrezia, Agatha
Explanation: I was inspired by an ongoing storyline in Othar's Twitter, particularly the May 20 2009 entry. In this fic, Lucrezia has gotten control of Agatha's body again and has publicly established a Wulfenbach-Heterodyne alliance by marriage to the slaver-wasped Baron. I think that provides adequate content warning without actually spoiling the Twitter storyline.
Klaus lay very still under the rumpled sheet, staring up at the golden canopy overhead and trying not to listen to the woman beside him breathe, trying not to feel her cheek or her fingertips where they rested on his chest. The room felt too close, too hot, and his skin felt sticky, but he didn't get up, because Lucrezia had told him to lie with her. He could probably go and shower or adjust the temperature if he tried; she hadn't specifically said not to get up all night. He had found ways to work around the edges of her commands, but it was tiring and carried the risk of having her close the loopholes. It wasn't worthwhile for something so small.
He hoped that was his real reasoning, not the specious rationalization of a growing tendency to submit.
Don't attack her, don't tell anyone, don't act against her, don't kill himself, don't injure himself, don't do anything to deprive her of his services....
At least she had never told him to love her.
He hoped she enjoyed having him hate her, because she had to know. She had killed Gilgamesh. His son had gone into Castle Heterodyne to help her, and she had destroyed him. She was well on her way to destroying everything else Klaus had built too; the restless peace was a lifeless mockery now, with nearly all of Europa under the control of the slaver wasps. Even the ruling families of Sparks she'd tried to wipe out last time.
And she had made him marry her -- never mind that he was already married, never mind that she was inhabiting a body perhaps a third of his age, never mind everything she had done. He thought about shifting away from her, thought it might wake her up, and lay still instead.
Everything eventually started to go dark and fuzzy and floating, and he was carefully not thinking about the possibility that he might actually get some sleep in case it woke him up, when the body beside him tensed and sucked in a ragged breath. He felt her head lift and braced himself.
He heard a gasp and a strangled squeak, and then the mattress dipped and the sheet dragged across him and off as she scrambled back and hit the floor with a thump. Klaus opened his eyes at that, thoroughly confused, and peered over the edge of the bed to see what was going on.
She was huddled on the floor, clutching the sheet in front of her, eyes wide. Until she squinted at him, at least, and jolted back against the wall.
This was... not like Lucrezia. And he couldn't think of any reason she'd pretend. She had everything she wanted. So maybe... maybe it hadn't all been an act before. "Ah," he said after a moment, then ventured, "Agatha?"
"What the -- what have you -- why was I in bed with you?!" Her voice shook.
Klaus hesitated. Answering the question in full ran up against earlier orders. Something simple such as "You are my wife" ran up against his own revulsion.
"TELL ME." It came out as a raw growl.
The command and the accompanying sense of compulsion hit him with a bizarre icy relief. "Lucrezia made me a revenant and ordered me to marry her." If this wasn't Lucrezia, if she would realize....
Agatha stared up at him, fury winning out over fright in her expression, and then she said levelly, "Consider everything she's ever told you to do or not do... canceled. Invalid. No longer in effect." A pause. "Um. Did that take?"
"I hope so." He hesitated. "You believe me?"
"I can feel her." Agatha pressed the heel of one hand hard into the side of her head, then got up and perched gingerly on the edge of the bed. Klaus moved back to the other side of it. She threw the free end of the sheet across him without quite looking. "What's she been doing? How long has it been?"
"Two years." That part was easier. "She's been doing... as you might expect. Releasing wasps. Enslaving people." He shut his eyes. "She killed Gil. Practically the first thing. I suppose he must have seen through her."
Agatha drew her knees up and buried her face in her hands.
Klaus turned his head away.
He heard her swallow twice. "Do you suppose," she asked after a few minutes, "you could break my neck quickly?"
"I beg your pardon?"
Agatha sucked in a quick breath. "She got past the locket somehow. Thanks for the reprieve, by the way. But I'm guessing she didn't leave it intact on the nightstand or anything. I can fight her for a while -- humming helps -- but judging from before, it doesn't last. If she's had two years to plant wasps everywhere...." She rubbed her eyes with one hand. "Nnnngh."
"I see."
Her head came up sharply, eyes narrowing. She rubbed at her throat. "See what?"
Klaus stilled for several heartbeats. "What do you mean?"
She leaned over him. He'd been right; the body language and inflection were back to Lucrezia. "I want to know what you meant by that. See what?"
"You said it," he said, letting a little irritation into his voice.
"What. Just. Happened?"
He stared at her unblinking as long as he dared. When she started to open her mouth again, he said with as much patently fake patience as he could muster, "A few minutes ago, you sat up and glared at me. Then you told me you hated me. I said, 'I see.' What, did you think I wasn't listening... 'darling'?"
She scowled down at him for several long seconds. He glowered back.
Lucrezia flopped down and rolled over away from him with a huff.
Klaus lay still and listened to her breathing until it evened out.
She hadn't told him not to.
He reached for her throat.
"Forget it, Klaus. Go back to sleep."
Characters: Klaus, Lucrezia, Agatha
Explanation: I was inspired by an ongoing storyline in Othar's Twitter, particularly the May 20 2009 entry. In this fic, Lucrezia has gotten control of Agatha's body again and has publicly established a Wulfenbach-Heterodyne alliance by marriage to the slaver-wasped Baron. I think that provides adequate content warning without actually spoiling the Twitter storyline.
Klaus lay very still under the rumpled sheet, staring up at the golden canopy overhead and trying not to listen to the woman beside him breathe, trying not to feel her cheek or her fingertips where they rested on his chest. The room felt too close, too hot, and his skin felt sticky, but he didn't get up, because Lucrezia had told him to lie with her. He could probably go and shower or adjust the temperature if he tried; she hadn't specifically said not to get up all night. He had found ways to work around the edges of her commands, but it was tiring and carried the risk of having her close the loopholes. It wasn't worthwhile for something so small.
He hoped that was his real reasoning, not the specious rationalization of a growing tendency to submit.
Don't attack her, don't tell anyone, don't act against her, don't kill himself, don't injure himself, don't do anything to deprive her of his services....
At least she had never told him to love her.
He hoped she enjoyed having him hate her, because she had to know. She had killed Gilgamesh. His son had gone into Castle Heterodyne to help her, and she had destroyed him. She was well on her way to destroying everything else Klaus had built too; the restless peace was a lifeless mockery now, with nearly all of Europa under the control of the slaver wasps. Even the ruling families of Sparks she'd tried to wipe out last time.
And she had made him marry her -- never mind that he was already married, never mind that she was inhabiting a body perhaps a third of his age, never mind everything she had done. He thought about shifting away from her, thought it might wake her up, and lay still instead.
Everything eventually started to go dark and fuzzy and floating, and he was carefully not thinking about the possibility that he might actually get some sleep in case it woke him up, when the body beside him tensed and sucked in a ragged breath. He felt her head lift and braced himself.
He heard a gasp and a strangled squeak, and then the mattress dipped and the sheet dragged across him and off as she scrambled back and hit the floor with a thump. Klaus opened his eyes at that, thoroughly confused, and peered over the edge of the bed to see what was going on.
She was huddled on the floor, clutching the sheet in front of her, eyes wide. Until she squinted at him, at least, and jolted back against the wall.
This was... not like Lucrezia. And he couldn't think of any reason she'd pretend. She had everything she wanted. So maybe... maybe it hadn't all been an act before. "Ah," he said after a moment, then ventured, "Agatha?"
"What the -- what have you -- why was I in bed with you?!" Her voice shook.
Klaus hesitated. Answering the question in full ran up against earlier orders. Something simple such as "You are my wife" ran up against his own revulsion.
"TELL ME." It came out as a raw growl.
The command and the accompanying sense of compulsion hit him with a bizarre icy relief. "Lucrezia made me a revenant and ordered me to marry her." If this wasn't Lucrezia, if she would realize....
Agatha stared up at him, fury winning out over fright in her expression, and then she said levelly, "Consider everything she's ever told you to do or not do... canceled. Invalid. No longer in effect." A pause. "Um. Did that take?"
"I hope so." He hesitated. "You believe me?"
"I can feel her." Agatha pressed the heel of one hand hard into the side of her head, then got up and perched gingerly on the edge of the bed. Klaus moved back to the other side of it. She threw the free end of the sheet across him without quite looking. "What's she been doing? How long has it been?"
"Two years." That part was easier. "She's been doing... as you might expect. Releasing wasps. Enslaving people." He shut his eyes. "She killed Gil. Practically the first thing. I suppose he must have seen through her."
Agatha drew her knees up and buried her face in her hands.
Klaus turned his head away.
He heard her swallow twice. "Do you suppose," she asked after a few minutes, "you could break my neck quickly?"
"I beg your pardon?"
Agatha sucked in a quick breath. "She got past the locket somehow. Thanks for the reprieve, by the way. But I'm guessing she didn't leave it intact on the nightstand or anything. I can fight her for a while -- humming helps -- but judging from before, it doesn't last. If she's had two years to plant wasps everywhere...." She rubbed her eyes with one hand. "Nnnngh."
"I see."
Her head came up sharply, eyes narrowing. She rubbed at her throat. "See what?"
Klaus stilled for several heartbeats. "What do you mean?"
She leaned over him. He'd been right; the body language and inflection were back to Lucrezia. "I want to know what you meant by that. See what?"
"You said it," he said, letting a little irritation into his voice.
"What. Just. Happened?"
He stared at her unblinking as long as he dared. When she started to open her mouth again, he said with as much patently fake patience as he could muster, "A few minutes ago, you sat up and glared at me. Then you told me you hated me. I said, 'I see.' What, did you think I wasn't listening... 'darling'?"
She scowled down at him for several long seconds. He glowered back.
Lucrezia flopped down and rolled over away from him with a huff.
Klaus lay still and listened to her breathing until it evened out.
She hadn't told him not to.
He reached for her throat.
"Forget it, Klaus. Go back to sleep."