Orange 15, Meringue 10 & Red Currant 5 with Hot Fudge (Author: Nonesane)
Author: Nonesane
Title: Thoughts of War
Canon: The Changed - Blood of Your Blood & Portal Guards
Rating: PG
Challenges: Red Currant 5 (dry spell), Orange 15 (read you like a book), Meringue 10 (diorama)
Extras/Topping: Hot Fudge
Word Count: 584
Summary: The High Queen's daughters talk of their mother's plans.
There was a lull in battle. There was always a lull in battle when Reyn least wished for it. Still, the word of the High Queen was law; no fighting until the walls of their latest castle were rebuilt.
"You seem troubled, sister." Nuia, deft as any shadow, appeared out of the darkness in the hallway where the torches' light didn't reach. Reyn didn't startle.
"Bored, you mean," she said. "But what do you know of battle hunger, soft-sister? Go back to your sewing; I have no patient for homedweller talk tonight."
All her harsh words got her was gentle laughter. Or as gentle as Nuia's laughter ever was. For one who had chosen the softer path in life, Nuia never did tread as she should; her eyes and words too sharp to truly suit her lot in life. "You only wish for me to leave you to your sulking. I know your moods far too well to be so easily brushed away."
"Do as you wish then." Reyn turned to the glassless hole that passed for a window in this most ancient of castles. Below, the passing light of the night guard was the only movement to be seen. The courtyard lay deserted and silent, when just the previous day it had been overcrowded with soldiers and blood.
"The quiet is not to your liking." Nuia's expression was no more questioning than her voice.
Reyn let her gaze linger on her darker, frailer sister for a moment, taking in the velvet dress and the golden jewelery. Such were the clothes of a silence lover and they bore no resemblance to Reyn's own armor or mud stained tunic. She thought to comment on that, but knew it would be words wasted. Instead she said:
"Mother", because between the two of them it is always 'mother', never 'High Queen' or 'Her Grace', "lost four of her best assassins to that dragons' nest to the east yesterday and yet she won't let me out of this here ruin. It makes no sense."
"I'm sure she has her reasons," was all Nuia said in reply. She had stepped into the shadows again, leaving only half of her face in the light.
Reyn gave a disdainful huff of breath. "If mother had her way, every city we conquer would be put in a glass cage. Something amusing to look at, but never touch. Tell me, sister, what is the point of taking land only to give it back?"
The smile that played on Nuia's lips was sharp and thin. "Am I not a homedweller?" she said, her tone mocking. "What would one such as I know of a warrior queen's thoughts?"
Reyn cast her sister a glare over her shoulder. Shrouded in shadow Nuia looked far more an enemy spy than the royal princess she was. Her black hair and slender frame were a stark contrast to the chestnut curls and wide shoulders Reyn and their mother possessed. Still, the cold glint in Nuia's eyes marked her as her mother's daughter all the same.
"Away with you then!" Reyn barked. "Go play your word games with your little nest of doves!"
Of course Nuia had already disappeared, as swift and soundless as she had come. For a moment Reyn let her eyes rest on the spot where her sister had stood, before turning her gaze back onto the outside world.
The lull would soon be over and the High Queen would have need of her warriors. As always.
Title: Thoughts of War
Canon: The Changed - Blood of Your Blood & Portal Guards
Rating: PG
Challenges: Red Currant 5 (dry spell), Orange 15 (read you like a book), Meringue 10 (diorama)
Extras/Topping: Hot Fudge
Word Count: 584
Summary: The High Queen's daughters talk of their mother's plans.
There was a lull in battle. There was always a lull in battle when Reyn least wished for it. Still, the word of the High Queen was law; no fighting until the walls of their latest castle were rebuilt.
"You seem troubled, sister." Nuia, deft as any shadow, appeared out of the darkness in the hallway where the torches' light didn't reach. Reyn didn't startle.
"Bored, you mean," she said. "But what do you know of battle hunger, soft-sister? Go back to your sewing; I have no patient for homedweller talk tonight."
All her harsh words got her was gentle laughter. Or as gentle as Nuia's laughter ever was. For one who had chosen the softer path in life, Nuia never did tread as she should; her eyes and words too sharp to truly suit her lot in life. "You only wish for me to leave you to your sulking. I know your moods far too well to be so easily brushed away."
"Do as you wish then." Reyn turned to the glassless hole that passed for a window in this most ancient of castles. Below, the passing light of the night guard was the only movement to be seen. The courtyard lay deserted and silent, when just the previous day it had been overcrowded with soldiers and blood.
"The quiet is not to your liking." Nuia's expression was no more questioning than her voice.
Reyn let her gaze linger on her darker, frailer sister for a moment, taking in the velvet dress and the golden jewelery. Such were the clothes of a silence lover and they bore no resemblance to Reyn's own armor or mud stained tunic. She thought to comment on that, but knew it would be words wasted. Instead she said:
"Mother", because between the two of them it is always 'mother', never 'High Queen' or 'Her Grace', "lost four of her best assassins to that dragons' nest to the east yesterday and yet she won't let me out of this here ruin. It makes no sense."
"I'm sure she has her reasons," was all Nuia said in reply. She had stepped into the shadows again, leaving only half of her face in the light.
Reyn gave a disdainful huff of breath. "If mother had her way, every city we conquer would be put in a glass cage. Something amusing to look at, but never touch. Tell me, sister, what is the point of taking land only to give it back?"
The smile that played on Nuia's lips was sharp and thin. "Am I not a homedweller?" she said, her tone mocking. "What would one such as I know of a warrior queen's thoughts?"
Reyn cast her sister a glare over her shoulder. Shrouded in shadow Nuia looked far more an enemy spy than the royal princess she was. Her black hair and slender frame were a stark contrast to the chestnut curls and wide shoulders Reyn and their mother possessed. Still, the cold glint in Nuia's eyes marked her as her mother's daughter all the same.
"Away with you then!" Reyn barked. "Go play your word games with your little nest of doves!"
Of course Nuia had already disappeared, as swift and soundless as she had come. For a moment Reyn let her eyes rest on the spot where her sister had stood, before turning her gaze back onto the outside world.
The lull would soon be over and the High Queen would have need of her warriors. As always.