Danae goes to the Chalet School
Re-posting with the little bit extra I managed to write before starting the Felicity story instead. I took this story down with the intention to expand it and write it properly for the CS Big Bang, only then I realised that I had none of the CS books that I needed with me so decided I was better off doing something based later in the series. Anyway, it's going to be a (probably somewhat bizarre) Tamuli/ Chalet School crossover, just as soon as I get the appropriate CS books back so I can actually take Danae to the CS!
Danae goes to the Chalet School
Mmrr was not happy. She had her favourite chair, the fire burning at just the right rate to cast the room in a warm glow and ensure premium dozing time, and her mistress seeming quite content to sit and stroke her (and her mistress did that very well indeed when she was so minded). All in all conditions had been perfect for a nice evening nap. Then that man had walked in and it had all gone down hill from there. The noise level had risen, the stroking had become far too harsh and now the lap had disappeared altogether, dumping Mmrr unceremoniously on the floor. While cats may always land on their feet, that's not to say it's comfortable or pleasant to be suddenly find yourself heading floorwards when you'd been planning on spending a nice few hours curled up by the fire enjoying the attentions of your mistress. Now all Mmrr's fur was ruffled the wrong way. It just wasn't right- made her itchy and strange all over. Humans just didn't understand the importance of fur, but then humans were untidy creatures. Mmrr would never have dreamed of putting her arms all the way up there, and all that waving around they were doing was just ridiculous. Danae's hands ought to be trying to put Mmrr's fur back in place (humans never could get the precision, of course, so Mmrr would probably have to do it anyway, but the effort should be made at least), not flying around in mid-air that way. Though that man was just as bad. They were usually quite good, as humans went, but lately put them together and all they did was make a lot of noise and wave their hands around. Mmrr yowled her disgust, shot them both a dirty look and went to find a quiet place to put her fur back to rights.
Danae didn't even notice the departure of her cat. "But I've told you," she said pouting, "I told you years ago I was going to marry you some day! I like you and you like me, so why can't we just get engaged now? I'm fifteen and crown princess of Elenia; I need to get engaged before I get some spoilt brat foisted on me for political alliances or something." Her expression darkened and she added; "I will not marry Sarabian's little boy, and I know Mother's tempted by Sarabian's offer. He's ten! He's far too young for me! And all the wives have spoilt him; he's pathetic."
Talen bit back a groan of impatience. "Danae, you can be charming when you want to be, I admit, but you're also fifteen years old and have no idea what you want. How could you? Everything you want, you instantly get. Well here's some news for you: I'm not an object! I'm six years older than you, I'm a knight, I want to be allowed to be a knight- go off, have adventures, have some fun! I don't want to marry anyone yet! And anyway, you're still just a kid."
"I - am - not!" Danae almost shouted. "I'm older than you could possibly imagine being! Older than you ever will be!"
"Then act like it," Talen growled back. "In this incarnation you're fifteen years old and it's about time you realised that you can't have everything your way."
Danae tossed her head, "Of course I can! I can do whatever I want. And I'm an expert at arranging relationships. Where would Sparhawk and Ehlana be without me? Or Stragen and Melidere? Kalten and Alean? Berit and Polania? Khalad and- "
"Alright," Talen broke in impatiently into what promised to be a long list of couples, "So what's your point? You manipulated them into doing something, maybe faster than they needed to or wanted to? Maybe they'd have got their on their own! We humans aren't that stupid you know! Plenty of people arrange marriages without consulting you and guess what: some of us don't want to be meddled with! If this is all part of some grand scheme to manipulate me into doing what you want, then you can just forget it. I'm - not - interested!" The last three words were said forcefully as Talen moved towards the door.
"You wouldn't just walk out on me," Danae said laughing almost incredulously.
Talen raised one eyebrow. "Try me," was all he said.
"You can't!" Now the little goddess sounded almost panicky. "You can't walk out on me! You- you do love me, don't you?"
It was the sudden uncertainty, the catch in the previously steady voice, the vulnerable expression that got him. She probably planned that too, he thought bitterly as he moved almost unthinkingly back towards her, unable to imagine leaving that pathetic figure. "Of course I do," he said in a low voice as sullenly as he was able.
"Then everything's all right, isn't it?" She smiled up at him cheekily.
Talen closed his eyes and breathed out heavily, praying (albeit silently and addressed carefully to no particular deity) for patience. "Danae, Aphrael, I've loved you since I was about eleven years old. That doesn't mean I want to marry you. You're spoilt. You can't even imagine me not giving in, can you? Everything you want, you have. You're a goddess and a princess. And you don't get ordinary people at all."
Danae looked offended. "I am not spoilt! And I love people, and they love me. What's wrong with that?"
Talen laughed, not unkindly. "Danae, of course you're spoilt. You've never been just an ordinary person, you've always been important, always had things come easily to you. You assume that we'll all do your bidding, fall to your every whim. But you can't make me fall in love with you, Danae. It doesn't work that way. I'm not some kind of interesting creature for you to experiment on, nor am I a life-size doll. I'm human and if I fall in love, it will be because it's a part of who I am, not because you've picked me out like a new dress and decided I'll suit you. Don't you understand? It's a two people thing, Danae, not an exercise in control."
Danae looked at him, brow furrowed, head on one side like a puzzled and inquisitive sparrow. "But, you love me. And I've loved you since I was about four. What more is there?"
"There's..." Talen paused, wishing heartily he'd never entered into this discussion. Though he supposed he hadn't really had much choice. "Love covers all kinds of things," he continued finally. "And when you say you love me, you love me like you do Mmrr- a pet, a possession for you to do with what you think best. I'm not interested in being another of your "things," Danae. And the way you see the world, that's all I can ever be to you. I can't be in love with someone like that, someone who has no idea what it's like to be just - ordinary. You'd never cope, put in with a group of normal girls. You wouldn't know how to behave. You have no idea how they grow up together, not really. That's just how it is."
Talen wondered for a moment if he'd gone too far. He'd never seen the little (well, not so little any more he had to admit) princess look so... lost.
"But you've no idea what it's like to be me, to be a goddess, finding different incarnations, forever and eternal. I don't hold that against you," her voice was soft, uncertain.
"You're right," he replied bluntly after a pause. "So how can you ever treat me as a- as a husband, as an equal- if neither of us has any idea what it's like being the other. And how can I ever think of you as anything other than a princess and a goddess, if that's all you know and all I can see."
Danae hesitated. Then she took a couple of steps towards him and touched him softly on the cheek. "I don't know. I'll think about it," was her quiet response as she headed towards the door. At the door she paused and looked back briefly, a bright smile on her face, "I still chose you though. You're not escaping that easily!"
Always the last word, Talen thought ruefully. She always got the last word.
* * *
Ostensibly Danae may have been practising her embroidery for Baroness Meildere, who was helping her and a few other girls from families whose fathers were at court; in reality she was re-playing the conversation she had had with Talen the night before in her head. That hadn't gone to plan at all, and she couldn't understand it. She'd been successfully getting people to do what she wanted for years. Centuries in fact. Many of them. Although it had been well dinned into her that it wasn't polite to speculate about a lady's age, and that may include her own so she should probably stop there.
Anyway. Talen. How had he got away? He'd been doing it for years, in a way, when she thought about it. That time he tried to jump off the cliff to save her (as sweet as it had been, it definitely wasn't planned), that time he'd hurt himself rescuing Mmrr from a tree, who also hasn't needed rescuing incidentally (and what was it Sparhawk had said to her then? It all got away from you, didn't it? And then she'd embarrassingly burst into tears, because it had all got away from her and she'd hurt Talen and all she'd wanted to do was help.) Talen always surprised her, even more than most humans; it was what she loved about him. Life wasn't boring when he was around. And, well, she'd always assumed one day he'd propose and it'd all be settled. Was he right? Was she spoilt? You can't even imagine me not giving in, can you? Of course she could! That was just stupid. She had an excellent imagination. But well, he would give in, wouldn't he? How could he not? Just because she could imagine it, didn't mean it would ever happen. She could imagine going into the centre of the planet and pulling out the core, so the inside was on the surface and the surface at the core, but that didn't mean she'd actually do it, now did it? It was completely hypothetical, and made no sense besides, but she could still imagine it.
I'm human and if I fall in love, it will be because it's a part of who I am, not because you've picked me out like a new dress and decided I'll suit you.
Well, that had been unnecessary. Cutting too. I'm human. So? Lots of people were human. Pretty much everyone, in fact. She shouldn't be hurt that he had said that, had made her - different. She was different. She was special. She was the Child Goddess and everyone loved her! He even said he loved her! She could remember the first time he had said that as well. Right after the cliff incident. So, there was something odd there. He loved her but he didn't... love her? If I fall in love... He wanted to fall? She could arrange that, if that was all he wanted. Although, he kind of already had, over a cliff. And she stopped him. And then he'd said he loved her. Should she not have stopped him? Should she have let him fall? But that would have been stupid- then he'd be dead and then he definitely wouldn't marry her.
Oh, this was stupid! She sounded like her cousin Setras. He didn't want to fall literally, he wanted to fall metaphorically. Only, that was a bit harder to arrange. He hadn't shown much of a compunction to do what she wanted, after all. Even if she arranged what she thought was a metaphorical fall, there was no guarantee he'd agree that's what it was. Plus he wanted to fall and land in love, which made it more difficult still.
Bother him anyway. Why couldn't he just marry her and be done with it? She'd win in the end; she always did. It was just getting to that point that was the current trouble. He wanted her to be- ordinary? No, that couldn't be right. People always wanted special, extraordinary. So what did he want?
I can't be in love with someone who has no idea what it's like to be just - ordinary. You'd never cope, put in with a group of normal girls. You wouldn't know how to behave. You have no idea how they grow up together, not really.
But she'd been with groups of girls millions of times! She was with some now! They were a bit of a dull group this lot, admittedly, and very much in awe of her so perhaps she didn't interact with them in quite the same way as they interacted with each other, but she was still there. And she'd observed such groups many times. Been part of them occasionally even. Though she'd never actually been this anonymous before, and children tended to be a bit confused by a playmate that started talking when she felt like it and stopped aging at age six. She was sure she could be ordinary, if she wanted to be, but that would be so... well... ordinary. Boring. Strange too, to be honest. But she could do it. And maybe if she did, that would prove to him that she could understand, and she could be whoever she wanted to be. And then she'd win. Just as she had always known she would! And that would show him too.
Next problem. How to blend into a group of girls, without them knowing who she was. Well, that would be... impossible actually, on this world. Someone would be bound to recognise her, unless she went among the trolls or something. And she didn't think that would help matters very much, somehow.
So, a place where girls go and live together. A nunnery? That would be... weird. To say the least. Well, somewhere people go to learn things then. She hastily ran through options in her head. Then paused, considered. Decided.
That's it! She thought in triumph. That's where I'll go!
"Baroness?"
Melidere looked up from the girl's work she was holding. "Yes, Danae? Do you have a problem?"
Danae shook her head and smiled sweetly. "No, only, I've finished this piece and... well... may I be excused, please? It's just... I wanted to see my father before he left. May I please?"
The Baroness smiled fondly at the little princess. "I expect you may, as we will be finished here before too long anyway. Make sure you are back and tidy for dinner though, please. And don't disturb your father if he is busy getting ready for his trip, will you?"
"No, Baroness," Danae replied obediently, "I'll just go and wish him a pleasant journey."
* * * * * * * * * *
"Don't be ridiculous."
Well, that was a less than promising beginning, Danae thought as she prepared to wrap her father once more around her little finger.
"I'm not being, Father, I'm being perfectly sensible. You want me to learn, I want to advance my studies of human behaviour and my family is beginning to get a little worried about some rumours we've heard from that world. It's much like here, just a little more advanced and their magic is less obvious. It's the perfect solution to a number of problems," Danae said briskly. "All I need you to do is persuade Mother that I should go with you next time you go away. Tell her it's to teach me more about different cultures and experience politics and things. Or that I'm going to spend time with Sephrenia to learn about Styric culture so that I'll be able to understand the history better or something. She's sure to let me do that. Then you can take me out of the palace and I'll leave you not long after and go to school on Earth. It's all quite simple."
Sparhawk shook his head and looked at his daughter in exasperation. He was sure most parents didn't have these problems. "Tell me why you want to go and I'll tell you if you can or not."
"But I've told you already," she said sulkily. "And if you don't let me, you know I'll just go anyway, and then you'll be left with a nice lot of explaining to do, won't you?"
"Tell me again," Sparhawk responded flatly.
Danae made a face at him. "There are some disturbing rumours from that world that my family wants to look into- we want to make sure that the Elder Gods are definitely trapped this time and haven't gone off somewhere else. It would also be a good way for me to observe human behaviour in a place where people don't know that I'm any different from them."
"And?"
Danae looked as innocent as she knew how. "And what?"
Sparhawk sighed irritably. "And what's your other reason? You wouldn't just be going for that, however true it may be. Tell me your real reason and I'll consider helping you. I'm not worrying your Mother just because you're bored and feel like being around other humans for a bit."
"It's girl business," his daughter replied primly. Sparhawk's gaze didn't soften. "Fine, then," she said petulantly, "have it your way! Talen won't propose and I'm going to prove to him how wrong he is about me. He says I'm spoilt! Me! Can you believe it?"
"Can't imagine where he got that idea from," he said dryly.
Danae glared at him. "Anyway, I'm going to prove to him that I can be normal, and I do know what it takes to live normally with other girls so I'm going to go to school. It's the obvious solution!"
"So, let me make sure I've got this straight," Sparhawk said slowly. "You're going to leave the palace to travel to a planet in the next group along, called Earth, which is a planet similar to here but with a different social structure, in order to go to a school for girls, as there is no such thing anywhere on this planet for girls of your age and class, and you're going to do this whether I like it or not?"
"Basically," Danae said, with a one shoulder shrug.
"And this is to prove you're just an ordinary 15 year old girl?"
"Yes."
Sparhawk took a breath as though to speak, then let it out again and looked to the ceiling. "Why me?"
* * * * * * * * * *
“She’s done what?!”
“Keep your voice down,” Sparhawk said through gritted teeth. “Elahna’s just next door.”
Vanion meanwhile was in fits of laughter. “Well, you did say - you wanted - her to take - her education - more - seriously, Sparhawk!”.
“Be serious, dear one, “ Sephrenia admonished, absent-mindedly patting his arm, a slight frown creasing her small forehead. “Aphrael? In a school? On Earth? The whole idea is ridiculous. Her family won’t be pleased- she’s not supposed to interfere in other worlds.”
“But what am I supposed to do about it?” Sparhawk said, trying to keep a pleading tone from his voice.
“Bet you wish you had the Bhellion now, Sparhawk,” Vanion grinned. “Forget about needing to save the world, you need it just to keep your daughter in line!”
Sparhawk glared at his former teacher. “If you’ve quite finished.” he ground out.
“Sorry, Sparhawk,” Vanion said unrepentantly,” But you have to admit, this isn’t what most parents mean by teenage rebellion.”
Shooting Vanion another dark glare, Sparhawk turned to Sephrenia. “Little mother, do you have any idea how we can stop her from doing this? Or at least one that doesn’t involved locking Danae in her room until she turns fifty?”
Sephrenia smiled briefly, her gaze still thoughtful. “What exactly did Danae say, dear one?”
“She wants to be an ordinary schoolgirl to prove to Talen that she can and get him to fall in love with her,” Sparhawk replied wearily. It still didn’t sound any less ridiculous, no matter how many times he repeated it.
“Not that,” Sephrenia said impatiently, “The other reason.”
Sparhawk thought for a moment. “Apparently there’s trouble somewhere called Germany that might be spilling over into nearby countries and she’s worried it might have something to do with the Elder Gods. Sounded like a pretty feeble excuse, to be honest.”
Sephrenia’s forehead creased again. “I’m not so sure, actually.” At Sparhawk’s incredulous look she continued, “Oh, I’m not saying it’s not an excuse but it might have more merit than she knows. I’ve heard a few worrying things about that as well, as it happens, and I wouldn’t usually. A few of the Thousand have been unsettled lately, saying they sensed some sort of major upheaval coming, but they don’t seem able to say why or where from. If it is going to come from this Earth place, then it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have someone look into it, as long as they swore not to interfere or get involved in any way.”
“So you think I should let her go?” Sparhawk asked, surprised and not altogether pleased.
“Put some limits on her,” Sephrenia advised. “Tell her to consult with her relatives before she goes so she has an idea of what to look out for and suggest a time limit. If nothing else, point out that Ehlana will worry if she’s away for too long. And make sure she tells you how she’s going to keep in contact while she’s away- you don’t want her popping in trumpets blaring when you least expect it.”
Sparhawk was silent for a moment. Then he sighed and shrugged. “Alright then. I give in. Danae shall go to school.”