Acension of the Queen by Melyanna (Kid-friendly by writer, PG-by reccer)
Seeing as it's my birthday, I thought I'd give everyone a present and rec two stories :)
I love AU fics that completely take the characters away from their normal setting, usually to a place where they haven't even heard of a stargate. It's a sign of a good writer if you can do that and keep everyone in character. So for my first rec, the stargate characters are going renaissance!
Rec Category: Alternate Universe
Pairings: John/Elizabeth, Carson/Laura, Kate/Evan (more in other stories)
Category: AU
Warnings: Character death
Author on LJ:
melyanna
Author's Website: Mirror Mirror
Stargate_ren stories and chronology
Link: Ascension of the Queen Part I, Part II, Part III
Why this must be read:
A mysterious stranger arrives in Atalan and quickly finds himself grappling with pirates, entangled in court intrigues, mistrusted by the highest nobles in the land, and captivated by the young woman about to become queen - if she lives to assume her throne.
This is the introductory story to the stargate renaissance 'verse (
stargate_ren) and I can't emphasis how amazing this 'verse is and how great the writers,
melyanna,
angelqueen04,
miera_c &
sache8, are in creating this entire world and still keeping the characters true. I would have loved to have recc'ed the entire verse, but I don't think that's really possible, so I'm recc'ing the introductory story and hope that will compel you to read the rest :)
To give a quick overview of the verse (which has a bit more Atlantis than SG1), Elizabeth is queen of Atalan a medieval/renaissane type city, with Landry & Radek as the rulers of nearby kingdoms. John comes to Atalan after leaving his homeland and is accepted into her court. Elizabeth's ladies in waiting are Laura Cadman and Kate Heightmeyer and her advisors include her cousin Daniel, as well as Jack and Hammond. Many characters appear in familiar roles with Carson being the court physician and Peter Grodin is her secretary (for lack of a better word). As the stories progress it seems that the writers are going to put in every major character from Stargate and later stories introduce Vala, Janet and Cameron (as John's cousin :) ) just to name a few
One of the major stories running through this 'verse is the courtship between John and Elizabeth, but you will (if you continue reading the stories) encounter some pairings you would never have considered, such as Jack and Sarah Gardner (no really :) ), but the authors make it completely plausible. Personally I'm still waiting for more Rodney and Sam!
Almost three hours passed before they were finished, for Elizabeth asked as many questions as she could think of. Lord George had made certain to give them a great deal of time to cover all her concerns, military, diplomatic, and domestic. She fervently hoped that in the future, these meetings would not take so long.
But as she stood to dismiss them, Lord Jonathan lifted a long, narrow box from the floor. Elizabeth hadn’t even spotted it there. “If you’ll permit me, Highness,” he said, “before we go, there is something we would like to show you.”
Curious, Elizabeth nodded. “Yes?”
Jack set the box down on a nearby table and lifted the lid. From it he drew a sword, its shining sheath etched with elegant, swirling designs. Elizabeth gasped as he held it out to her. “Her Majesty’s sword,” he said. “It has not had use in six generations, since the last ruling queen of Atalan died.”
She ran her fingers lightly along the long ridge of the sheath. “It’s beautiful,” she said in a hushed tone, not knowing what else to say.
“Draw it, Princess,” Daniel said, nodding to her.
Elizabeth did as she was asked, relishing the ring of the sword as she drew it from its sheath. The blade was perfectly smooth, almost enough to give her a clear reflection. She set the flat of the blade in the palm of her hand so she could take a closer look at the hilt. It was inlaid with opals and pearls.
“This sword is very old,” Lord George explained. “When I took it out a month ago, the opals were the only jewels left in it.”
“So you had the pearls set in the hilt?” Elizabeth asked.
He nodded. “In your mother’s jewels is a box of pearls,” he said. “They were given to her by your father, but she never had them set.”
Elizabeth pressed her lips together briefly. This day had been so long an abstract thing in her mind that she did not quite know how to comport herself now. She had not felt so nervous in years.
Jack seemed to sense this, and he said, “As the head of your military, my lady, this sword is my responsibility. I will see to it that it is with you whenever you need it.”
“Thank you,” she replied, with a relieved smile as she handed the weapon over to him. “Thank you all. I owe my life to you, and there is a debt I can never repay.”
“We have done our duty,” Daniel replied. “We have done our best to fulfill your father’s dying wishes. There is no debt.”
I love AU fics that completely take the characters away from their normal setting, usually to a place where they haven't even heard of a stargate. It's a sign of a good writer if you can do that and keep everyone in character. So for my first rec, the stargate characters are going renaissance!
Rec Category: Alternate Universe
Pairings: John/Elizabeth, Carson/Laura, Kate/Evan (more in other stories)
Category: AU
Warnings: Character death
Author on LJ:
melyanna
Author's Website: Mirror Mirror
Stargate_ren stories and chronology
Link: Ascension of the Queen Part I, Part II, Part III
Why this must be read:
A mysterious stranger arrives in Atalan and quickly finds himself grappling with pirates, entangled in court intrigues, mistrusted by the highest nobles in the land, and captivated by the young woman about to become queen - if she lives to assume her throne.
This is the introductory story to the stargate renaissance 'verse (
stargate_ren) and I can't emphasis how amazing this 'verse is and how great the writers,
melyanna,
angelqueen04,
miera_c &
sache8, are in creating this entire world and still keeping the characters true. I would have loved to have recc'ed the entire verse, but I don't think that's really possible, so I'm recc'ing the introductory story and hope that will compel you to read the rest :)
To give a quick overview of the verse (which has a bit more Atlantis than SG1), Elizabeth is queen of Atalan a medieval/renaissane type city, with Landry & Radek as the rulers of nearby kingdoms. John comes to Atalan after leaving his homeland and is accepted into her court. Elizabeth's ladies in waiting are Laura Cadman and Kate Heightmeyer and her advisors include her cousin Daniel, as well as Jack and Hammond. Many characters appear in familiar roles with Carson being the court physician and Peter Grodin is her secretary (for lack of a better word). As the stories progress it seems that the writers are going to put in every major character from Stargate and later stories introduce Vala, Janet and Cameron (as John's cousin :) ) just to name a few
One of the major stories running through this 'verse is the courtship between John and Elizabeth, but you will (if you continue reading the stories) encounter some pairings you would never have considered, such as Jack and Sarah Gardner (no really :) ), but the authors make it completely plausible. Personally I'm still waiting for more Rodney and Sam!
Almost three hours passed before they were finished, for Elizabeth asked as many questions as she could think of. Lord George had made certain to give them a great deal of time to cover all her concerns, military, diplomatic, and domestic. She fervently hoped that in the future, these meetings would not take so long.
But as she stood to dismiss them, Lord Jonathan lifted a long, narrow box from the floor. Elizabeth hadn’t even spotted it there. “If you’ll permit me, Highness,” he said, “before we go, there is something we would like to show you.”
Curious, Elizabeth nodded. “Yes?”
Jack set the box down on a nearby table and lifted the lid. From it he drew a sword, its shining sheath etched with elegant, swirling designs. Elizabeth gasped as he held it out to her. “Her Majesty’s sword,” he said. “It has not had use in six generations, since the last ruling queen of Atalan died.”
She ran her fingers lightly along the long ridge of the sheath. “It’s beautiful,” she said in a hushed tone, not knowing what else to say.
“Draw it, Princess,” Daniel said, nodding to her.
Elizabeth did as she was asked, relishing the ring of the sword as she drew it from its sheath. The blade was perfectly smooth, almost enough to give her a clear reflection. She set the flat of the blade in the palm of her hand so she could take a closer look at the hilt. It was inlaid with opals and pearls.
“This sword is very old,” Lord George explained. “When I took it out a month ago, the opals were the only jewels left in it.”
“So you had the pearls set in the hilt?” Elizabeth asked.
He nodded. “In your mother’s jewels is a box of pearls,” he said. “They were given to her by your father, but she never had them set.”
Elizabeth pressed her lips together briefly. This day had been so long an abstract thing in her mind that she did not quite know how to comport herself now. She had not felt so nervous in years.
Jack seemed to sense this, and he said, “As the head of your military, my lady, this sword is my responsibility. I will see to it that it is with you whenever you need it.”
“Thank you,” she replied, with a relieved smile as she handed the weapon over to him. “Thank you all. I owe my life to you, and there is a debt I can never repay.”
“We have done our duty,” Daniel replied. “We have done our best to fulfill your father’s dying wishes. There is no debt.”