This will eventually need a title. Eventually.
I sat down for a scene and somehow got an entire chapter. It's not complete, but it's also nearly three in the morning and I have work tomorrow. The stopping place will have to do.
Those of you who wanted more medieval AU fic are getting their wish fulfilled rather handily here. |Db You guys enjoy. I'm gonna go sleep.
~~*~~
The hall leading to the library was silent. It wasn’t surprising - hardly anybody but the princess ever came here. It had become something of a stronghold to her, and the place where she could most often be found. It was also where Terra reported to every morning.
He’d been standing outside the doors, waiting patiently for a solid twenty minutes already. Word in the kitchen was that there was an impromptu council meeting today, and that the princess was upset about something - probably yesterday morning’s reassignment mess, he reflected. Oh well - the waiting gave him a bit of time to relax, at least.
He straightened when he heard footsteps approach, eyes widening slightly as the princess stormed towards him. There was no other word for it - the very air around her seemed to crackle with the pent-up fury showing on her face. Evidently the council meeting hadn’t gone too well.
Stepping aside, he pulled one of the library’s double doors open for her in one smooth motion. He knew the routine by now - she’d go in there and simmer for hours, only leaving when she’d calmed down enough to face the residents of the castle with her usual cool demeanor, which, as Terra had discovered in his weeks serving her, was a complete poker face. The princess was almost constantly frustrated - he knew that much. How, why, and to what extent were still lost on him.
The princess paused in the open doorway, gaze snapping over to him. Reflexively, Terra stood a little straighter. “If any of the Masters come, I will see them,” she informed him, pressing her temper into submission just enough for the words to remain polite. “Aside from that, I will not be disturbed by anyone, especially not any of Their Graces.” She spat the title out as though it were poisonous; having had the misfortune of answering to Braig, Even, and Arlene on occasion, Terra found that description to be pretty spot-on. “If anyone challenges you, tell them you are under my orders and my authority and no one else’s. You have my permission to use any means you find necessary to carry out my instructions and my condolences for having to deal with them in the first place.” Orders imparted, she strode into the library. Terra shut the door behind her and fought the urge to lean against it. He’d seen the princess frustrated and upset before - nearly every day, in fact. The barely controlled fury was, to put it lightly, new. Still, he stood in front of the doors, hands clasped behind his back and poker face, such as it was, securely in place. He had his orders, and he would carry them out.
He wasn’t looking forward to this.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have long to wait. Not two minutes later, Even’s footsteps echoed down the hall, and he arrived at the library looking every bit as displeased as Aqua had been. “Stand aside,” he snapped, looking past Terra. “I have business with the princess.”
Remembering long ago undeserved punishments and the princess’ words, Terra drew himself to his full height. While he had no authority on his own, he was taller and more solidly built than the councilman and could at least look intimidating. “I’m sorry, Your Grace. The princess doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
“That’s entirely too bad, but it doesn’t change anything,” Even dismissed his words. “Now stand aside.”
“I can’t do that.” Terra’s reply was measured and calm and hopefully did not show just how much he savored being able to tell this sniveling bully of a man no. “I’m under orders.”
“Oh?” Even’s eyes narrowed. “And whose orders are those?”
“The princess’.”
That went over as well as he figured it would - which was to say, poorly. “The princess’?” Even repeated, condescension and disgust turning the words sour. “The princess has no authority in matters such as these, and a knight such as yourself has no position from which to deny me. Get out of my way or I’ll have you punished for disobedience and disrespect. I won’t warn you again!”
Terra clenched his jaw, swallowing back the bile that had risen in his throat during the councilman’s tirade. No wonder the princess had been so furious, if she’d been dealing with this for the past several hours. “I am the princess’ knight,” he replied, using every bit of self-control he had to anchor those words. “I take my orders from her and no one else, and per her orders, I can’t let you pass.”
“That is enough.”
Mouth already open for an angry retort, Even turned to look at the newcomer, Terra following his gaze. “Master Eraqus!” The knight gave a short, respectful bow. It was the proper way to greet the master of the kingdom’s knights and the man who had trained and practically raised him.
Eraqus nodded in greeting, then turned his attention to Even, whose increasingly sour expression made it clear he resented Terra’s preferential treatment towards the master. “As inconvenient as we may find them, we must respect the princess’ wishes, Even,” Eraqus said levelly. “Especially if we expect her to respect ours in the future. Now, was there not a proposal you wished to discuss?” He turned away again, obviously expecting Even to follow, and after one final sneer in Terra’s direction, the councilman did. Eraqus spared one last glance over his shoulder. “As you were.”
“Yes, Master.” Terra straightened up again, glanced down the hall to make sure nobody was coming, and, after a moment of hesitation, mouthed ”Thank you” to Eraqus. The master simply nodded in reply, and Terra could have sworn there was a smile quirking at the edge of Eraqus’ lips before he faced front again, engaging Even in conversation.
The master had always taken care of his knights. At the moment, Terra couldn’t have been more grateful for that.
Watching master and councilman disappear around the corner, Terra didn’t bother to fight the urge this time, slumping against the door in a moment that bordered between relief and exhaustion. He paid for that impulse when the door opened behind him a moment later, leaving him scrambling to stay upright. “Tell me he’s gone.” The princess, voice terse, evidently wasted no time.
“He left with Master Eraqus.” Terra had barely gotten his balance back before the princess knocked him right back off of it, pulling him into the library and shutting the door behind them.
Terra stumbled his first few steps into the library before he regained his balance again. He looked up and froze, struck dumb and motionless by the sheer size and grandeur of the room. Tall shelves were lined up in neat rows all along one part of the room, including one that wrapped along the very wall. Each one was filled nearly to bursting with books of every shape, size, and color he could imagine. The midmorning sunlight streamed in through the large bay window to the east, and high above it intricate stained glass windows added accents of color and light to the room. Terra was simply awed. He knew the princess spent most of her time in here; he’d had no idea it was so very grand and yet somehow also inviting.
He snapped back to reality in time to catch the princess’ last few rather vehement words. “-and if I have to hear one more word from him about how I don’t have any authority and won’t until I ascend the throne, I might scream.” She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and looked at him expectantly. She wanted his input, Terra realized slowly. She’d been venting and she wanted an audience and he’d been over here daydreaming and had missed the whole thing and oh this was not good.
“If it’s any consolation, Your Majesty,” he started after a slight pause, “I don’t think anyone likes talking with him.”
The princess gave a short, frustrated laugh at that, running her hand distractedly through her short blue hair. “And the second I go out into the castle he’ll be on me again, angry about this morning’s meeting or something or other, and I can’t swat him like the horsefly he is.” She shook her head slowly and, after a pause, looked at Terra. “Tell me, what do you do to calm down?”
“Wh-” He hadn’t been prepared for that. “Me?”
“No, my other knight.” The princess paused, closing her eyes momentarily. When she opened them and spoke again, her voice had lost some of that frustrated, sarcastic edge. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. Yes, you.”
Terra was still a bit too bewildered to think of what he figured would be a good answer, so his mind went straight for his backup response: the truth. “I go up to the pond.”
“The pond,” the princess repeated.
“Yeah, it’s-” This was going to sound so stupid. “There’s a little pond near the training grounds, closer to the mountains, and…well, it’s really peaceful…” He trailed off uncertainly, unable to read the expression on the princess’ face. It certainly wasn’t one he’d seen before. “Do you want me to take you, Your Majesty?” he offered after a few seconds of silence.
Somehow, he hadn’t been expecting her to smile. Small though it was, it still made something in his chest jump. He shifted slightly, trying to get rid of the feeling and awaiting her answer.
“I think so,” she replied, walking to the speaking stone set into the wall near the doorway. “Clara,” she called, touching it lightly with two fingers and waiting for the maidservant to speak her response. “Please get my cloak, and Terra’s too. Have them by…” she trailed off, glancing at Terra.
He picked up on the unspoken question. “The quickest way is out through the kitchen door.”
“By the kitchens. Thank you.” She finished her request, waiting for Clara’s confirmation before removing her fingers from the stone. The smile flitted across her face again as she looked over her shoulder for Terra. “Well?”
He was already holding the library door open for her.
~~*~~
“This is your pond, then.” The princess looked around, taking everything in, from the high hills surrounding them to the small body of water, remarkably clear for something so shallow, to the single tree, gnarled and bent, growing out of the small boulder situated in the middle of the pond. It was by no means impressive - Terra knew that much - but she gazed at the landscape as if trying to memorize it.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” It had taken them a quarter of an hour to get here - a rather short walk to a rather secluded place, all things considered. He’d been nervous every step of the way, worrying that the princess would find the whole thing stupid and want to return to the castle right away or something like that. It was the only instance he could remember when that walk had made him more nervous instead of less.
“It’s nice.”
Standing near the shallows of the pond and scooping up a small pile of stones, Terra almost didn’t hear her comment. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” It was true - the place was nice, in a quaint, natural sort of way, just as long as you didn’t think too hard about how that tree grew from that boulder. Nobody had quite been able to figure it out, and Terra had long since stopped worrying about it.
“So what do you do here?” Her questioning gaze had returned to him and his double handful of rocks. He deposited them in a pile near their feet, then wordlessly picked one up and threw it as hard as he could. Two sets of blue eyes followed its path as it sailed over the lake, pinging several seconds later off the larger rocks that bordered the opposite shore of the pond.
She looked at Terra again, curious, as he picked up another rock and placed it in the palm of her hand. “Try it,” he encouraged her, “as many times as you want. It’ll make you feel better.”
Her brow furrowed slightly, and she nodded. Her first throw easily cleared the lake, knocking solidly against the rocks on the other side. Her second one cleared them entirely. Her third fell short, into the lake. She reached down for another rock, and then another, sending a stream of rocks flying over the lake in quick succession. They were rewarded with the slight crack of smaller rock hitting larger rock and sometimes the occasional swish as one of her makeshift missiles passed through what little foliage the boulder tree had left. Finally, when she had depleted the entire pile, her fingers found one more rock, about the size of both her fists. She hefted it, hurling it into the air with a cry of effort, and was rewarded with a satisfying pwonk as it hit lake waters and abruptly sunk.
If the princess’ fleeting smile earlier today was unexpected, then the one she wore now was a downright miracle. For a few moments, she looked like a different person entirely, the frustration and anger of the morning completely melted away in the simple happiness of the moment. Her quiet, pleased laughter completed the effect, lending her a soft, joyful radiance she’d never had within the walls of the castle.
That smile proved to be contagious, as Terra quickly found it on his face as well. She was enjoying herself, and that was good enough for him.
Those of you who wanted more medieval AU fic are getting their wish fulfilled rather handily here. |Db You guys enjoy. I'm gonna go sleep.
~~*~~
The hall leading to the library was silent. It wasn’t surprising - hardly anybody but the princess ever came here. It had become something of a stronghold to her, and the place where she could most often be found. It was also where Terra reported to every morning.
He’d been standing outside the doors, waiting patiently for a solid twenty minutes already. Word in the kitchen was that there was an impromptu council meeting today, and that the princess was upset about something - probably yesterday morning’s reassignment mess, he reflected. Oh well - the waiting gave him a bit of time to relax, at least.
He straightened when he heard footsteps approach, eyes widening slightly as the princess stormed towards him. There was no other word for it - the very air around her seemed to crackle with the pent-up fury showing on her face. Evidently the council meeting hadn’t gone too well.
Stepping aside, he pulled one of the library’s double doors open for her in one smooth motion. He knew the routine by now - she’d go in there and simmer for hours, only leaving when she’d calmed down enough to face the residents of the castle with her usual cool demeanor, which, as Terra had discovered in his weeks serving her, was a complete poker face. The princess was almost constantly frustrated - he knew that much. How, why, and to what extent were still lost on him.
The princess paused in the open doorway, gaze snapping over to him. Reflexively, Terra stood a little straighter. “If any of the Masters come, I will see them,” she informed him, pressing her temper into submission just enough for the words to remain polite. “Aside from that, I will not be disturbed by anyone, especially not any of Their Graces.” She spat the title out as though it were poisonous; having had the misfortune of answering to Braig, Even, and Arlene on occasion, Terra found that description to be pretty spot-on. “If anyone challenges you, tell them you are under my orders and my authority and no one else’s. You have my permission to use any means you find necessary to carry out my instructions and my condolences for having to deal with them in the first place.” Orders imparted, she strode into the library. Terra shut the door behind her and fought the urge to lean against it. He’d seen the princess frustrated and upset before - nearly every day, in fact. The barely controlled fury was, to put it lightly, new. Still, he stood in front of the doors, hands clasped behind his back and poker face, such as it was, securely in place. He had his orders, and he would carry them out.
He wasn’t looking forward to this.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have long to wait. Not two minutes later, Even’s footsteps echoed down the hall, and he arrived at the library looking every bit as displeased as Aqua had been. “Stand aside,” he snapped, looking past Terra. “I have business with the princess.”
Remembering long ago undeserved punishments and the princess’ words, Terra drew himself to his full height. While he had no authority on his own, he was taller and more solidly built than the councilman and could at least look intimidating. “I’m sorry, Your Grace. The princess doesn’t want to be disturbed.”
“That’s entirely too bad, but it doesn’t change anything,” Even dismissed his words. “Now stand aside.”
“I can’t do that.” Terra’s reply was measured and calm and hopefully did not show just how much he savored being able to tell this sniveling bully of a man no. “I’m under orders.”
“Oh?” Even’s eyes narrowed. “And whose orders are those?”
“The princess’.”
That went over as well as he figured it would - which was to say, poorly. “The princess’?” Even repeated, condescension and disgust turning the words sour. “The princess has no authority in matters such as these, and a knight such as yourself has no position from which to deny me. Get out of my way or I’ll have you punished for disobedience and disrespect. I won’t warn you again!”
Terra clenched his jaw, swallowing back the bile that had risen in his throat during the councilman’s tirade. No wonder the princess had been so furious, if she’d been dealing with this for the past several hours. “I am the princess’ knight,” he replied, using every bit of self-control he had to anchor those words. “I take my orders from her and no one else, and per her orders, I can’t let you pass.”
“That is enough.”
Mouth already open for an angry retort, Even turned to look at the newcomer, Terra following his gaze. “Master Eraqus!” The knight gave a short, respectful bow. It was the proper way to greet the master of the kingdom’s knights and the man who had trained and practically raised him.
Eraqus nodded in greeting, then turned his attention to Even, whose increasingly sour expression made it clear he resented Terra’s preferential treatment towards the master. “As inconvenient as we may find them, we must respect the princess’ wishes, Even,” Eraqus said levelly. “Especially if we expect her to respect ours in the future. Now, was there not a proposal you wished to discuss?” He turned away again, obviously expecting Even to follow, and after one final sneer in Terra’s direction, the councilman did. Eraqus spared one last glance over his shoulder. “As you were.”
“Yes, Master.” Terra straightened up again, glanced down the hall to make sure nobody was coming, and, after a moment of hesitation, mouthed ”Thank you” to Eraqus. The master simply nodded in reply, and Terra could have sworn there was a smile quirking at the edge of Eraqus’ lips before he faced front again, engaging Even in conversation.
The master had always taken care of his knights. At the moment, Terra couldn’t have been more grateful for that.
Watching master and councilman disappear around the corner, Terra didn’t bother to fight the urge this time, slumping against the door in a moment that bordered between relief and exhaustion. He paid for that impulse when the door opened behind him a moment later, leaving him scrambling to stay upright. “Tell me he’s gone.” The princess, voice terse, evidently wasted no time.
“He left with Master Eraqus.” Terra had barely gotten his balance back before the princess knocked him right back off of it, pulling him into the library and shutting the door behind them.
Terra stumbled his first few steps into the library before he regained his balance again. He looked up and froze, struck dumb and motionless by the sheer size and grandeur of the room. Tall shelves were lined up in neat rows all along one part of the room, including one that wrapped along the very wall. Each one was filled nearly to bursting with books of every shape, size, and color he could imagine. The midmorning sunlight streamed in through the large bay window to the east, and high above it intricate stained glass windows added accents of color and light to the room. Terra was simply awed. He knew the princess spent most of her time in here; he’d had no idea it was so very grand and yet somehow also inviting.
He snapped back to reality in time to catch the princess’ last few rather vehement words. “-and if I have to hear one more word from him about how I don’t have any authority and won’t until I ascend the throne, I might scream.” She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and looked at him expectantly. She wanted his input, Terra realized slowly. She’d been venting and she wanted an audience and he’d been over here daydreaming and had missed the whole thing and oh this was not good.
“If it’s any consolation, Your Majesty,” he started after a slight pause, “I don’t think anyone likes talking with him.”
The princess gave a short, frustrated laugh at that, running her hand distractedly through her short blue hair. “And the second I go out into the castle he’ll be on me again, angry about this morning’s meeting or something or other, and I can’t swat him like the horsefly he is.” She shook her head slowly and, after a pause, looked at Terra. “Tell me, what do you do to calm down?”
“Wh-” He hadn’t been prepared for that. “Me?”
“No, my other knight.” The princess paused, closing her eyes momentarily. When she opened them and spoke again, her voice had lost some of that frustrated, sarcastic edge. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. Yes, you.”
Terra was still a bit too bewildered to think of what he figured would be a good answer, so his mind went straight for his backup response: the truth. “I go up to the pond.”
“The pond,” the princess repeated.
“Yeah, it’s-” This was going to sound so stupid. “There’s a little pond near the training grounds, closer to the mountains, and…well, it’s really peaceful…” He trailed off uncertainly, unable to read the expression on the princess’ face. It certainly wasn’t one he’d seen before. “Do you want me to take you, Your Majesty?” he offered after a few seconds of silence.
Somehow, he hadn’t been expecting her to smile. Small though it was, it still made something in his chest jump. He shifted slightly, trying to get rid of the feeling and awaiting her answer.
“I think so,” she replied, walking to the speaking stone set into the wall near the doorway. “Clara,” she called, touching it lightly with two fingers and waiting for the maidservant to speak her response. “Please get my cloak, and Terra’s too. Have them by…” she trailed off, glancing at Terra.
He picked up on the unspoken question. “The quickest way is out through the kitchen door.”
“By the kitchens. Thank you.” She finished her request, waiting for Clara’s confirmation before removing her fingers from the stone. The smile flitted across her face again as she looked over her shoulder for Terra. “Well?”
He was already holding the library door open for her.
~~*~~
“This is your pond, then.” The princess looked around, taking everything in, from the high hills surrounding them to the small body of water, remarkably clear for something so shallow, to the single tree, gnarled and bent, growing out of the small boulder situated in the middle of the pond. It was by no means impressive - Terra knew that much - but she gazed at the landscape as if trying to memorize it.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” It had taken them a quarter of an hour to get here - a rather short walk to a rather secluded place, all things considered. He’d been nervous every step of the way, worrying that the princess would find the whole thing stupid and want to return to the castle right away or something like that. It was the only instance he could remember when that walk had made him more nervous instead of less.
“It’s nice.”
Standing near the shallows of the pond and scooping up a small pile of stones, Terra almost didn’t hear her comment. “Thank you, Your Majesty.” It was true - the place was nice, in a quaint, natural sort of way, just as long as you didn’t think too hard about how that tree grew from that boulder. Nobody had quite been able to figure it out, and Terra had long since stopped worrying about it.
“So what do you do here?” Her questioning gaze had returned to him and his double handful of rocks. He deposited them in a pile near their feet, then wordlessly picked one up and threw it as hard as he could. Two sets of blue eyes followed its path as it sailed over the lake, pinging several seconds later off the larger rocks that bordered the opposite shore of the pond.
She looked at Terra again, curious, as he picked up another rock and placed it in the palm of her hand. “Try it,” he encouraged her, “as many times as you want. It’ll make you feel better.”
Her brow furrowed slightly, and she nodded. Her first throw easily cleared the lake, knocking solidly against the rocks on the other side. Her second one cleared them entirely. Her third fell short, into the lake. She reached down for another rock, and then another, sending a stream of rocks flying over the lake in quick succession. They were rewarded with the slight crack of smaller rock hitting larger rock and sometimes the occasional swish as one of her makeshift missiles passed through what little foliage the boulder tree had left. Finally, when she had depleted the entire pile, her fingers found one more rock, about the size of both her fists. She hefted it, hurling it into the air with a cry of effort, and was rewarded with a satisfying pwonk as it hit lake waters and abruptly sunk.
If the princess’ fleeting smile earlier today was unexpected, then the one she wore now was a downright miracle. For a few moments, she looked like a different person entirely, the frustration and anger of the morning completely melted away in the simple happiness of the moment. Her quiet, pleased laughter completed the effect, lending her a soft, joyful radiance she’d never had within the walls of the castle.
That smile proved to be contagious, as Terra quickly found it on his face as well. She was enjoying herself, and that was good enough for him.