[Stargate: Fic] "Compatibility of Souls: Ch. 4: The Dragon and the Unicorn" [5/12] [John/Rodney, G]
Title: Chapter Four: The Dragon and the Unicorn
Author: Ami Ven
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,000
Prompt: mcsheplets challenge #052 ‘destiny’
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing(s): John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Summary: John is a medieval French princess and Rodney is her maidservant.
Chapter Four: The Dragon and the Unicorn
Warning! This chapter contains mention of a historically-accurate and unwanted arranged marriage, which is set to happen after the events of this chapter.
Amiens, France
1359 A.D.
Joan had the fastenings of her gown undone by the time she entered her chamber. She yanked it over her head and threw it onto the floor behind her, before falling onto her bed, face-first, wearing only her shift.
“I take it your audience didn’t go so well,” said a voice, with a familiar Scottish cadence.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Merry,” Joan muttered.
“Please. Like that little display just now didn’t tell me exactly how it went.” From the corner of her vision, Joan could see Merry shake out her gown and fold it into the wardrobe. “Your father and Prince What’s-His-Name made decisions, you got ignored and… His Majesty agreed to the wedding, didn’t he?”
“Yeah,” Joan agreed, and pressed her face into the bedclothes.
She heard shuffling from the foot of her bed, then there was a rough hand shaking her shoulder. “Get up,” Merry demanded. Joan rolled over, and Merry tugged another dress over her head, pulling her arms into the sleeves.
“You are the worst servant ever,” Joan grumbled.
“And yet, I am still serving,” said Merry, dryly. “Come on, princess, we’re going riding.”
“Riding?” Joan repeated, even as she slid off the bed and tugged her gown straight.
“Yes, that thing where you sit on a horse and it walks?”
“But you hate riding,” said Joan.
“But you love riding,” Merry countered. She pulled the jeweled combs from Joan’s hair, not particularly gently, and dropped them onto her vanity, then twisted Joan’s braids into a knot on her head, even less gently. “Have someone saddle a horse for me. I’m going to get us a snack.”
Joan grinned after Merry as she left, then laced her own boots and headed for the stable, where she saddled both horses herself.
Merry really was a terrible servant. She did things her own way, no matter how specific her orders were. She talked too much, if anyone was listening or not, and she called everyone, including Joan, an idiot at least once a week. There were days that Joan was so mad she just wanted to hit Merry, but she couldn’t for even one moment imagine life without her.
“Aren’t you finished yet?” Merry asked, coming into the stable with a cloth bag in her arms. She tied it to her horse’s saddle, then frowned. “Are you sure these straps are tight enough, princess? Because if I fall off and crack my head open, where are you going to find someone else to wait on you hand and foot?”
“Is that what you’ve been doing?” Joan teased, helping Merry up into the saddle.
She threw herself onto her own horse- astride, skirts bunched up to her knees- and wheeled him out of the stable. Muttering under her breath, Merry followed. Out in the Royal Forest, Joan kicked Jumper to a gallop, feeling the wind on her face and trying not to think. They didn’t slow at the narrow creek, just leapt over it and kept going.
Finally, she stopped at the crest of a hill, and waited for Merry to catch up. “Do you have a death wish, princess?” the older girl grumbled, as her mare sidled up to Joan and Jumper. “This is beyond even your usual reckless-”
“I have to marry the prince,” Joan interrupted. “He and Father have an agreement, and I’ll have no choice. But when I ride, sometimes I imagine that if I can just go fast enough, I can leave all that behind.”
“You’re the dragon,” said Merry. When Joan just blinked at her, she added, “All those fire-screens and tapestries and whatever that your mother makes you embroider. You always sew a dragon and a unicorn. I thought the unicorn was supposed to be you- a noble maiden, ‘purity’ and all that- but you want to be the dragon. You want to fly.”
Joan had thought she couldn’t love Merry any more than she already did, but she’d been wrong, because Merry understood it, understood her. “Yeah.”
“Well, sometimes, I do think you might start breathing fire,” Merry said, and Joan let out a surprised laugh.
“Don’t ever change, Merry,” she said. “Let’s have that snack.”
Merry gratefully slid from the saddle. “But wait,” she said. “Who is the unicorn?”
Joan untied the bag of food. “C’mon.”
Late that night, Joan sat up in bed, watching Merry put out all the candles in their chamber. Years ago, Joan had asked her father to give Merry a room of her own, at the far end of the servant’s corridor. Merry had immediately filled it with tools and half-built gadgets, and had never spent one night not sleeping on the pallet beside Joan’s hearth.
Tonight, Joan was grateful.
“Merry?” she called, softly.
The last candle went out, leaving only the pale moonlight to illuminate the room. “Yes, princess?”
“I want…” Joan began, twisting the bedclothes in her hands. “I just… I don’t want you sleeping on your pallet tonight.”
“Oh,” said Merry. Her shoulder slumped, and she kept her back turned. “I… I understand. Things are going to change and you need to… yes, I’ll just go-”
“Don’t leave!” Joan said, scrambling out of bed to catch Merry’s arm. She could feel the heat of her body through her nightshift, and moved closer. “Please, don’t leave.”
“Joan?” Merry breathed.
“Sleep in my bed,” said Joan, pleading. “Don’t make me sleep alone. I just… let me have this, please. Just this once.”
“Yes,” said Merry, still breathless. Then, she blurted, “Take me with you.”
“What?”
“When you marry, take me with you. Your father can’t refuse you a servant to take with you. I’m not pretty enough to be a lady-in-waiting, but I’ll never leave you, I swear it.”
“I-” Joan began, then leaned in to kiss her, gently. “Come to bed, Merry.”
Joan was almost asleep, sometime later, when Merry sat up. “I’m the unicorn,” she said.
“Yes, you are,” Joan agreed, and tugged her back down.
Who’s Who
John Sheppard as Joan, a princess
Rodney McKay as Merry (short for Merriment), her servant
Chapter Five
Current Mood:
cranky
Author: Ami Ven
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,000
Prompt: mcsheplets challenge #052 ‘destiny’
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing(s): John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Summary: John is a medieval French princess and Rodney is her maidservant.
Chapter Four: The Dragon and the Unicorn
Warning! This chapter contains mention of a historically-accurate and unwanted arranged marriage, which is set to happen after the events of this chapter.
Amiens, France
1359 A.D.
Joan had the fastenings of her gown undone by the time she entered her chamber. She yanked it over her head and threw it onto the floor behind her, before falling onto her bed, face-first, wearing only her shift.
“I take it your audience didn’t go so well,” said a voice, with a familiar Scottish cadence.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Merry,” Joan muttered.
“Please. Like that little display just now didn’t tell me exactly how it went.” From the corner of her vision, Joan could see Merry shake out her gown and fold it into the wardrobe. “Your father and Prince What’s-His-Name made decisions, you got ignored and… His Majesty agreed to the wedding, didn’t he?”
“Yeah,” Joan agreed, and pressed her face into the bedclothes.
She heard shuffling from the foot of her bed, then there was a rough hand shaking her shoulder. “Get up,” Merry demanded. Joan rolled over, and Merry tugged another dress over her head, pulling her arms into the sleeves.
“You are the worst servant ever,” Joan grumbled.
“And yet, I am still serving,” said Merry, dryly. “Come on, princess, we’re going riding.”
“Riding?” Joan repeated, even as she slid off the bed and tugged her gown straight.
“Yes, that thing where you sit on a horse and it walks?”
“But you hate riding,” said Joan.
“But you love riding,” Merry countered. She pulled the jeweled combs from Joan’s hair, not particularly gently, and dropped them onto her vanity, then twisted Joan’s braids into a knot on her head, even less gently. “Have someone saddle a horse for me. I’m going to get us a snack.”
Joan grinned after Merry as she left, then laced her own boots and headed for the stable, where she saddled both horses herself.
Merry really was a terrible servant. She did things her own way, no matter how specific her orders were. She talked too much, if anyone was listening or not, and she called everyone, including Joan, an idiot at least once a week. There were days that Joan was so mad she just wanted to hit Merry, but she couldn’t for even one moment imagine life without her.
“Aren’t you finished yet?” Merry asked, coming into the stable with a cloth bag in her arms. She tied it to her horse’s saddle, then frowned. “Are you sure these straps are tight enough, princess? Because if I fall off and crack my head open, where are you going to find someone else to wait on you hand and foot?”
“Is that what you’ve been doing?” Joan teased, helping Merry up into the saddle.
She threw herself onto her own horse- astride, skirts bunched up to her knees- and wheeled him out of the stable. Muttering under her breath, Merry followed. Out in the Royal Forest, Joan kicked Jumper to a gallop, feeling the wind on her face and trying not to think. They didn’t slow at the narrow creek, just leapt over it and kept going.
Finally, she stopped at the crest of a hill, and waited for Merry to catch up. “Do you have a death wish, princess?” the older girl grumbled, as her mare sidled up to Joan and Jumper. “This is beyond even your usual reckless-”
“I have to marry the prince,” Joan interrupted. “He and Father have an agreement, and I’ll have no choice. But when I ride, sometimes I imagine that if I can just go fast enough, I can leave all that behind.”
“You’re the dragon,” said Merry. When Joan just blinked at her, she added, “All those fire-screens and tapestries and whatever that your mother makes you embroider. You always sew a dragon and a unicorn. I thought the unicorn was supposed to be you- a noble maiden, ‘purity’ and all that- but you want to be the dragon. You want to fly.”
Joan had thought she couldn’t love Merry any more than she already did, but she’d been wrong, because Merry understood it, understood her. “Yeah.”
“Well, sometimes, I do think you might start breathing fire,” Merry said, and Joan let out a surprised laugh.
“Don’t ever change, Merry,” she said. “Let’s have that snack.”
Merry gratefully slid from the saddle. “But wait,” she said. “Who is the unicorn?”
Joan untied the bag of food. “C’mon.”
Late that night, Joan sat up in bed, watching Merry put out all the candles in their chamber. Years ago, Joan had asked her father to give Merry a room of her own, at the far end of the servant’s corridor. Merry had immediately filled it with tools and half-built gadgets, and had never spent one night not sleeping on the pallet beside Joan’s hearth.
Tonight, Joan was grateful.
“Merry?” she called, softly.
The last candle went out, leaving only the pale moonlight to illuminate the room. “Yes, princess?”
“I want…” Joan began, twisting the bedclothes in her hands. “I just… I don’t want you sleeping on your pallet tonight.”
“Oh,” said Merry. Her shoulder slumped, and she kept her back turned. “I… I understand. Things are going to change and you need to… yes, I’ll just go-”
“Don’t leave!” Joan said, scrambling out of bed to catch Merry’s arm. She could feel the heat of her body through her nightshift, and moved closer. “Please, don’t leave.”
“Joan?” Merry breathed.
“Sleep in my bed,” said Joan, pleading. “Don’t make me sleep alone. I just… let me have this, please. Just this once.”
“Yes,” said Merry, still breathless. Then, she blurted, “Take me with you.”
“What?”
“When you marry, take me with you. Your father can’t refuse you a servant to take with you. I’m not pretty enough to be a lady-in-waiting, but I’ll never leave you, I swear it.”
“I-” Joan began, then leaned in to kiss her, gently. “Come to bed, Merry.”
Joan was almost asleep, sometime later, when Merry sat up. “I’m the unicorn,” she said.
“Yes, you are,” Joan agreed, and tugged her back down.
Who’s Who
John Sheppard as Joan, a princess
Rodney McKay as Merry (short for Merriment), her servant
Chapter Five
Current Mood:
cranky