Erin Ptah (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ptahrrific) wrote2011-01-26 04:21 pm
ptahrrific) wrote2011-01-26 04:21 pm
Entry tags:
Fake News: Castle Walls, part 8
Title: Castle Walls (8/8)
Rating: PG-13
Pairings/Characters: Jon/c!Stephen, Olivia/Kristen, Aasif, John/Larry, Sam/Jason
Warnings: That was the hurt; this is the comfort.
Disclaimer: Two.
For the Report characters: They and their universe are property of Stephen Colbert, the other Report writers, and of course Viacom. Not mine. (Alas.)
And for the real people, the poem:
Please, make no mistake:
these people aren't fake,
but what's said here is no more than fiction.
It only was writ
because we like their wit
and wisecracks, and pull-squints, and diction.
We don't mean to quibble,
but this can't be libel;
it's never implied to be real.
No disrespect's meant;
if you disapprove, then,
the back button's right up there. Deal.
Decorative capitals are from Daily Drop Cap. For the rest of the story, see here.
♢ ♘ ♢ ☯ ♢ ♘ ♢
fter it was confirmed that she was unhurt, and Jon and Stephen had been safely transported home, Olivia insisted on a private audience with Lizz. Her translation crystal was still missing; she could have muddled through on her own, but she pled unwilling to mangle Her Majesty's language to her face, and asked Kristen to interpret the confession.
The Queen was silent for a long moment when she finished, toying absently with the sapphire pendant carved into an exquisite miniature model of her country. Olivia wondered if the shape contained some intricately complex spell, or if it was just to remind viewers that she was obscenely rich.
"Bunshinjutsu," she said at last, contemplating her guest as if appraising a painting. "And the ability to call Dr. Mandvi from halfway across the Castle. How many other hidden talents have you been sitting on, Princess Munn?"
"A few," admitted Olivia. "I'm out of practice, and my chakra's low, but if I worked on it...definitely a few."
"I see," said the Queen. "Your diplomatic protection will have to be rescinded, of course. Can't keep one of my knights tied up in a bodyguard job for a body that doesn't need guarding."
"Of course."
"So I'll need you to fill out a work visa."
Olivia stared for so long that Kristen started to translate for her. Waving the help off, she blurted, "You're letting me stay?"
"Princess, you are welcome within our borders for as long as you choose to be here. You may not be entitled to the same luxuries, but between those jutsu and your language skills, I have no doubt there are plenty of people willing to pay for your help."
"I...I suppose I could try," stammered Olivia. "But I wouldn't know where to start looking, and I don't know where I'll stay in the meantime, and Stephen swore Jon would help out but I haven't actually asked him and anyway they could probably use some time to recover...."
Instead of translating this for the Queen, Kristen turned to Olivia, eyes sparkling. "I have a spare bedroom."
♢ ♘ ♢ ☯ ♢ ♘ ♢
tephen's skin was pink and tender in places, but the fire had damaged it no more deeply. His scratchy cough, on the other hand, persisted until Aasif vanished to his offices and reappeared in Jon's bedroom with a pearl-inlaid inhaler. The doctor popped out and back several more times while settling them in, giving Jon the uncomfortable impression that he was showing off.
"Now, I want both of you to stay in tomorrow," he directed, leaning over the bed to daub a salve on the bruises the chain had left on Stephen's ankle. "Drink plenty of fluids, get lots of bed rest. I'll tell Steve to come by with some food, and check in on you in the evening."
With Kristen's orders about accepting help still ringing in his ears, Jon tried to relax and enjoy the simple comforts of a clean nightshirt and a hearty bowl of soup. Nothing soothed Stephen. Aasif moved all the lamps away from the bed, pinned back the hangings so that Jon wasn't out of his sight, and popped out to confirm that Olivia was taken care of, to no avail.
Only when the doctor had left for the evening did Jon take a seat beside Stephen, a tentative hand on the slope of his shoulder, turning into a caress once he was assured that the touch soothing to both of them.
"You saved me," said Stephen at last. Hands wrapped around the inhaler, one finger absently circling the healing-spell pearl, the tableau brought back memories of Jon's childhood: a dozen similar spells worn out before his lungs were strengthened enough to operate on their own. "I thought...for a time, I thought you might not...."
Jon shushed him. "Stephen, you know that I feel what you feel. All you have to do is think about my help, and I will be there." He cast a glance at the unpolished armor piled on an old cloth at the side of the room, then added ruefully, "...dressed rather mail-y."
"You don't feel all of it," protested Stephen.
"I guess that's true. But if it's important, you can always just tell me."
Stephen began to speak: a torrent of words, melodious and rhythmic, full of a heartbreaking yearning.
And Jon didn't understand a word of it.
"It's Gi Foarese," said Stephen after the recitation, not meeting Jon's blank stare. "The names and aliases of the Wandering King in the Ring Saga, if you want to know...but that's not important. The important part is that I know Gi Foarese. Better than Olivia knows Commedian, even."
"Uh, wow," stammered Jon. "And here I thought I had learned my lesson about not underestimating you."
Stephen flinched. "I won't do it again! I won't keep things from you anymore. First thing tomorrow I'll write up a proper list of skills. The kind you would have on hand already if I had come with papers in the first place."
He said it so matter-of-factly, with such flat acceptance of his place in the world, that it took Jon a second to pick up on the implications. "Whoa, Stephen, stop right there. How much do you remember from before you passed out?"
"I remember the oath," admitted Stephen. "But I can't...it's too good for me, Jon. I thought I was worthy, but I'm not."
"Because you kept a secret?"
"Because I put Olivia in danger!"
Jon's heart sank as Stephen choked his way through the story: keeping his distance, planning to teach the princess a lesson, holding back even when she was drugged, underestimating the danger and getting trapped himself. "Could've gone for help—could've knocked the drink away when she first got it—could've not yelled at her to start with. Every decision I made was wrong!" He paused to cough, breath shallow. "It's dangerous for me to think for myself. I see that now. Maybe if only I got hurt...but it's not fair to let other people suffer because I'm too stupid to know what to do!"
Clasping Stephen's hand, Jon pressed a light kiss to his forehead before pulling him to his feet. "Come with me. Shhh, easy, take it as slow as you need. Just come on."
♢ ♘ ♢ ☯ ♢ ♘ ♢
risten? Can you come in here a minute?" From the claw-footed tub Olivia could see Kristen's shadow hovering at the barely-open door. "I have plenty of bubbles," she added quickly. Her silken hair flowed in calligraphic trails along the bath's surface, catching on swaths of the modesty-affording foam.
"No, no, it's okay!" Kristen came in without hesitation, though Olivia sank down until the water came up to her chin, just in case. "Can I get you something? Anything at all?"
"The water's getting cold."
"No wonder. You've been in there an awfully long time."
"Trying to feel clean," mumbled Olivia.
Kneeling at the side of the tub, Kristen rested her wrist on the edge and let her fingers slip into the water. Plumes of heat wafted out from her fingertips. "Does that help?"
"Is there something wrong with me?"
"No!" exclaimed Kristen, so automatically that Olivia didn't even have time to regret asking. "If anything, you're even more amazing than I thought when I first met you."
Olivia couldn't let that slide. "When you first met me, you thought I was asleep."
"Well, I thought you were an amazing sleeper," said Kristen stubbornly.
"You pushed me away in the store," protested Olivia, lifting one hand through the water until it sliced into the layer of bubbles and flicking with her fingers to send puffs of them into the air. "I thought everything would be fine once I got away from the creeps in my country, but those newspaper people hated me, and they didn't even know me. What if there's just something about me that puts good people off? What if I really am too...too sexual, or not modest enough, or—"
"Hold it!" ordered Kristen. "Not another word of that, hear me? Give me two minutes, then dry yourself off and come outside. I have something to show you."
The outburst was so unexpected that Olivia's racing thoughts fell meekly into line. More to the point, she finally realized that Kristen was still wearing the fluted skirt and loose cotton blouse Olivia had first seen when the curtain of flames switched off.
"I...I'll give you five," she replied. "You didn't have to wait for me all this time...not that I'm not glad you did...but I promise I'll be okay if you take a couple minutes to go change."
♢ ♘ ♢ ☯ ♢ ♘ ♢
ousy pieces of junk," muttered Larry, flipping his cards in no particular rhythm. "You couldn't have just told me 'Olivia' wasn't her given name?"
With considerable effort, Featherwick lifted his head from his pillow. "Are you still on about that?" he demanded blearily. "Next time a search spell fails, that'll be the first thing we ask. Now come to bed. We have a prophecy in the morning."
♢ ♘ ♢ ☯ ♢ ♘ ♢
reakin' ninjas," huffed Jason in a not unrelated tone of voice, as yet another person brought Aasif a drink for his role that afternoon. "Doctors, too," he added as an afterthought. "Doctors and ninjas, they get all the hero-credit. Shouldn't he have to be Gi Foarese to be a ninja, anyway?"
"I think he's Gi Foar-ish," shrugged Sam, whose ever more rotund form was balanced precariously on his lap. Switching to a lusty purr, she added, "And you, honeybear, are plenty heroic. If I weren't already working on this baby, I would say we should go make a baby."
She was pushing Jason up against the bar when he yelped in pain and retrieved something from his back pocket. "Oh, right!" he exclaimed, turning over the pendant with its glittering silver crystal. "Found this stashed in the tiny fountain. Guess I better take it back to the Princess."
"Guess you better," agreed Sam, dropping it safely in the cash box. "Later."
♢ ♘ ♢ ☯ ♢ ♘ ♢
livia gave it six minutes before wrapping herself in the simple violet bathrobe Kristen had left for her, short in the arms and falling to just below her knees but overall not a bad fit. She found her hostess on a velvet lounge before the fireplace, looking much less harried in a silk nightgown and what looked like a freshly washed face, holding a thick leather-bound volume in one arm while her other hand clutched a slightly singed jewelry box.
"See this?" As Olivia joined her on the lounge, Kristen held out the book. "I—with the assistance of a former gentleman friend of mine—wrote it. Take a look."
Olivia rested the tome obediently on her knees and flipped open the cover, revealing a beautifully watercolored illumination. The exquisite lines and subtle colors made a fair distraction from its actual content. "Hang on. That's—"
"Uh-huh."
"And you're—"
"Yep."
"You did hentai?" blurted Olivia, openmouthed.
"I," corrected Kristen, "did an erotic yet tasteful book of advice and information for the discerning citizen who is looking to have sexier sex. Much, much sexier sex. You think people should look down on me for it?"
"No!"
"Well then!" Kristen gave her masterpiece a fond pat. "You are out of luck, missy, because you would have to rack up a lot more semi-public sex to out-sexy this bad boy."
Olivia's eyes were starting to go misty. "I could kiss you just for that."
Her companion glowed in a way that had nothing to do with being a fire mage. "Oh, good! But let me give you your present first anyway."
♢ ♘ ♢ ☯ ♢ ♘ ♢
on led a puzzled but obedient Stephen to the window, picking up his spare frames along the way. The mauves and russets of twilight were beginning to melt into night, and the first stars were pricking through overhead; but Jon pointed his gaze downward, where the evening traffic of the Castle was still in full swing. A brush of Jon's hand over the cheap ruby embedded in the molding, and the spell over the window switched off, letting in a warm spring breeze and the chatter of the city below.
"Hear that?" said Jon softly, as the south wind tousled Stephen's hair. "That's the sound of hundreds of people going about their day. Thousands of people in the Castle. More than ten thousand when you stretch out into the fields and the farms."
He paused for a response. "That's a lot," offered Stephen. Vulpin had been bigger, but....
"Maybe not as many as in Vulpin," continued Jon without missing a beat. "But every one of them a citizen, with all the rights and responsibilities afforded thereto."
"Mmhmm."
"Now, do you really think none of them have ever made a bad decision?"
Stephen's hands, even the one with his bracelet safely back on its wrist, sat unsteady on the stone. "I...I guess they have."
"Of course they have. Every last one of them has...what's Olivia's charming phrase?...frakked up. If that disqualified you from getting to be human, there wouldn't be any of us left."
"The kidnappers...?" began Stephen, not sure what he was trying to ask.
Jon's face went grim. "Still human," he said, laying a protective hand on the small of Stephen's back, though his gaze was fixed on the roofs and walls below. "But being a free citizen won't turn you into them. I won't let it."
Stephen leaned against him with a faint shudder. "Thank you, sir."
"Stop that," said Jon. "I'm not—"
"Not my master," finished Stephen. "I know. You're my knight."
♢ ♘ ♢ ☯ ♢ ♘ ♢
ook and box lay discarded safely out of the way of the fire as Kristen tumbled onto the carpet in front of it: Olivia nuzzling the slope of her neck while her leg arched up of its own accord to trace the curve of Olivia's calf. It was a wonder the rest of her maintained the presence of mind to cup the princess's oval face between her hands and hold her back long enough to say, "If I do anything you don't like, just tell me."
The firelight licked warmly over Olivia's freckles, over the silver π earrings she had insisted on donning right away, over the lips curved into a wry smile. "You don't seem capable."
Kristen held steady. "You know what I mean."
The struggle played out in muted tones on Olivia's face. If Kristen hadn't already had a glimpse of just how much of herself the princess kept closely guarded, it might well have been misinterpreted, or overlooked altogether. "Don't pin me down," she said at last, low and carefully steady. "I think everything else should be okay. If it isn't...I'll say."
Kristen thanked her with a gentle press of lips against her cheek, then threw herself with no more reservation into the task of kissing every inch of skin she could reach.
Rating: PG-13
Pairings/Characters: Jon/c!Stephen, Olivia/Kristen, Aasif, John/Larry, Sam/Jason
Warnings: That was the hurt; this is the comfort.
Disclaimer: Two.
For the Report characters: They and their universe are property of Stephen Colbert, the other Report writers, and of course Viacom. Not mine. (Alas.)
And for the real people, the poem:
Please, make no mistake:
these people aren't fake,
but what's said here is no more than fiction.
It only was writ
because we like their wit
and wisecracks, and pull-squints, and diction.
We don't mean to quibble,
but this can't be libel;
it's never implied to be real.
No disrespect's meant;
if you disapprove, then,
the back button's right up there. Deal.
Decorative capitals are from Daily Drop Cap. For the rest of the story, see here.
fter it was confirmed that she was unhurt, and Jon and Stephen had been safely transported home, Olivia insisted on a private audience with Lizz. Her translation crystal was still missing; she could have muddled through on her own, but she pled unwilling to mangle Her Majesty's language to her face, and asked Kristen to interpret the confession.The Queen was silent for a long moment when she finished, toying absently with the sapphire pendant carved into an exquisite miniature model of her country. Olivia wondered if the shape contained some intricately complex spell, or if it was just to remind viewers that she was obscenely rich.
"Bunshinjutsu," she said at last, contemplating her guest as if appraising a painting. "And the ability to call Dr. Mandvi from halfway across the Castle. How many other hidden talents have you been sitting on, Princess Munn?"
"A few," admitted Olivia. "I'm out of practice, and my chakra's low, but if I worked on it...definitely a few."
"I see," said the Queen. "Your diplomatic protection will have to be rescinded, of course. Can't keep one of my knights tied up in a bodyguard job for a body that doesn't need guarding."
"Of course."
"So I'll need you to fill out a work visa."
Olivia stared for so long that Kristen started to translate for her. Waving the help off, she blurted, "You're letting me stay?"
"Princess, you are welcome within our borders for as long as you choose to be here. You may not be entitled to the same luxuries, but between those jutsu and your language skills, I have no doubt there are plenty of people willing to pay for your help."
"I...I suppose I could try," stammered Olivia. "But I wouldn't know where to start looking, and I don't know where I'll stay in the meantime, and Stephen swore Jon would help out but I haven't actually asked him and anyway they could probably use some time to recover...."
Instead of translating this for the Queen, Kristen turned to Olivia, eyes sparkling. "I have a spare bedroom."
tephen's skin was pink and tender in places, but the fire had damaged it no more deeply. His scratchy cough, on the other hand, persisted until Aasif vanished to his offices and reappeared in Jon's bedroom with a pearl-inlaid inhaler. The doctor popped out and back several more times while settling them in, giving Jon the uncomfortable impression that he was showing off."Now, I want both of you to stay in tomorrow," he directed, leaning over the bed to daub a salve on the bruises the chain had left on Stephen's ankle. "Drink plenty of fluids, get lots of bed rest. I'll tell Steve to come by with some food, and check in on you in the evening."
With Kristen's orders about accepting help still ringing in his ears, Jon tried to relax and enjoy the simple comforts of a clean nightshirt and a hearty bowl of soup. Nothing soothed Stephen. Aasif moved all the lamps away from the bed, pinned back the hangings so that Jon wasn't out of his sight, and popped out to confirm that Olivia was taken care of, to no avail.
Only when the doctor had left for the evening did Jon take a seat beside Stephen, a tentative hand on the slope of his shoulder, turning into a caress once he was assured that the touch soothing to both of them.
"You saved me," said Stephen at last. Hands wrapped around the inhaler, one finger absently circling the healing-spell pearl, the tableau brought back memories of Jon's childhood: a dozen similar spells worn out before his lungs were strengthened enough to operate on their own. "I thought...for a time, I thought you might not...."
Jon shushed him. "Stephen, you know that I feel what you feel. All you have to do is think about my help, and I will be there." He cast a glance at the unpolished armor piled on an old cloth at the side of the room, then added ruefully, "...dressed rather mail-y."
"You don't feel all of it," protested Stephen.
"I guess that's true. But if it's important, you can always just tell me."
Stephen began to speak: a torrent of words, melodious and rhythmic, full of a heartbreaking yearning.
And Jon didn't understand a word of it.
"It's Gi Foarese," said Stephen after the recitation, not meeting Jon's blank stare. "The names and aliases of the Wandering King in the Ring Saga, if you want to know...but that's not important. The important part is that I know Gi Foarese. Better than Olivia knows Commedian, even."
"Uh, wow," stammered Jon. "And here I thought I had learned my lesson about not underestimating you."
Stephen flinched. "I won't do it again! I won't keep things from you anymore. First thing tomorrow I'll write up a proper list of skills. The kind you would have on hand already if I had come with papers in the first place."
He said it so matter-of-factly, with such flat acceptance of his place in the world, that it took Jon a second to pick up on the implications. "Whoa, Stephen, stop right there. How much do you remember from before you passed out?"
"I remember the oath," admitted Stephen. "But I can't...it's too good for me, Jon. I thought I was worthy, but I'm not."
"Because you kept a secret?"
"Because I put Olivia in danger!"
Jon's heart sank as Stephen choked his way through the story: keeping his distance, planning to teach the princess a lesson, holding back even when she was drugged, underestimating the danger and getting trapped himself. "Could've gone for help—could've knocked the drink away when she first got it—could've not yelled at her to start with. Every decision I made was wrong!" He paused to cough, breath shallow. "It's dangerous for me to think for myself. I see that now. Maybe if only I got hurt...but it's not fair to let other people suffer because I'm too stupid to know what to do!"
Clasping Stephen's hand, Jon pressed a light kiss to his forehead before pulling him to his feet. "Come with me. Shhh, easy, take it as slow as you need. Just come on."
risten? Can you come in here a minute?" From the claw-footed tub Olivia could see Kristen's shadow hovering at the barely-open door. "I have plenty of bubbles," she added quickly. Her silken hair flowed in calligraphic trails along the bath's surface, catching on swaths of the modesty-affording foam."No, no, it's okay!" Kristen came in without hesitation, though Olivia sank down until the water came up to her chin, just in case. "Can I get you something? Anything at all?"
"The water's getting cold."
"No wonder. You've been in there an awfully long time."
"Trying to feel clean," mumbled Olivia.
Kneeling at the side of the tub, Kristen rested her wrist on the edge and let her fingers slip into the water. Plumes of heat wafted out from her fingertips. "Does that help?"
"Is there something wrong with me?"
"No!" exclaimed Kristen, so automatically that Olivia didn't even have time to regret asking. "If anything, you're even more amazing than I thought when I first met you."
Olivia couldn't let that slide. "When you first met me, you thought I was asleep."
"Well, I thought you were an amazing sleeper," said Kristen stubbornly.
"You pushed me away in the store," protested Olivia, lifting one hand through the water until it sliced into the layer of bubbles and flicking with her fingers to send puffs of them into the air. "I thought everything would be fine once I got away from the creeps in my country, but those newspaper people hated me, and they didn't even know me. What if there's just something about me that puts good people off? What if I really am too...too sexual, or not modest enough, or—"
"Hold it!" ordered Kristen. "Not another word of that, hear me? Give me two minutes, then dry yourself off and come outside. I have something to show you."
The outburst was so unexpected that Olivia's racing thoughts fell meekly into line. More to the point, she finally realized that Kristen was still wearing the fluted skirt and loose cotton blouse Olivia had first seen when the curtain of flames switched off.
"I...I'll give you five," she replied. "You didn't have to wait for me all this time...not that I'm not glad you did...but I promise I'll be okay if you take a couple minutes to go change."
ousy pieces of junk," muttered Larry, flipping his cards in no particular rhythm. "You couldn't have just told me 'Olivia' wasn't her given name?"With considerable effort, Featherwick lifted his head from his pillow. "Are you still on about that?" he demanded blearily. "Next time a search spell fails, that'll be the first thing we ask. Now come to bed. We have a prophecy in the morning."
reakin' ninjas," huffed Jason in a not unrelated tone of voice, as yet another person brought Aasif a drink for his role that afternoon. "Doctors, too," he added as an afterthought. "Doctors and ninjas, they get all the hero-credit. Shouldn't he have to be Gi Foarese to be a ninja, anyway?""I think he's Gi Foar-ish," shrugged Sam, whose ever more rotund form was balanced precariously on his lap. Switching to a lusty purr, she added, "And you, honeybear, are plenty heroic. If I weren't already working on this baby, I would say we should go make a baby."
She was pushing Jason up against the bar when he yelped in pain and retrieved something from his back pocket. "Oh, right!" he exclaimed, turning over the pendant with its glittering silver crystal. "Found this stashed in the tiny fountain. Guess I better take it back to the Princess."
"Guess you better," agreed Sam, dropping it safely in the cash box. "Later."
livia gave it six minutes before wrapping herself in the simple violet bathrobe Kristen had left for her, short in the arms and falling to just below her knees but overall not a bad fit. She found her hostess on a velvet lounge before the fireplace, looking much less harried in a silk nightgown and what looked like a freshly washed face, holding a thick leather-bound volume in one arm while her other hand clutched a slightly singed jewelry box."See this?" As Olivia joined her on the lounge, Kristen held out the book. "I—with the assistance of a former gentleman friend of mine—wrote it. Take a look."
Olivia rested the tome obediently on her knees and flipped open the cover, revealing a beautifully watercolored illumination. The exquisite lines and subtle colors made a fair distraction from its actual content. "Hang on. That's—"
"Uh-huh."
"And you're—"
"Yep."
"You did hentai?" blurted Olivia, openmouthed.
"I," corrected Kristen, "did an erotic yet tasteful book of advice and information for the discerning citizen who is looking to have sexier sex. Much, much sexier sex. You think people should look down on me for it?"
"No!"
"Well then!" Kristen gave her masterpiece a fond pat. "You are out of luck, missy, because you would have to rack up a lot more semi-public sex to out-sexy this bad boy."
Olivia's eyes were starting to go misty. "I could kiss you just for that."
Her companion glowed in a way that had nothing to do with being a fire mage. "Oh, good! But let me give you your present first anyway."
on led a puzzled but obedient Stephen to the window, picking up his spare frames along the way. The mauves and russets of twilight were beginning to melt into night, and the first stars were pricking through overhead; but Jon pointed his gaze downward, where the evening traffic of the Castle was still in full swing. A brush of Jon's hand over the cheap ruby embedded in the molding, and the spell over the window switched off, letting in a warm spring breeze and the chatter of the city below."Hear that?" said Jon softly, as the south wind tousled Stephen's hair. "That's the sound of hundreds of people going about their day. Thousands of people in the Castle. More than ten thousand when you stretch out into the fields and the farms."
He paused for a response. "That's a lot," offered Stephen. Vulpin had been bigger, but....
"Maybe not as many as in Vulpin," continued Jon without missing a beat. "But every one of them a citizen, with all the rights and responsibilities afforded thereto."
"Mmhmm."
"Now, do you really think none of them have ever made a bad decision?"
Stephen's hands, even the one with his bracelet safely back on its wrist, sat unsteady on the stone. "I...I guess they have."
"Of course they have. Every last one of them has...what's Olivia's charming phrase?...frakked up. If that disqualified you from getting to be human, there wouldn't be any of us left."
"The kidnappers...?" began Stephen, not sure what he was trying to ask.
Jon's face went grim. "Still human," he said, laying a protective hand on the small of Stephen's back, though his gaze was fixed on the roofs and walls below. "But being a free citizen won't turn you into them. I won't let it."
Stephen leaned against him with a faint shudder. "Thank you, sir."
"Stop that," said Jon. "I'm not—"
"Not my master," finished Stephen. "I know. You're my knight."
ook and box lay discarded safely out of the way of the fire as Kristen tumbled onto the carpet in front of it: Olivia nuzzling the slope of her neck while her leg arched up of its own accord to trace the curve of Olivia's calf. It was a wonder the rest of her maintained the presence of mind to cup the princess's oval face between her hands and hold her back long enough to say, "If I do anything you don't like, just tell me."The firelight licked warmly over Olivia's freckles, over the silver π earrings she had insisted on donning right away, over the lips curved into a wry smile. "You don't seem capable."
Kristen held steady. "You know what I mean."
The struggle played out in muted tones on Olivia's face. If Kristen hadn't already had a glimpse of just how much of herself the princess kept closely guarded, it might well have been misinterpreted, or overlooked altogether. "Don't pin me down," she said at last, low and carefully steady. "I think everything else should be okay. If it isn't...I'll say."
Kristen thanked her with a gentle press of lips against her cheek, then threw herself with no more reservation into the task of kissing every inch of skin she could reach.
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Your stories are OMFG THE BEST THING EVER.
Basically, you win at life. :D
*settles in for the wait for the sequel~!*
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Sequel is in progress...fingers crossed.
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Googlemagic locator off, Jon and Stephen having a moment of zen, and Kristen and Olivia by the fire. :DDreamwidth seems to have decided that I am no longer allowed to see your protected entries. Can I have an invite code so I can just end that noise?
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...also probably something about taking care who you trust and sticking by your friends =) Glad you like!
No problem. Try this: TYA298FYDTMKFAAALJ9J
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HA! HA! That line caught me unawares, and I'm glad I wasn't drinking anything at the time. Otherwise my computer screen would be covered in orange soda.
Stephen flinched. "I won't do it again! I won't keep things from you anymore. First thing tomorrow I'll write up a proper list of skills. The kind you would have on hand already if I had come with papers in the first place."
Despite everything, the poor thing still thinks he's a piece of merchandise. But really, it hasn't been that long since Jon found him, right? Difficult to reverse months (years?) of conditioning...
"Hear that?" said Jon softly, as the south wind tousled Stephen's hair. "That's the sound of hundreds of people going about their day. Thousands of people in the Castle. More than ten thousand when you stretch out into the fields and the farms."
Ah, this brings back so many amazing memories from the rally. To this day, I still say in half-pride, half-disbelief, I was there.
Congratulations on completing yet another wonderful series. I sound like a broken record, but I really did enjoy this story very much. The way you sprinkle TDS/TCR references like, er, sprinkles on a cupcake... delicious!
no subject
Stephen had been making a lot of progress, but the fear that he was culpable in Olivia's kidnapping was a huge blow to his self-confidence. The conditioning has lasted all his life; it's only with constant reinforcement that he hadn't relapsed before.
But fear not; with Jon's help, he will build himself back up again. (Faster! Stronger!)
So glad you enjoyed it, and if I may be a broken record myself, thanks for reading!