Fic: Blessings, Curses, and Contrition
Nov. 30th, 2011 04:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_roseTitle: Blessings, Curses, and Contrition
Fandom: Original fic
Characters/'Verse: Kat
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1522
Summary: Kat took a deep, shuddering breath. "It's not fair. We never asked for these hated things; our names, our jobs, the curse."
Warnings: None
This was their last day in Aquena. Tomorrow they'd cross the border into Malannas, a province traditionally loyal unto death to the High King. Kat was looking forward to a warmer welcome there, and she knew Honor and the others would all be able to relax just a little once they crossed the River Rye into less hostile territory.
Aquena, for all its rugged beauty, disagreed with her. Kat was fighting another migraine and hadn't even been able to eat breakfast. She could have waited until later to travel but the lure of Malannas, the chance to sleep more soundly that night, was stronger than her desire to lie in. So, hungry, tired, and sullen, Kat was on horseback, keeping up a slow but steady pace.
Her last official duty was to bless the well. Despite her protestations and Honor's best attempts at negotiations, the mayor of Aqenrye would consider it a slight if she left she his town, let alone the province, without doing so. It could make things difficult.
The well was at least on the way to the river. Sighing in annoyance, Kat followed Cal as he led the way off the trail to the river crossing and up the hill to the well. Why were holy wells so often on hills? It didn't seem very practical, Kat thought. She'd come across plenty of non-holy wells, and the occasional holy well situated in a sensible place near a settlement, but somehow the more inaccessible a well, the more holy it was.
It probably had something to do with struggle. So much religion seemed to want people to suffer. Kat had what the council called 'Unreasonable Opinions' about such things, and had learnt not to air them too publicly in sensitive situations.
There were too many people gathered at the well, and they had to dismount to continue the climb to the top. Tara, Ryan, Cal and Honor stayed with Kat, while the other three remained with the horses. Kat was panting a little by the time they reached the summit, and grey clouds gathered ominously overhead.
She knelt at the base of the well, more from exhaustion than piety – either real or pretended. The words she knew by heart and tried not to sound as if she were simply repeating them by rote as she spoke them. People wanted a show, and the faithful deserved to have their beliefs respected, but it was still a struggle to bring any depth to a ritual she didn't believe in herself.
There was some polite applause as Kat got to her feet, taking Honor's hand to do so. Kneeling had only increased the pressure at her temples however, and while she'd caught her breath she was hot from the climb, and her cloak felt too heavy.
People wanted her to bless them too, something she'd flatly refused to do, and the mayor had reluctantly agreed to this compromise.
"Back away," Honor told a woman who'd got close enough to touch Kat's cloak, but the crowd began to surge forward, jealous of the woman's luck – she'd touched the High Queen, she would be healed, lucky, blessed.
Kat heard a sword being drawn. Her guards would kill to protect her, but if they cut down people while they were asking for blessings, even though they were fast becoming a mob, it would be a far worse strike against her reputation than failing to bless the well would have been. There would be panic, too, and innocents would be hurt. And it was ridiculous, the entire thing was so stupid, and someone grabbed the hem of her cloak and another hand was reaching for her hair, and her head was pounding –
"The next person who touches me dies," Kat shouted.
A sudden hush fell over the crowd.
"Back," Honor shouted and the edge to his tone left little room or desire to disobey. "Back away." People did as they were told, pushing each other to put distance between Kat and themselves, snatching up their children, and tripping over their own feet in their haste.
"Kat," Honor said, protocol forgotten in his disapproval.
"Contry?"
"Contry? Not even contrition? Is that all you have say?" Honor shook his head, and gestured to a young man who was still staring, doe-eyed at Kat. "You, move away or lose your head."
The man turned tail and ran.
"Mayor Alman," Honor called. The mayor, a short distance away, pushed his way gingerly though the retreating people. "Do you have any prisoners?"
"Prisoners?" Alman asked, brow crinkled in thought.
"Awaiting execution," Honor said.
"We don't execute people here," Alman said in horror, adding matter of factly, "We send them to Tibern, six miles southeast of here. They've got a proper jail, not just a cellar like we use for padfoots and poachers."
Honor sighed. "Tara," he said, raising a hand above his head. She shouldered her way towards him. "I need you and Ryan to ride to Tibern. Find the jail, commandeer a prisoner scheduled for execution and bring them back here."
Tara stared at him, then at Kat, then back at her commanding officer. "The curse? I didn't hear what was said."
"Yes, the curse," Kat said, before Honor could reply. "Keep your distance from me, and go find a prisoner. Please hurry. I think I just outwore my welcome here. We probably shouldn't stay the night."
Tara nodded, her braid swinging smartly, and went off to collect Ryan. Kat sank down onto the edge of the well and buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry."
"You need to be more careful."
"My head is killing me, and they wouldn't stop harassing me," Kat said. They were excuses and she knew it. She lifted her head and looked at him. "Does it have to be a person? Maybe if we just found a squirrel?"
"Squirrels aren't people," he said, taking a seat a short distance away from her. The curvature of the well meant he was looking southeast while she was facing southwest. "I wouldn't let you near Sky, though. You love him like family. He's a person in animal form."
Kat took a deep, shuddering breath. "It's not fair. We never asked for these hated things; our names, our jobs, the curse."
"I like my job," Honor said softly. "Not that it's a job so much as a vocation." He turned his head and smiled at her.
She wanted to reach out and touch his knee, but she didn't dare, though the curse was upon the next person to touch her, not the person she next touched. She could never take that risk. She folded her hands demurely in her lap. A light drizzle began. Perfect.
The rain dampened her hair, and there was a single roll of thunder. At least her headache faded and the clouds soon started to clear. The sunlight had begun to dry her hair and clothes by the time Tara and Ryan returned with the prisoner.
"Is he a very bad man?" Kat asked as Ryan forced the man to his knees in front of her.
"Very," Ryan said, and Kat didn't care if it was a lie. She needed to believe it, true or not. If there hadn't been a prisoner due for executing she was sure they would have made other arrangements.
The prisoner glared at her from beneath unkempt hair. "So you're the Bitch Queen? I thought you'd be taller. Any chance of a pardon?"
"No," Kat said. She reached out and put one hand on his shoulder. He ought to touch her, to be sure. "A benediction, though. That I can offer." The irony was that if she'd given the blessing to the people in the crowd the incident wouldn’t have happened at all.
She spoke the words quickly in a low voice, hating the hypocrisy but hoping it gave him some comfort. And if the gods were real, maybe they were even listening.
The prisoners face clouded and he stared at her. "You're going to kill me?" He grabbed at her wrist - and now he'd touched her, it was done - and she shook him off, retreating to safety as Ryan held him in place.
She gazed northwards as Honor drew his sword. A yell, a scream, silence. When she turned around, Honor was wiping his sword on the dead man's tunic.
"Forgive me," she said. "My deepest contrition."
Honor nodded curtly. Tara was unconcerned and Ryan said, "They were going to hang him in the morning anyway."
Ryan and Tara had a quick debate over how best to deal the body, though Kat saw Ryan's eyes flick to her several times. The threat of the curse still hung over them. The sooner they were away from here the better.
Honor sheathed his sword and pulled Kat close. He held her for a long moment.
"I am not afraid of you," he said. "I will never fear or hate you."
It was his duty to say the words, to be her right hand, but he spoke them with a devotion Kat wasn't sure she could ever return.
Fandom: Original fic
Characters/'Verse: Kat
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1522
Summary: Kat took a deep, shuddering breath. "It's not fair. We never asked for these hated things; our names, our jobs, the curse."
Warnings: None
This was their last day in Aquena. Tomorrow they'd cross the border into Malannas, a province traditionally loyal unto death to the High King. Kat was looking forward to a warmer welcome there, and she knew Honor and the others would all be able to relax just a little once they crossed the River Rye into less hostile territory.
Aquena, for all its rugged beauty, disagreed with her. Kat was fighting another migraine and hadn't even been able to eat breakfast. She could have waited until later to travel but the lure of Malannas, the chance to sleep more soundly that night, was stronger than her desire to lie in. So, hungry, tired, and sullen, Kat was on horseback, keeping up a slow but steady pace.
Her last official duty was to bless the well. Despite her protestations and Honor's best attempts at negotiations, the mayor of Aqenrye would consider it a slight if she left she his town, let alone the province, without doing so. It could make things difficult.
The well was at least on the way to the river. Sighing in annoyance, Kat followed Cal as he led the way off the trail to the river crossing and up the hill to the well. Why were holy wells so often on hills? It didn't seem very practical, Kat thought. She'd come across plenty of non-holy wells, and the occasional holy well situated in a sensible place near a settlement, but somehow the more inaccessible a well, the more holy it was.
It probably had something to do with struggle. So much religion seemed to want people to suffer. Kat had what the council called 'Unreasonable Opinions' about such things, and had learnt not to air them too publicly in sensitive situations.
There were too many people gathered at the well, and they had to dismount to continue the climb to the top. Tara, Ryan, Cal and Honor stayed with Kat, while the other three remained with the horses. Kat was panting a little by the time they reached the summit, and grey clouds gathered ominously overhead.
She knelt at the base of the well, more from exhaustion than piety – either real or pretended. The words she knew by heart and tried not to sound as if she were simply repeating them by rote as she spoke them. People wanted a show, and the faithful deserved to have their beliefs respected, but it was still a struggle to bring any depth to a ritual she didn't believe in herself.
There was some polite applause as Kat got to her feet, taking Honor's hand to do so. Kneeling had only increased the pressure at her temples however, and while she'd caught her breath she was hot from the climb, and her cloak felt too heavy.
People wanted her to bless them too, something she'd flatly refused to do, and the mayor had reluctantly agreed to this compromise.
"Back away," Honor told a woman who'd got close enough to touch Kat's cloak, but the crowd began to surge forward, jealous of the woman's luck – she'd touched the High Queen, she would be healed, lucky, blessed.
Kat heard a sword being drawn. Her guards would kill to protect her, but if they cut down people while they were asking for blessings, even though they were fast becoming a mob, it would be a far worse strike against her reputation than failing to bless the well would have been. There would be panic, too, and innocents would be hurt. And it was ridiculous, the entire thing was so stupid, and someone grabbed the hem of her cloak and another hand was reaching for her hair, and her head was pounding –
"The next person who touches me dies," Kat shouted.
A sudden hush fell over the crowd.
"Back," Honor shouted and the edge to his tone left little room or desire to disobey. "Back away." People did as they were told, pushing each other to put distance between Kat and themselves, snatching up their children, and tripping over their own feet in their haste.
"Kat," Honor said, protocol forgotten in his disapproval.
"Contry?"
"Contry? Not even contrition? Is that all you have say?" Honor shook his head, and gestured to a young man who was still staring, doe-eyed at Kat. "You, move away or lose your head."
The man turned tail and ran.
"Mayor Alman," Honor called. The mayor, a short distance away, pushed his way gingerly though the retreating people. "Do you have any prisoners?"
"Prisoners?" Alman asked, brow crinkled in thought.
"Awaiting execution," Honor said.
"We don't execute people here," Alman said in horror, adding matter of factly, "We send them to Tibern, six miles southeast of here. They've got a proper jail, not just a cellar like we use for padfoots and poachers."
Honor sighed. "Tara," he said, raising a hand above his head. She shouldered her way towards him. "I need you and Ryan to ride to Tibern. Find the jail, commandeer a prisoner scheduled for execution and bring them back here."
Tara stared at him, then at Kat, then back at her commanding officer. "The curse? I didn't hear what was said."
"Yes, the curse," Kat said, before Honor could reply. "Keep your distance from me, and go find a prisoner. Please hurry. I think I just outwore my welcome here. We probably shouldn't stay the night."
Tara nodded, her braid swinging smartly, and went off to collect Ryan. Kat sank down onto the edge of the well and buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry."
"You need to be more careful."
"My head is killing me, and they wouldn't stop harassing me," Kat said. They were excuses and she knew it. She lifted her head and looked at him. "Does it have to be a person? Maybe if we just found a squirrel?"
"Squirrels aren't people," he said, taking a seat a short distance away from her. The curvature of the well meant he was looking southeast while she was facing southwest. "I wouldn't let you near Sky, though. You love him like family. He's a person in animal form."
Kat took a deep, shuddering breath. "It's not fair. We never asked for these hated things; our names, our jobs, the curse."
"I like my job," Honor said softly. "Not that it's a job so much as a vocation." He turned his head and smiled at her.
She wanted to reach out and touch his knee, but she didn't dare, though the curse was upon the next person to touch her, not the person she next touched. She could never take that risk. She folded her hands demurely in her lap. A light drizzle began. Perfect.
The rain dampened her hair, and there was a single roll of thunder. At least her headache faded and the clouds soon started to clear. The sunlight had begun to dry her hair and clothes by the time Tara and Ryan returned with the prisoner.
"Is he a very bad man?" Kat asked as Ryan forced the man to his knees in front of her.
"Very," Ryan said, and Kat didn't care if it was a lie. She needed to believe it, true or not. If there hadn't been a prisoner due for executing she was sure they would have made other arrangements.
The prisoner glared at her from beneath unkempt hair. "So you're the Bitch Queen? I thought you'd be taller. Any chance of a pardon?"
"No," Kat said. She reached out and put one hand on his shoulder. He ought to touch her, to be sure. "A benediction, though. That I can offer." The irony was that if she'd given the blessing to the people in the crowd the incident wouldn’t have happened at all.
She spoke the words quickly in a low voice, hating the hypocrisy but hoping it gave him some comfort. And if the gods were real, maybe they were even listening.
The prisoners face clouded and he stared at her. "You're going to kill me?" He grabbed at her wrist - and now he'd touched her, it was done - and she shook him off, retreating to safety as Ryan held him in place.
She gazed northwards as Honor drew his sword. A yell, a scream, silence. When she turned around, Honor was wiping his sword on the dead man's tunic.
"Forgive me," she said. "My deepest contrition."
Honor nodded curtly. Tara was unconcerned and Ryan said, "They were going to hang him in the morning anyway."
Ryan and Tara had a quick debate over how best to deal the body, though Kat saw Ryan's eyes flick to her several times. The threat of the curse still hung over them. The sooner they were away from here the better.
Honor sheathed his sword and pulled Kat close. He held her for a long moment.
"I am not afraid of you," he said. "I will never fear or hate you."
It was his duty to say the words, to be her right hand, but he spoke them with a devotion Kat wasn't sure she could ever return.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-30 05:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-30 06:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-30 06:42 pm (UTC)This fic both drew me in and puzzled me, as I assume it was meant to do. There seems to be a mystical connection between Kat and her people, or at least a perceived one.
So Kat carries a heavy burden. Does everything Kat say have to occur, or just what she might say during certain rituals, even if it's not anticipated? The crowd seems to exhibit the combination of both reverence and fear that Confessors inspire in the Seeker-verse.
Sky is a human in animal form! I can't wait to find out more about this.
What a compelling universe you've created - a wonderful central character, a curse, and many unanswered questions.
ETA: I really liked the complication that Kat doesn't believe in the rituals she's performing, but it's still her burden and obligation.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-30 06:57 pm (UTC)Is there magic? Yes, but maybe not so much as people believe. Is there a curse? Kat certainly believes so. How does the curse work? I'll have to get back to you on that :D I'm only certain that she can't deliberately say something like 'In two minutes it will rain' and have it happen. Magic's tricky like that.
I think Confessor is a good way to think about it, because while Kat is held in great reverence for her position and real or presumed talents, she's also feared and hated by many for the same reasons - along with gender issues that she's a High Queen and not a King, and that she's preparing them for a prophesied[?] war.
I don't think Sky is really human, but Kat loves him as much as a person - as a pet is a family member - and it is her perception that counts, so they're erring on the side of caution here.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-30 06:59 pm (UTC)I love the humor and the angst and everything is so fascinating and awwwwww)))))
*FLAILS*
So about this curse. Is it the "her word is law" kind of thing that comes with the title or something more personal? How does it work exactly?
And how does the blessing work btw? Is it just words or does it affect things in some mysterious magical way?
*excited*
And OMG YAY Tara has a braid! :D Somehow I couldn't have imagined her any other way))))
*FLAILS HARD*
no subject
Date: 2011-11-30 07:10 pm (UTC)"her word is law" is a really interesting way of putting it; I'll have to remember that :D I'm still figuring it out, although as I said above Kat can't say 'It will rain in two minutes' on purpose and have it happen; also her perception of things has a lot to do with it.
Kat isn't sure the blessings work at all and she feels vaguely embarrassed about the entire business of being called up on to bless things. But it's part of the job, and, as she says, maybe the gods are real and will listen. She's conflicted, spiritually, I think, which is quite a burden when people see her as being connected with the divine which is quite common for royalty.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-30 07:52 pm (UTC)As I see it this curse can only affect the things Kat herself are in control of or have a connection to... IDK how to explain it... The rain is out of her control, it's a force of nature. She can't order it. But her body is her own, so it is in her power to do whatever she likes with it. Also killing someone is an order she can give to her guards. So it's entirely in her power to say "touch me and you'll die".
Hm... that makes me think... o_O
So if she says this... the curse directly affects not the person who touches her (he didn't drop dead at her feet) but her loyal subjects who (as it seems) have no choice but to carry out her sentence... right?
So it is like a Confession in a way... They do what she says. Maybe not always but in the heat of the moment when Kat's emotions run high...
I'm babbling. Sorry.
Kat isn't sure the blessings work at all and she feels vaguely embarrassed about the entire business of being called up on to bless things.
Awwww, I love this! :D
Will we find out in the end of the series if the blessing truly has power or not? :D
no subject
Date: 2011-11-30 08:08 pm (UTC)Definitely a heat of the moment thing :D
Do the blessings have power? We'll have to see. I'm along on the ride too :D
edited for html fail.
no subject
Date: 2011-11-30 08:23 pm (UTC)So if she had touched someone that someone could have dropped dead, say, in three hours... or could have fallen off a horse to break his neck... or got killed by a random rebel... or whatever...
Do these things happen often? Was there some big tragedy in the past because of the curse?
Hm... Then why did they execute the prisoner? Wouldn't he die of the curse anyway?
no subject
Date: 2011-12-03 04:18 pm (UTC)Kat and Honor reminded me of Richard and Kahlan a bit here - everyone else is so terrified of her power, but he trusts her.
Also it was interesting how at first the crowd was desperate to touch her and be blessed, but then the curse kicks in and they're all terrified and confused.
This is a really fascinating world you've created :D
no subject
Date: 2011-12-03 04:57 pm (UTC)I'm still figuring out the details myself with regards to the curse. The Richard/Kahlan thing - yes, and Becky also noted the respect vs fear aspect of Confession fitting her. I just hope they never get that annoying. You have to tell me if I start drifting too much into Epic Doomed Love territory :D
no subject
Date: 2011-12-03 05:00 pm (UTC)I like that you put the emphasis more on Kat and her relationship to her people :)