Fic: The Tide Will Turn

[meridian_rose]

Title: The Tide Will Turn
Fandom: Original
'Verse/Series: Aura
Pairing/Characters: Aura, Carter
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 388
Prompt: For the writerverse prompts 'Castles, Knights & Magic', 'Tomorrow', ' Candid'
Summary: Seeing Carter distraught at the state of the world, Aura tells him what she's learned throughout the years.
Warnings: None
Notes: A note on Aura/Aurelia in case there's any confusion. Since Aura is the name she's using when she first meets Carter, he always thinks of her as such, but she also goes by the name Aurelia (amongst others). It's the same character but Aura specifically refers to her modern-day persona with which Carter is familiar. A historical note follows at the end of the fic.

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"Let me be forthright," Aura told Carter, between sips of her tea. "There was never a Golden Age. That exists only in stories. There was never a Camelot as the legends tell it, a chivalric age of castles and knights and magic. Never a Garden of Eden, or even the glory days spoken of in our own mythology.

"Every era has both the good and bad. For every technological horror there is a benefit. In every culture there have been fundamentalists and cruel tyrants. In every country of the world there have been plagues and wars and the sort of hysteria we currently call 'witch-hunts'.

"We've lived a long time and we've experienced and witnessed the good and the bad, the rise and the fall of cultures and beliefs. And what keeps me sane when the world seems determined to devolve or destroy itself, is knowing that the tide will turn once more."

"Always?" Carter asked with cynicism. He wasn't going to be so easily moved.

She smiled wryly. "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but some day."

"So we should do nothing? Wait for things to get better?"

Aura shook her head. "On the contrary, only people change society. People who stand up and say enough. People who demand to be treated equally regardless of their sex, gender, skin colour or sexuality. People who create and devise inventions and works of art, who investigate and discuss and discover, who teach and inspire, and of course those who support and nurture, and heal and protect, and make these other things possible. People who lead, and people who follow."

She paused a moment. "But not us. We cannot lead without exposing ourselves. We sit on the sidelines though yes, we do support the causes we agree with and fund them where possible. However I could never have thrown myself in front of a king's horse to show my support for women's suffrage even if I'd a mind to."

Carter nodded. "And it wouldn't be the same if you had. You wouldn't be risking death or injury. The gesture would be nearly meaningless."

"Quite." She seemed delighted, as if he were a student who'd grasped something difficult she'd been trying to teach him. He'd have been more offended if he didn't like knowing he'd managed to surprise and please her.

---

Endnote:
Emily Davison famously died after throwing herself in front of King George V's horse during the 1913 Epsom Derby. The article suggests she may have been variously trying to disrupt the race, to attach a flag to the horse to draw attention to her cause, or even commit suicide. There's also dissent as to whether her actions furthered or harmed the suffragette cause, although the incident certainly garnered much publicity.
Her tombstone bears the Women's Social & Political Union motto 'Deeds Not Words', something Davison died doing. However something tragic, which I didn't know before reading this article, is the fate of Herbert Jones. Jones, the jockey riding the horse, was haunted by the incident and many years later took his own life. There may be unforseen consequences for one's actions.
A non-Wikipedia and fully illustrated account of the incident and those involved, along with some historical background including the treatment of suffragettes by the authorities: The Epsom Derby and the deaths of Emily Wilding Davison and Herbert ‘Diamond’ Jones

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Comments

[eternal-moonie.livejournal.com]

Absolutely LOVE it sweetie!!

[meridian_rose]

HUGS. Thank you :D

[hrhrionastar.livejournal.com]

On the contrary, only people change society. How true. I think what Aura says here makes a lot of sense, and I love the connection between Carter and Aura at the end, where they both understand Carter's point :D

What a sad story about Emily Davison and Herbert Jones. I'm glad to have the reference though, because you've taught me something new :)

[meridian_rose]

Thank you :D

To my shame, I knew the basics of the story, but not Davison's name and so I thought I'd look it up. It was so compelling and tragic on so many levels - and ugh, I'd forgotten how appallingly suffragettes were treated - that I thought I'd include the links as background for anyone else interested :D

[brontefanatic.livejournal.com]

Aura shook her head. "On the contrary, only people change society. People who stand up and say enough. People who demand to be treated equally regardless of their sex, gender, skin colour or sexuality. People who create and devise inventions and works of art, who investigate and discuss and discover, who teach and inspire, and of course those who support and nurture, and heal and protect, and make these other things possible. People who lead, and people who follow." This is great, and so true, but when you're in the midst of reactionary craziness, like we seem to be right now, it's very hard to see the big picture.

She paused a moment. "But not us. We cannot lead without exposing ourselves.It's interesting that while Aurelia can see the big picture and pronounce the need for people to get involved, she exempts herself because she would be putting her existence at risk, yet those very people she mentions have often, like the woman you mentioned in your note, lost their lives for a greater cause.

Aurelia can talk the talk, but she doesn't seem to think she has any investment in walking the walk.

[meridian_rose]

Near immortality can give perspective :D

You raise some interesting points about making a stand. I'm not sure I articulated my thoughts/Aura's reasoning here as well as I could have and may revisit this theme.
For Aura to throw herself in front of a horse and emerge unscathed would risk exposing her supernatural nature and put all of her kind in danger, not just herself And if she were arrested, could she really sit quietly and take the vicious punishments visited upon suffragettes or would she snap and kill every guard in the place? And Nikolai certainly wouldn't stand by and let her suffer. It would be tempting to remake the world in your image with that kind of power (as I had Damon do when he became Pope in Viva Il Papa) – I know I'd use my abilities more than most would deem acceptable.
It's probably better for everyone if they stick to words rather than deeds, to give advice and money, to be the power behind the scenes, nudging things along without actually getting involved. In a way they're not really of our world, and so move outside of human affairs.

You always make me think more about what I'm saying vs what I'm trying to say, and how that's coming across. That's incredibly valuable to me as I to improve :D

[dorothydeath.livejournal.com]

And what keeps me sane when the world seems determined to devolve or destroy itself, is knowing that the tide will turn once more.
Awwww, bb, this is just what I needed right now! And while the drabble itself is bittersweet it makes me feel all warm and hopeful and better. Thank you for writing this!
*HUGS*

[meridian_rose]

I'm glad you liked it :D I could do with some of her foresight too.

[haeceity]

Her view of history is interesting. I think the pendulum swings back and forth but generally things are getting better. I'm not sure it isn't all going to crash back down after we run out of oil or other resources. Something Aura, Nikki, and Robin might "live" to see.

[meridian_rose]

I'd like to think it gets better but it's always two steps forward, two steps back, or we wouldn't still be fighting for abortion rights or seeing laws trying to "outlaw" gay people existing :( And yes, the worse the world climate is (economically, scarce resources), the more the desire to distract by choosing a scapegoat and railing against it rather than fixing the underlying problems.

[haeceity]

I see some of that. But also that we have better resources to fight diseases. Food is easier to produce. Some young women recently found a relatively cheap way to purify water and if that spreads it would fix a lot of inequality and the rising problem of limited potable water. We know more about what makes people sick and outright owning people is increasingly frowned on. The pendulum is swinging back on rights for women, LGBTQIA, and other groups but I'm not ready to write itr off as going back to where it was in 1860 for example.