Fic: The Tide Will Turn
May. 29th, 2012 04:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_roseTitle: The Tide Will Turn
Fandom: Original
'Verse/Series: Aura
Pairing/Characters: Aura, Carter
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 388
Prompt: For the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
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.
"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
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.
"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
