Fic and Art: Bad Dreams
Apr. 22nd, 2013 02:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_roseTitle: Bad Dreams
Fandom: Original
'Verse/Series: Kat (High Queen)
Pairing/Characters: Kat, Honor
Rating: PG-13
Type: Artwork and Fic (889 words)
Prompt: For the trope bingo prompt "sharing a bed"
Summary: The dream is always the same save for one detail; the blood is always there, haunting her.
Content Notes: No standard warnings apply.
Index Page for this series: DW/ LJ
Kat looked down at her hands. Blood clung to her skin, though she'd tried to wipe it off. It had pooled around one of her rings and the undersides of her nails were stained red.
Worse was her dress, the lacing and silk panels blood spattered. Towards her skirts there were splotches of red, while the corset seemed to have mostly been bloodied by her attempts to wipe her hands.
It wasn't hers. But there was a lot of it.
Kat fell to her knees, sobbing.
And woke, gasping for breath.
She sat up and tried to gather her thoughts. She stared down at her hands which were clean, as was her nightgown. Just a dream. That dream. Again.
It was dark, still the middle of the night. She lay back down but there was no way she could go back to sleep. Even after her heart had stopped pounding as if she'd run for miles, her anxiety remained.
Kat slipped out of bed and, not even bothering to put on a robe, headed out into the corridor. The guard at the end of the corridor tipped his head but Kat shook her head at him. Reassured, he followed her but a discreet distance now he didn't believe she was in danger.
The flagstones were cold on her bare feet, but Kat didn't care. She hesitated at the end of the corridor, remembered Cal wasn't in the castle, and crossed the intersection. The guard stopped, correctly guessing she was going to head into the room immediately to her right.
Kat didn't knock, and Honor rarely locked his door. He was a light sleeper and stirred as she entered. He blinked at her. The only light was behind her, one of the lanterns in the corridor casting her into shadow. "Kat?"
"I can't sleep."
Honor groaned. "So if you can't sleep no one gets to?"
At another time, Kat might have made a sarcastic retort. However tonight, her emotions raw, she burst into tears. Honor sat up, wide awake, looking guilty.
"Kat, Kat, come here."
She kicked the door shut behind her, and stumbled in the resulting darkness to the bed. Honor embraced her, pulling her to him and fidgeting with the covers until she was cuddled against him under the blankets.
"Don't cry my pretty one," he begged. "Sssh, it's okay."
"I – I had the dream again," she hiccupped. "All that blood."
Honor squeezed her tightly. "It's okay. It's okay."
"You don't understand," she whimpered.
"No. My dreams are not prophetic." He stroked her hair. "Maybe yours aren't either."
"This one feels like prophecy." There could be no arguing with that.
Kat had been having recurring dreams for five years and they always unnerved her. This particular one was the worst. Always the same, but for the colour of her bloodstained dress. Sometimes her gown looked white, sometimes rose, or lilac. Other times it appeared to be indigo or midnight blue or even a vermillion that the blood nevertheless visibly stained.
If she knew the true colour, she'd never wear it again.
When Kat was calmer they shifted position so that she was lying next to him. He kept hold of her hand and they stared at the dark stone ceiling. Her bed had a canopy, with curtains she never drew, but Honor found such things unnecessary and fussy. The bed linens were every bit as fine as her own, though, and she'd have fought him tooth and nail before she'd have it any other way. Certain luxuries were a perk of his station and he should enjoy them.
After a few minutes of unexpected silence Kat said, "Cal talks to me."
"Of course he does," Honor said dryly, his wry humour returning now Kat wasn't an emotional wreck. "It's what he does best."
A mischievous smile played on Kat's lips. "Maybe second best, but neither of us will ever know for sure."
Honor didn't quite manage to stifle a laugh. "Why didn't you to go his room then?"
"He's helping Elias with something." Cal's talkative nature, which always took her mind off a nightmare, was the reason she had in fact wanted to go to his room. However he was working on a week long sorting and indexing project at the library and was sleeping in the attic there until for the duration. She had a suspicion that Elias had insisted on the arrangement so that Cal didn't wander off on another "errand" or show up late every day if he found this particular job dull. "You’d rather I didn’t come to your room?"
Honor hesitated before he spoke. "Of course I don't mind. It's only that I do need sleep. And some time alone."
"I'm sorry."
He squeezed her hand. "No. I'll always make time for you."
Kat closed her eyes and willed sleep to come, but to no avail. Honor slept first and she listened to him breathing, feeling a little better for being with him rather than alone in her room. She hated that the dreams affected her so – she was an adult, a queen! Yet the fear they invoked left her shaken and if seeking comfort from Cal or Honor was what she needed, so be it. She rolled over and leant her head on Honor's shoulder, and at last, she drifted to sleep.
ARTWORK
Notes:
The characters I created at Azalea's Dress up Dolls. Honor's not quite right but Kat's pretty accurate as I see her :) I adjusted the poses in Photoshop and created the bed with various vector graphics and textures, adding final textures as I would any other graphic.
Fandom: Original
'Verse/Series: Kat (High Queen)
Pairing/Characters: Kat, Honor
Rating: PG-13
Type: Artwork and Fic (889 words)
Prompt: For the trope bingo prompt "sharing a bed"
Summary: The dream is always the same save for one detail; the blood is always there, haunting her.
Content Notes: No standard warnings apply.
Index Page for this series: DW/ LJ
Kat looked down at her hands. Blood clung to her skin, though she'd tried to wipe it off. It had pooled around one of her rings and the undersides of her nails were stained red.
Worse was her dress, the lacing and silk panels blood spattered. Towards her skirts there were splotches of red, while the corset seemed to have mostly been bloodied by her attempts to wipe her hands.
It wasn't hers. But there was a lot of it.
Kat fell to her knees, sobbing.
And woke, gasping for breath.
She sat up and tried to gather her thoughts. She stared down at her hands which were clean, as was her nightgown. Just a dream. That dream. Again.
It was dark, still the middle of the night. She lay back down but there was no way she could go back to sleep. Even after her heart had stopped pounding as if she'd run for miles, her anxiety remained.
Kat slipped out of bed and, not even bothering to put on a robe, headed out into the corridor. The guard at the end of the corridor tipped his head but Kat shook her head at him. Reassured, he followed her but a discreet distance now he didn't believe she was in danger.
The flagstones were cold on her bare feet, but Kat didn't care. She hesitated at the end of the corridor, remembered Cal wasn't in the castle, and crossed the intersection. The guard stopped, correctly guessing she was going to head into the room immediately to her right.
Kat didn't knock, and Honor rarely locked his door. He was a light sleeper and stirred as she entered. He blinked at her. The only light was behind her, one of the lanterns in the corridor casting her into shadow. "Kat?"
"I can't sleep."
Honor groaned. "So if you can't sleep no one gets to?"
At another time, Kat might have made a sarcastic retort. However tonight, her emotions raw, she burst into tears. Honor sat up, wide awake, looking guilty.
"Kat, Kat, come here."
She kicked the door shut behind her, and stumbled in the resulting darkness to the bed. Honor embraced her, pulling her to him and fidgeting with the covers until she was cuddled against him under the blankets.
"Don't cry my pretty one," he begged. "Sssh, it's okay."
"I – I had the dream again," she hiccupped. "All that blood."
Honor squeezed her tightly. "It's okay. It's okay."
"You don't understand," she whimpered.
"No. My dreams are not prophetic." He stroked her hair. "Maybe yours aren't either."
"This one feels like prophecy." There could be no arguing with that.
Kat had been having recurring dreams for five years and they always unnerved her. This particular one was the worst. Always the same, but for the colour of her bloodstained dress. Sometimes her gown looked white, sometimes rose, or lilac. Other times it appeared to be indigo or midnight blue or even a vermillion that the blood nevertheless visibly stained.
If she knew the true colour, she'd never wear it again.
When Kat was calmer they shifted position so that she was lying next to him. He kept hold of her hand and they stared at the dark stone ceiling. Her bed had a canopy, with curtains she never drew, but Honor found such things unnecessary and fussy. The bed linens were every bit as fine as her own, though, and she'd have fought him tooth and nail before she'd have it any other way. Certain luxuries were a perk of his station and he should enjoy them.
After a few minutes of unexpected silence Kat said, "Cal talks to me."
"Of course he does," Honor said dryly, his wry humour returning now Kat wasn't an emotional wreck. "It's what he does best."
A mischievous smile played on Kat's lips. "Maybe second best, but neither of us will ever know for sure."
Honor didn't quite manage to stifle a laugh. "Why didn't you to go his room then?"
"He's helping Elias with something." Cal's talkative nature, which always took her mind off a nightmare, was the reason she had in fact wanted to go to his room. However he was working on a week long sorting and indexing project at the library and was sleeping in the attic there until for the duration. She had a suspicion that Elias had insisted on the arrangement so that Cal didn't wander off on another "errand" or show up late every day if he found this particular job dull. "You’d rather I didn’t come to your room?"
Honor hesitated before he spoke. "Of course I don't mind. It's only that I do need sleep. And some time alone."
"I'm sorry."
He squeezed her hand. "No. I'll always make time for you."
Kat closed her eyes and willed sleep to come, but to no avail. Honor slept first and she listened to him breathing, feeling a little better for being with him rather than alone in her room. She hated that the dreams affected her so – she was an adult, a queen! Yet the fear they invoked left her shaken and if seeking comfort from Cal or Honor was what she needed, so be it. She rolled over and leant her head on Honor's shoulder, and at last, she drifted to sleep.
ARTWORK
Notes:
The characters I created at Azalea's Dress up Dolls. Honor's not quite right but Kat's pretty accurate as I see her :) I adjusted the poses in Photoshop and created the bed with various vector graphics and textures, adding final textures as I would any other graphic.
no subject
Date: 2013-04-23 02:29 am (UTC)If she knew the true colour was, she'd never wear it again. I wonder if that's why she can't see the real color. (Also - 'if she what the true color was,' I think.)
Lovely graphic. I always picture Kat with red hair (and you've probably told us) so it's nice to have that fit :) How does Honor not fit your image of him?
no subject
Date: 2013-04-23 09:42 am (UTC)knew [what] the true Of course you're right. Would you believe that I wrote the first half of the fic three times for writerverse (reducing in length each time for each part of the challenge) and then re-edited the best sections and wrote the expanded scene (everything past that line) and despite two re-reads for sense, I still missed that?! As a reader I'd have been on that like a hawk on a field mouse but I find it damn near impossible to be purely a reader for my own work. It's why a beta is so important! I'll fix it :D
I wonder if that's why she can't see the real color. Absolutely. If prophecy is too obvious, it's easy to avoid it!
I always picture Kat with red hair (and you've probably told us) I think I've mentioned it and it's important so it will probably come up again!
How does Honor not fit your image of him? The character creators are great but some are more limited than others in terms of what you can change, and what available items there are. The Game of Thrones (which I used) for example allows you to give a character Khal Drogo's distinctive beard and add dragons/direwolves to the scene; The Tudors version gives period appropriate clothing. But there's little to be done about body shape/height, and a rather limited selection of hair styles and facial features. The hair just isn't right and I can't get the facial features to my liking either. But it will do for now :) Way better than my hand drawing or even my tracing reference pic attempts!
no subject
Date: 2013-04-23 11:14 pm (UTC)But there's little to be done about body shape/height, and a rather limited selection of hair styles and facial features. A limitation of this sort of online put-it-together thing. Honestly, though, I don't usually draw my characters because I can never get them to look the way I imagine them. Often I use symbols instead - something to represent them in my mind, what they're like or what they care about or just an object that's associated with them (for Richard it might be the Sword of Truth, say).