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31_days2007-04-05 12:02 am
seta-suzume.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2007-04-05 12:02 am
[April 5, 2007][Original] The Duke is Dead, Long Live the Duke!
Title: The Duke is Dead, Long Live the Duke!
Day/Theme: April 5, 2007 whispers
Series: Original
Character/Pairing: James, Duke V. Rusalier
Rating: PG
Author's Comment: The first of several for this month about James and John. An introduction of sorts, but from here we proceed in no particular order...
There were whispered rumors circulating around the town surrounding Rusalier Castle. Doctors had been called in and the duke had been seen looking unusually drawn and pale. There was sickness visiting the castle. The townsfolk looked on with a mixture of concern and curiosity. Could this be a return of the two year plague? Were their families in any danger? Was the duke going to die?
Long-haired, lean James Sunfaur gazed at the stone walls of the castle as he passed by, pulling a cartload of finished cloth to sell to visiting merchants and Mistress Leigh, the seamstress. The sun winked down at him over the edges and he was forced to shield his dark brown eyes. "I wonder about the heir," he said to himself, grabbing the wood of the cart and beginning once more to pull it along.
The bells of the castle chapel tolled some time past midnight. James tugged the covers over his head and managed to quickly go back to sleep. That morning there were bound to be notices from the castle pinned up everywhere to give the news. On the leisurely stroll from his ramshackle home to the guild workhouse, James found this assumption to be entirely correct. Tacked lopsidedly here and there by the castle guard was the announcement, "His Lordship, the Most Excellent Duke Varic Damien Rusalier passed away last night. May all his loyal subjects remember his reign well and pray for his repose in the next life. May you equally rejoice at the accession of the rightful heir, Duke John Rene Rusalier, and pray that he may be a worthy successor."
James crossed his arms and thought. He still wanted to know what had killed Duke Varic and he was anxious to see the new duke who had rarely appeared in public up to this point. He had heard before that John Rusalier was a dusky blond with loose, wavy curls. James' own hair was dark and very straight, but he was curious to see if there was any resemblance. Duke John was his half-brother after all, although the new duke did not know it.
It was time to try and find new employment at Rusalier Castle! "I'll meet my brother," he whispered to himself, trying to build confidence. "I won't tell him right away. I'll wait until the time is right." He smiled at the stones of Rusalier Castle, knowing that his younger half-brother was somewhere inside beginning a new chapter in his life as a duke.
Day/Theme: April 5, 2007 whispers
Series: Original
Character/Pairing: James, Duke V. Rusalier
Rating: PG
Author's Comment: The first of several for this month about James and John. An introduction of sorts, but from here we proceed in no particular order...
There were whispered rumors circulating around the town surrounding Rusalier Castle. Doctors had been called in and the duke had been seen looking unusually drawn and pale. There was sickness visiting the castle. The townsfolk looked on with a mixture of concern and curiosity. Could this be a return of the two year plague? Were their families in any danger? Was the duke going to die?
Long-haired, lean James Sunfaur gazed at the stone walls of the castle as he passed by, pulling a cartload of finished cloth to sell to visiting merchants and Mistress Leigh, the seamstress. The sun winked down at him over the edges and he was forced to shield his dark brown eyes. "I wonder about the heir," he said to himself, grabbing the wood of the cart and beginning once more to pull it along.
The bells of the castle chapel tolled some time past midnight. James tugged the covers over his head and managed to quickly go back to sleep. That morning there were bound to be notices from the castle pinned up everywhere to give the news. On the leisurely stroll from his ramshackle home to the guild workhouse, James found this assumption to be entirely correct. Tacked lopsidedly here and there by the castle guard was the announcement, "His Lordship, the Most Excellent Duke Varic Damien Rusalier passed away last night. May all his loyal subjects remember his reign well and pray for his repose in the next life. May you equally rejoice at the accession of the rightful heir, Duke John Rene Rusalier, and pray that he may be a worthy successor."
James crossed his arms and thought. He still wanted to know what had killed Duke Varic and he was anxious to see the new duke who had rarely appeared in public up to this point. He had heard before that John Rusalier was a dusky blond with loose, wavy curls. James' own hair was dark and very straight, but he was curious to see if there was any resemblance. Duke John was his half-brother after all, although the new duke did not know it.
It was time to try and find new employment at Rusalier Castle! "I'll meet my brother," he whispered to himself, trying to build confidence. "I won't tell him right away. I'll wait until the time is right." He smiled at the stones of Rusalier Castle, knowing that his younger half-brother was somewhere inside beginning a new chapter in his life as a duke.