ext_158887 (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
seta-suzume.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
31_days2007-04-14 07:18 pm
seta-suzume.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2007-04-14 07:18 pm
[April 14, 2007][Original] The Red Kite
Title: The Red Kite
Day/Theme: April 14, 2007 reflections in the water
Series: Original
Character/Pairing: Cara, Thomas
Rating: PG
Cara lived in a castle on a bridge. It was a wooden castle, white and brown, and the bridge was hard, gray stone, the kind that clattered in welcome with the clomp of horses' hooves. The castle, Lanimir Castle, was stacked tall like a layer cake with balconies, eves, and ornaments jutting out like frosting. Often a red kite could be seen flying above the place, far above the highest pennants and banners. The son of the duke was housed in the very top of the castle and the kite was his. No window was close enough to examine him clearly from, but from a perch on the surrounding walls, one could catch a glimpse of the elusive Thomas Valdir leaning on the windowsill as he flew his kite. In the sun his hair looked red, deep and raspberry, but that was all of him that could be guessed at. Cara rarely had a reason to go up on the walls, but she liked to look at him when she did. They said he was not handsome, but she didn't care. It wasn't like she would ever actually meet him. The idea of a youth locked up like a princess in a tower was rather romantic to her and that was all that mattered.
Duke Valdir was embarrassed of his son, said the guards, the men who knew him best. The duke was not a very public person and so the common folk serving in the castle usually had to rely on the guards to learn anything about their ruler or his son. Lord Thomas was unable to walk, they said, and he was also somewhat disfigured. Cara didn't know anything about that. She took their word for it. She was wood cutter and her job was to keep the guardhouse, the kitchens, and the main house stocked with firewood. It was a largely solitary position. Cara had been born in the neighboring dukedom, the domain of the Rusaliers, where the personal life of Duke Varic was the favored topic of all gossips circles. (It didn't matter that Varic Damien Rusalier seemed to lead a boring life of vanilla and croissants. Everyone still loved to talk about him.) She had come to Lanimir Castle out of a pure sense of adventure and boredom at home. In the other dukedom she had worked for the pottery guild. Working at the castle was more fun.
With her axe hung in place on her back along with the woven basket of wood swinging rhythmically from her shoulder, Cara strode along the bridge past lounging guards and traveling merchants chattering in languages she could not understand. She paused to lean on the side of the bridge and look down into the water below. In the ripples of the river, Cara could see the fluttering reflection of Thomas Valdir's red kite.
Day/Theme: April 14, 2007 reflections in the water
Series: Original
Character/Pairing: Cara, Thomas
Rating: PG
Cara lived in a castle on a bridge. It was a wooden castle, white and brown, and the bridge was hard, gray stone, the kind that clattered in welcome with the clomp of horses' hooves. The castle, Lanimir Castle, was stacked tall like a layer cake with balconies, eves, and ornaments jutting out like frosting. Often a red kite could be seen flying above the place, far above the highest pennants and banners. The son of the duke was housed in the very top of the castle and the kite was his. No window was close enough to examine him clearly from, but from a perch on the surrounding walls, one could catch a glimpse of the elusive Thomas Valdir leaning on the windowsill as he flew his kite. In the sun his hair looked red, deep and raspberry, but that was all of him that could be guessed at. Cara rarely had a reason to go up on the walls, but she liked to look at him when she did. They said he was not handsome, but she didn't care. It wasn't like she would ever actually meet him. The idea of a youth locked up like a princess in a tower was rather romantic to her and that was all that mattered.
Duke Valdir was embarrassed of his son, said the guards, the men who knew him best. The duke was not a very public person and so the common folk serving in the castle usually had to rely on the guards to learn anything about their ruler or his son. Lord Thomas was unable to walk, they said, and he was also somewhat disfigured. Cara didn't know anything about that. She took their word for it. She was wood cutter and her job was to keep the guardhouse, the kitchens, and the main house stocked with firewood. It was a largely solitary position. Cara had been born in the neighboring dukedom, the domain of the Rusaliers, where the personal life of Duke Varic was the favored topic of all gossips circles. (It didn't matter that Varic Damien Rusalier seemed to lead a boring life of vanilla and croissants. Everyone still loved to talk about him.) She had come to Lanimir Castle out of a pure sense of adventure and boredom at home. In the other dukedom she had worked for the pottery guild. Working at the castle was more fun.
With her axe hung in place on her back along with the woven basket of wood swinging rhythmically from her shoulder, Cara strode along the bridge past lounging guards and traveling merchants chattering in languages she could not understand. She paused to lean on the side of the bridge and look down into the water below. In the ripples of the river, Cara could see the fluttering reflection of Thomas Valdir's red kite.