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31_days2008-08-26 12:42 pm
seta-suzume.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2008-08-26 12:42 pm
[Aug. 26, 2008][Original] He Doesn't Meet Expectations
Title: He Doesn't Meet Expectations
Day/Theme: Aug. 26, 2008 "You are all I know"
Series: Original
Character/Pairing: Arwystli, Venseth, Contessa, Freyanna
Rating: PG-13
I feel like this went all over the place.
"Mother, is it alright for me to appoint Prince Venseth as chief commander of the First Army? He's a very well-proven military man and I think he's a loyal enough person too," the petite and demure Emperor Arwystli asked, leaning over the side of his jeweled throne to confer with his mother in her place at his right hand. From the seat to his left, Princess Consort Contessa looked at him sadly. It was not her greatest pleasure to see the young man continually defer to his overbearing mother. As emperor, didn't Arwystli have a duty to his nation, as well as to the memory of his father who had chosen him as heir over three older siblings, to govern using his own best judgment and values? Emperor Chrysologus has to have been aware that Lady Freyanna would exercise some degree of control over her coddled son...could he truly have had no objection to his concubine ruling the empire?
"I wouldn't advise it," Freyanna said, making no effort to keep her voice low.
From where he knelt on the golden carpet, Prince Venseth could clearly hear her. He bit his lip, but did not speak. Contessa had still been out in the countryside during the bitter succession conflict, but she knew that despite the support Arwystli's siblings were willing to give the new emperor, Lady Freyanna was hated vehemently for her part in the bloodbath. Her determination to see her son coronated had taken her to desperate lengths. Venseth had lost his mother. He absolutely despised Freyanna.
"But I do think he should get a higher place in the military," Arwystli fussed. Perhaps it had been the way he was raised, but he mere idea of making a decision that went against his mother's wwill was bothersome to him.
Freyanna sighed, "Something nominal then?" she proposed.
"Prince Venseth, I hereby appoint you Knight of the Realm, Defender of the Empire, and personal guard to Princess Consort Contessa," Arwystli smiled pleasantly.
"You made that up right off the top of your head!" Venseth thought. However, he kept his frustrated commentary to himself. In this joke of a government, he was lucky to receive anything at all.
"My guard?" Contessa wondered.
"You're unhappy?" her husband asked. He seemed oblivious to the possibility that his wife might not want to be watched over by his half-brother.
"No, no," she waved her hands, brushing away any sign of discomfort at the appointment, "I'm sure it will be just fine."
"This will give us a chance to get to know one another," Venseth noted calmly. He seemed to be accepting his token position quite gracefully. Freyanna was all too aware of this. Venseth took the abuse patiently for that very reason. Freyanna was fuming.
For his part, Emperor Arwystli appeared blissfully unaware of the ill-will suffusing the very air around him. Either he was very unobservant, Contessa decided, or this was as close to calm as things ever got around here. Though it had not been entirely her choice in the first place, she wondered if marrying Arwystli had been a mistake. He was kind and good-natured, but completely subservient to his mother. Though he was relatively handsome, he suffered from strange health problems. His boyish hobbies and tastes revealed how young at heart he was- too young to be an emperor, too young to be a husband, and certainly too young to be a father- thought that seemed unlikely to occur anytime soon. They had played checkers on their wedding night. Arwystli slept in a separate room. He had no mistresses, had never had a romance in the past, and paid no special attention to any women, even the scantily-clad servant girls employed by Prince Venseth. Contessa did not consider herself a particularly sexual person, but Arwystli's libido was practically nonexistent. In that respect, he was the opposite of his late father.
Contessa rose from her seeat. "Come with me, Prince Venseth. I'll show you my quarters so you can give them a quick safety inspection."
"Of course, Your Highness," Venseth bowed politely and followed his sister-in-law. Contessa had only been married to the emperor for two weeks. Venseth had barely spoken to her in this time, so he could not find much to say or express interest in about her beyond the fact that she was pretty. Not the frilly, overdone beauty of many members of the nobility, but the beauty of a coarsely-raised peasant who had just happened to turn out that way. Rumors said she was a fifth child of Hephaestus Chrysologus, but Venseth didn't allow himself to pay much attention to the gossip. It could very well be true, but if it was, he didn't want to know. The last thing the royal family needed was more inbreeding...
Venseth held out hope that his future heirs would succeed the throne, not Arwystli's. He also hoped this outcome could be reached peacefully. He did not want to be forced to live through a repeat of the succession conflict.
Day/Theme: Aug. 26, 2008 "You are all I know"
Series: Original
Character/Pairing: Arwystli, Venseth, Contessa, Freyanna
Rating: PG-13
I feel like this went all over the place.
"Mother, is it alright for me to appoint Prince Venseth as chief commander of the First Army? He's a very well-proven military man and I think he's a loyal enough person too," the petite and demure Emperor Arwystli asked, leaning over the side of his jeweled throne to confer with his mother in her place at his right hand. From the seat to his left, Princess Consort Contessa looked at him sadly. It was not her greatest pleasure to see the young man continually defer to his overbearing mother. As emperor, didn't Arwystli have a duty to his nation, as well as to the memory of his father who had chosen him as heir over three older siblings, to govern using his own best judgment and values? Emperor Chrysologus has to have been aware that Lady Freyanna would exercise some degree of control over her coddled son...could he truly have had no objection to his concubine ruling the empire?
"I wouldn't advise it," Freyanna said, making no effort to keep her voice low.
From where he knelt on the golden carpet, Prince Venseth could clearly hear her. He bit his lip, but did not speak. Contessa had still been out in the countryside during the bitter succession conflict, but she knew that despite the support Arwystli's siblings were willing to give the new emperor, Lady Freyanna was hated vehemently for her part in the bloodbath. Her determination to see her son coronated had taken her to desperate lengths. Venseth had lost his mother. He absolutely despised Freyanna.
"But I do think he should get a higher place in the military," Arwystli fussed. Perhaps it had been the way he was raised, but he mere idea of making a decision that went against his mother's wwill was bothersome to him.
Freyanna sighed, "Something nominal then?" she proposed.
"Prince Venseth, I hereby appoint you Knight of the Realm, Defender of the Empire, and personal guard to Princess Consort Contessa," Arwystli smiled pleasantly.
"You made that up right off the top of your head!" Venseth thought. However, he kept his frustrated commentary to himself. In this joke of a government, he was lucky to receive anything at all.
"My guard?" Contessa wondered.
"You're unhappy?" her husband asked. He seemed oblivious to the possibility that his wife might not want to be watched over by his half-brother.
"No, no," she waved her hands, brushing away any sign of discomfort at the appointment, "I'm sure it will be just fine."
"This will give us a chance to get to know one another," Venseth noted calmly. He seemed to be accepting his token position quite gracefully. Freyanna was all too aware of this. Venseth took the abuse patiently for that very reason. Freyanna was fuming.
For his part, Emperor Arwystli appeared blissfully unaware of the ill-will suffusing the very air around him. Either he was very unobservant, Contessa decided, or this was as close to calm as things ever got around here. Though it had not been entirely her choice in the first place, she wondered if marrying Arwystli had been a mistake. He was kind and good-natured, but completely subservient to his mother. Though he was relatively handsome, he suffered from strange health problems. His boyish hobbies and tastes revealed how young at heart he was- too young to be an emperor, too young to be a husband, and certainly too young to be a father- thought that seemed unlikely to occur anytime soon. They had played checkers on their wedding night. Arwystli slept in a separate room. He had no mistresses, had never had a romance in the past, and paid no special attention to any women, even the scantily-clad servant girls employed by Prince Venseth. Contessa did not consider herself a particularly sexual person, but Arwystli's libido was practically nonexistent. In that respect, he was the opposite of his late father.
Contessa rose from her seeat. "Come with me, Prince Venseth. I'll show you my quarters so you can give them a quick safety inspection."
"Of course, Your Highness," Venseth bowed politely and followed his sister-in-law. Contessa had only been married to the emperor for two weeks. Venseth had barely spoken to her in this time, so he could not find much to say or express interest in about her beyond the fact that she was pretty. Not the frilly, overdone beauty of many members of the nobility, but the beauty of a coarsely-raised peasant who had just happened to turn out that way. Rumors said she was a fifth child of Hephaestus Chrysologus, but Venseth didn't allow himself to pay much attention to the gossip. It could very well be true, but if it was, he didn't want to know. The last thing the royal family needed was more inbreeding...
Venseth held out hope that his future heirs would succeed the throne, not Arwystli's. He also hoped this outcome could be reached peacefully. He did not want to be forced to live through a repeat of the succession conflict.