Lazy Afternoon
Mar. 3rd, 2019 10:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feredarStory: Lazy Afternoon
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Lonura, Isshiri
Warnings: References to sex and the messy end of a relationship
Notes: This takes place during the fiveish years when Nolani and Lonura arepining not speaking to each other. Near-brother is a similar term to 'brother-in-law,' but relates to a formal romantic relationship that is not a legal marriage, for whatever reason. At some point, I should do probably do a thing about the marital/sexual laws of Glass. And maybe invent the rules of kefiri...
Lonura was wandering aimlessly through the public part of the palace gardens. They were near-deserted; it was the hottest part of the day, and sensible people were inside, out of the heat. But she liked the solitude, and the flowers’ perfume soaking into the still, dusty air, adding a touch of sweetness to the general haze.
And there were fond memories of hot, still afternoons like this one, from before the War had ended and her relationship with the princess had collapsed. They would slip out together and find an ornamental pool, where they would slip half-naked into the water and splash and tease each other, breathless and silent and a little bit giddy at the daring exhibitionism of it all.
Of course, they had never actually been caught. The princess was always careful to just toe the line of impropriety. So, they would find a private garden, and bar the gate behind them. But the potential for it was still there, adding a hint of movement to the air.
She was smiling a little sadly, when she passed another ornamental pool, this one with a fountain in the center. She was lost deeply enough in her daydream that she almost didn’t hear her name being called.
Prince Isshiri was sitting on the edge of the pool, with a well-worn kefiri travel set laid out in front of him. He was smiling at her.
She blinked, a little surprised, then smiled back and bowed. “Hello, Highness. It’s good to see you again.” He was…well, she hadn’t seen him much in the past few years. Not since things with his sister had fallen apart so spectacularly. She hadn’t expected him to be quite this friendly when they did meet again, for all that, in another life, he might have been her near-brother. True, they had gotten along fairly well, before, but...well, the end of her affair with his sister had been abrupt. Naturally, she had assumed he had taken the princess’s side in the matter.
On the other hand, his appearances at court were few and far between. Maybe he was still willing to be her friend, despite everything.
Or, perhaps…
No. She was not going to overthink this. Prince Isshiri was determinedly friendly with everyone, including--or so she’d been told--people actively trying to harm him.
“Will you join me?” he asked, indicating his game. “I’m not patient enough to play myself, and everyone else had gone inside.”
She knew the game; the princess had taught her years ago, in the early days of their relationship, before the prince had returned from his first trip west. Kefiri was a game of diplomacy and war, for anywhere up to seven players. Played by oneself, it was about taming the wilderness. The war grew more complicated the more armies were fielded. Depending on who the aggressor was--whose ‘fault’ caused the conflict--each piece had different patterns of movement, and each player had to be aware of how their opponents’ pieces were allowed to move. And that was before individual tactics and strategies came into play. Kefiri was a complex game--but it was very hard not to get completely engrossed and enjoy it while it lasted. Though that may have been as much because of her opponent as the game itself. Of course, as the princess had learned from her mother, Lonura had been miserably defeated every time.
But with defeat had come compensations.
She pulled her mind off that pathway, and smiled at him again. “I can’t promise you a good game, but I’ll try, Highness.”
He laughed a little. “I’ve been told I’m not patient enough to win, anyway.”
She joined him on the bench beside the pool, trying to covertly study him for the kind of report his sister would want. He seemed, as far as she could tell, to be more or less intact--he didn’t have any obvious injuries, he wasn’t overly thin, he didn’t seem tired. She’d have a better idea if she could see him moving, of course, but this was still encouraging.
“You look well, Highness,” she said, picking the aggressor’s side when he offered her the choice. It gave her the first move, and a slightly better chance of defeating one of Crown Princess Kesshare’s children in a strategy game.
“Thank you,” he said. “So do you.”
She bowed her head in acknowledgement and made her opening move. “Where were you travelling this time?”
“East,” he said, and a part of her was irrationally disappointed. She knew she’d been reading too much into this conversation. “All the way to the ocean,” he went on. “There were whales. I found someone with a boat to take me out for a closer look. He told me that they’re friendly, and it’s even possible to swim with them, if you’re careful of their size and their young.”
She knew the prince well enough to guess his response to that. He countered her play, and the next, and the next, fast and reckless. She knew the game well enough to know he was at risk of cornering himself.
Maybe she could win after all.
“Did you try it?”
“I wanted to,” he admitted. “But the weather turned and we had to return to shore.”
On his sister’s behalf, she was profoundly relieved. “Perhaps another time.”
“If I make my way over there again, yes,” he said. “And what about you? What have you been doing lately?”
“I stay at court for the most part,” she admitted. “I haven’t been to my estate since…I think since before the war.” Perhaps she should visit again. But she had a perfectly trustworthy steward to manage her affairs, and if she was in the mountains the next time the princess visited…
He nodded, and made another quick and, to her eyes, not entirely logical maneuver. “And are you happy?”
Her heart skipped a beat. He’d been eastward, not westward, but there was still--
She really should find a way to stop moping around the court for the chance to, on very rare occasions, see the princess. And she should really stop reading too much into her former lover’s younger brother’s easy friendliness.
She should also answer the question.
“I haven’t been unhappy, Highness,” she finally said. She didn’t want to overstate things, in case he was acting as his sister’s eyes and ears here. In either direction. At least, she was fairly sure, she would be able to win the game in the next three or four moves. Which, given her state of mind, might be for the best. True, seeing the prince had been hardly awkward at all, save for the privacy of her own thoughts, but at the same time…
He studied the board with a faint thoughtful crease between his eyes, then brightened and shifted a piece sideways, a just-barely-legal move she would never have considered. “And I believe I have you, my lady.”
She stared at the board for a long moment herself, trying to piece together exactly how he’d thought that through. “Very impressive, Highness.”
“I’ve been cornered a few too many times,” he said sheepishly. “It can be an advantage, if you know how to play it.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Why do I have the feeling you’re no longer talking about the game?”
He flushed a little and looked up at the sky, a too-innocent smile on his face. “I should have warned you, I play worse as the aggressor. We can try again, and switch, if you like?”
They still had perhaps an hour before the court came back to life. And it would hopefully keep Lonura from pining overmuch.
Besides. Someone had to keep him out of trouble.
“All right,” she said, and helped him reset the board. “If you’ll tell me more about the whales.”
He grinned at her, and the two of them settled in for a long, lazy afternoon of kefiri and stories that, even if she were still involved with his sister, would probably only worry her to hear. But the prince was safe and well, and, in hindsight, they were stories worth telling.
And, whether by his own sheer force of personality or by being her princess’s cherished little brother, spending the afternoon with Prince Isshiri made Lonura forget, for a little while, that she was lonely.
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Lonura, Isshiri
Warnings: References to sex and the messy end of a relationship
Notes: This takes place during the fiveish years when Nolani and Lonura are
Lonura was wandering aimlessly through the public part of the palace gardens. They were near-deserted; it was the hottest part of the day, and sensible people were inside, out of the heat. But she liked the solitude, and the flowers’ perfume soaking into the still, dusty air, adding a touch of sweetness to the general haze.
And there were fond memories of hot, still afternoons like this one, from before the War had ended and her relationship with the princess had collapsed. They would slip out together and find an ornamental pool, where they would slip half-naked into the water and splash and tease each other, breathless and silent and a little bit giddy at the daring exhibitionism of it all.
Of course, they had never actually been caught. The princess was always careful to just toe the line of impropriety. So, they would find a private garden, and bar the gate behind them. But the potential for it was still there, adding a hint of movement to the air.
She was smiling a little sadly, when she passed another ornamental pool, this one with a fountain in the center. She was lost deeply enough in her daydream that she almost didn’t hear her name being called.
Prince Isshiri was sitting on the edge of the pool, with a well-worn kefiri travel set laid out in front of him. He was smiling at her.
She blinked, a little surprised, then smiled back and bowed. “Hello, Highness. It’s good to see you again.” He was…well, she hadn’t seen him much in the past few years. Not since things with his sister had fallen apart so spectacularly. She hadn’t expected him to be quite this friendly when they did meet again, for all that, in another life, he might have been her near-brother. True, they had gotten along fairly well, before, but...well, the end of her affair with his sister had been abrupt. Naturally, she had assumed he had taken the princess’s side in the matter.
On the other hand, his appearances at court were few and far between. Maybe he was still willing to be her friend, despite everything.
Or, perhaps…
No. She was not going to overthink this. Prince Isshiri was determinedly friendly with everyone, including--or so she’d been told--people actively trying to harm him.
“Will you join me?” he asked, indicating his game. “I’m not patient enough to play myself, and everyone else had gone inside.”
She knew the game; the princess had taught her years ago, in the early days of their relationship, before the prince had returned from his first trip west. Kefiri was a game of diplomacy and war, for anywhere up to seven players. Played by oneself, it was about taming the wilderness. The war grew more complicated the more armies were fielded. Depending on who the aggressor was--whose ‘fault’ caused the conflict--each piece had different patterns of movement, and each player had to be aware of how their opponents’ pieces were allowed to move. And that was before individual tactics and strategies came into play. Kefiri was a complex game--but it was very hard not to get completely engrossed and enjoy it while it lasted. Though that may have been as much because of her opponent as the game itself. Of course, as the princess had learned from her mother, Lonura had been miserably defeated every time.
But with defeat had come compensations.
She pulled her mind off that pathway, and smiled at him again. “I can’t promise you a good game, but I’ll try, Highness.”
He laughed a little. “I’ve been told I’m not patient enough to win, anyway.”
She joined him on the bench beside the pool, trying to covertly study him for the kind of report his sister would want. He seemed, as far as she could tell, to be more or less intact--he didn’t have any obvious injuries, he wasn’t overly thin, he didn’t seem tired. She’d have a better idea if she could see him moving, of course, but this was still encouraging.
“You look well, Highness,” she said, picking the aggressor’s side when he offered her the choice. It gave her the first move, and a slightly better chance of defeating one of Crown Princess Kesshare’s children in a strategy game.
“Thank you,” he said. “So do you.”
She bowed her head in acknowledgement and made her opening move. “Where were you travelling this time?”
“East,” he said, and a part of her was irrationally disappointed. She knew she’d been reading too much into this conversation. “All the way to the ocean,” he went on. “There were whales. I found someone with a boat to take me out for a closer look. He told me that they’re friendly, and it’s even possible to swim with them, if you’re careful of their size and their young.”
She knew the prince well enough to guess his response to that. He countered her play, and the next, and the next, fast and reckless. She knew the game well enough to know he was at risk of cornering himself.
Maybe she could win after all.
“Did you try it?”
“I wanted to,” he admitted. “But the weather turned and we had to return to shore.”
On his sister’s behalf, she was profoundly relieved. “Perhaps another time.”
“If I make my way over there again, yes,” he said. “And what about you? What have you been doing lately?”
“I stay at court for the most part,” she admitted. “I haven’t been to my estate since…I think since before the war.” Perhaps she should visit again. But she had a perfectly trustworthy steward to manage her affairs, and if she was in the mountains the next time the princess visited…
He nodded, and made another quick and, to her eyes, not entirely logical maneuver. “And are you happy?”
Her heart skipped a beat. He’d been eastward, not westward, but there was still--
She really should find a way to stop moping around the court for the chance to, on very rare occasions, see the princess. And she should really stop reading too much into her former lover’s younger brother’s easy friendliness.
She should also answer the question.
“I haven’t been unhappy, Highness,” she finally said. She didn’t want to overstate things, in case he was acting as his sister’s eyes and ears here. In either direction. At least, she was fairly sure, she would be able to win the game in the next three or four moves. Which, given her state of mind, might be for the best. True, seeing the prince had been hardly awkward at all, save for the privacy of her own thoughts, but at the same time…
He studied the board with a faint thoughtful crease between his eyes, then brightened and shifted a piece sideways, a just-barely-legal move she would never have considered. “And I believe I have you, my lady.”
She stared at the board for a long moment herself, trying to piece together exactly how he’d thought that through. “Very impressive, Highness.”
“I’ve been cornered a few too many times,” he said sheepishly. “It can be an advantage, if you know how to play it.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Why do I have the feeling you’re no longer talking about the game?”
He flushed a little and looked up at the sky, a too-innocent smile on his face. “I should have warned you, I play worse as the aggressor. We can try again, and switch, if you like?”
They still had perhaps an hour before the court came back to life. And it would hopefully keep Lonura from pining overmuch.
Besides. Someone had to keep him out of trouble.
“All right,” she said, and helped him reset the board. “If you’ll tell me more about the whales.”
He grinned at her, and the two of them settled in for a long, lazy afternoon of kefiri and stories that, even if she were still involved with his sister, would probably only worry her to hear. But the prince was safe and well, and, in hindsight, they were stories worth telling.
And, whether by his own sheer force of personality or by being her princess’s cherished little brother, spending the afternoon with Prince Isshiri made Lonura forget, for a little while, that she was lonely.