A birthday!
Sep. 20th, 2013 05:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
frolijahfanWishing a very happy birthday to lbilover This isn't much, but you did say that you would like one of my S/E plot bunnies if I could get them to settle long enough to become something. So here it is: my very first S/E.
I hope that you enjoy it.
"Daaa-ddy!! Come on! We're gonna be late!"
Sean and Elijah shared an amused glance. Lizzie had been able to speak of nothing but the Renaissance Faire all week, and now that the weekend had finally arrived, she could barely contain her impatience.
"Easy there, Lizzie-my-love. The Faire will last all day. We've got plenty of time."
"But Lijah, I don't wanna miss anything!"
Stifling a grin, Elijah walked out of their bedroom to join the three girls in the living room. Ally was doing her best to hide her anticipation beneath a mask of teenage "cool," but he could see the gleam in her eyes and knew that she was just as excited as her younger sister. And Bella -- well, everyone else was excited, so she was too.
Sean joined them a minute later. "Well, my ladies, shall we go hence?"
"Oh, Daddy, you're so funny," Lizzie giggled.
"Funny, am I? I'll have you know that I am speaking 'forsoothly,' as is but fitting. Mock me at your peril."
"Fie, Sir Sean! A knight should not speak so to his lady," Elijah chided. And then added in an aside to the girls, "See? I can speak 'forsoothly,' too!"
All of them were laughing as they got into the car and headed toward the Faire.
Once they had parked out in the field adjoining the Faire site, they trudged to the gate where Sean bought their tickets. The costumed Faire staff welcomed them as they entered, "Greetings, my lords, my ladies. Welcome to the town of Berkston-on-the-Brae, where today we will be honored by the presence of our gracious queen, as she visits Lord Berkston. Divers entertainments have been planned for her amusement, and it is our hope that you, too, shall find them enjoyable."
"We surely shall, good sir," Sean replied, and led the way inside. The first thing that they saw was a cart just inside the gate, selling flower wreaths. "What say you, my ladies? Shall we adorn your fair heads with a caplet of flowers?"
"Oh, Daddy, yes!"
And so commenced a day out of time. They visited the shops selling all sorts of wares, from full medieval costumes to crystals, from leather goods to swords. Elijah managed to talk Lizzie out of the wax hand that had caught her eye in favor of a butterfly wand bedecked with ribbons. "Much more fitting for the Lady Lizzie, don't you agree?"
Bella had set her heart on a pair of fairy wings that Sean tied carefully around her shoulders. "There! A true fairy princess you are, m'lady!" And Ally, after careful consideration, opted for a pair of exquisitely wrought Celtic design earrings.
By this time they were all feeling more than a bit hungry. Sean did his best to find some reasonably healthy options amongst all the Faire food, but consoled himself for his lack of success with the thought that it was, after all, only one meal. Elijah insisted on getting a turkey legge. "Don't I look like Henry VIII?"
And of course there were the various shows. After lunch they went to the mid-day joust, featuring Sir Guy, a seasoned veteran of many tournaments, and Sir Eric, newly-knighted and inexperienced. The audience was split into two camps, one side rooting for each knight, with costumed staff coaching each side in cheers for their knight. Elijah watched their knight, Sir Eric, and murmured, "I think that we're doomed, Sean. Just listen to them."
"But we're on the side of Right, Elijah. I'm sure of it. How can we lose?"
"When the other guy's chant is 'Cheat to win!'? Think about it, Seanie."
The joust proceeded, Sir Eric doing unexpectedly well, and appeared to end in a draw. The two met in the center of the field and Sir Eric reached out to congratulate his adversary. Sir Guy wheeled his horse quickly and drew his sword across Sir Eric's neck, causing a great gout of blood to spurt out as Sir Eric fell limply from his horse. Several people in the crowd screamed as Sir Guy rode in a smirking victory lap around the field to the accompaniment of the steady chant of "Cheat to win!" from his adherents and outraged "Boos" from those of Sir Eric. He then rode back to the center of the field where the Faire staff had helped Sir Eric back onto his horse. Both knight bowed to the crowd and rode off the field together to a thunderous roar of applause.
"Have to say, I wasn't quite expecting that, were you, Lij?"
"No, but after all his motto *was* 'Cheat to win!'"
"Are you o.k., Bella? Sir Eric is really all right, you know. They were just playing; no one got hurt."
Bella nodded, wide-eyed. "Sir Guy was *mean,* Daddy. I don't like him."
"Me neither, Bella. Me neither."
They next headed to the Mud Show. Making sure that they were far enough back to be out of the "splash zone," they watched three actors perform a warped parody of the story of Gilgamesh (and his friend Inky-doo) which consisted chiefly of excuses to push one another into a pool of extremely viscous mud and splash it as far into the audience as possible. Sean was familiar enough with the story of Gilgamesh to at least know what they were parodying. The girls just giggled at the sight of three grown men playing in the mud.
As they left the Muditorium, they were stopped by the passage of the Queen and her court, making her Progress through the village. "I give you good day, my subjects," the Queen called out, and they joined the crowd in shouting 'Huzzah!' and 'God save the Queen!' After the court had passed on, Lizzie asked, "What does 'Huzzah' mean, Daddy?"
"It's the medieval way of saying 'Hooray!,' Lizzie."
Music there was a-plenty, also, from solitary buskers to full-fledged musical stage shows to, at one point, a bagpipe band that could easily be heard at any point on the Faire site. They stopped to listen to several of them and leave money in their hats (or whatever receptacle they happened to be using). Lizzie predictably wanted to know why. "Because this is the way they earn their living, sweetheart. And they're very good, don't you think?"
As the afternoon waned. Sean and Elijah took turns carrying Bella, who was beginning to flag a bit. "One last show, I think, my ladies, before we leave. What would be your pleasure?"
"Daddy! No! We want to stay longer! There's lots we haven't done yet."
"The Faire will be closing soon, Lizzie. We should have just about enough time to see one more show. How about The Duellists? They're about to start."
They found seats near the stage and settled in to watch Gaston and Derek, two self-proclaimed "gentlemen adventurers," demonstrate swordplay and courtly behavior. For the conclusion of their act, they addressed the audience. "Now, which of you lovely ladies has been accompanied today by a handsome and manly man? That's it, raise your hands. Higher. We shall endeavor to instruct some of these gallants in the fine art of being pleasing to a lady."
Elijah looked at Ally, jerked his head up, then grinned and nodded. Ally giggled and raised her hand, while Elijah grasped Lizzie's and Bella's hands and raised them as well. Gaston picked several of the men at random, but when he saw Sean's forest of raised hands, he of course chose Sean. "You are most fortunate. good sir, to have such a garden of lovelies." Sean, with a look at Elijah and the girls that promised later retribution, could only smile and agree and then joined the other chosen men on the stage. There, Derek and Gaston demonstrated proper posture, how to strike a manly pose, and display a well-turned leg. Sean entered into all this good-naturedly, but did respond to Elijah's wolf whistles with a mock glare. After a final manly strut around the stage, they were given a red rose and a "homework" assignment -- to present the rose to their lady and kiss them properly. Sean, having been given three roses, returned to his broadly smiling daughters and gave them each a big hug and a kiss before presenting their flowers with a flourish. Then he looked at Elijah and muttered, "I'll deal with *you* later."
Elijah raised his eyebrows. "Good."
As the town criers announced the Faire's imminent closing, Sean began organizing their departure. "Does everybody have all their stuff? I don't want to have to come back because something's been forgotten." Elijah knelt and carefully removed Bella's fairy wings. "We don't want them to get bent in the car, do we, Bells?" She shook her head emphatically *no.* "All righty then, up you go, m'lady. Your trusty steed awaits." Elijah lifted Bella up over his head and then settled her on his shoulders and stood carefully.
Sean steadied Elijah briefly, then clasped Lizzie's hand and offered his other arm to Ally. "Very well, then, my ladies. I fear that it's back to Mundania for all of us."
"What's Mundania, Daddy?"
"The humdrum, unmagical 'real world,' Lizzie." They passed through the gate, bidding farewell to the gatekeepers and trudged across the field to the car. Sean's query "Did everyone have a good time?" met with a trio of enthusiastic yeses and a "Can we come back, Daddy? Can we?"
"I don't see why not," Sean replied. "The Faire runs for another five weeks. We'll see if we can work out a time."
After a day of Faire food, Sean was adamant that they find a more nutritious dinner. so on their way home they stopped at a favorite spot that specialized in simple, well-cooked family food. By the time that they had finished eating, Bella was more than half asleep and even Lizzie was drooping.
"I think that it's time for two of our princesses to retire to their towers for the night, don't you, Sir Sean?"
"I certainly do, my Lord Lijah."
Once they had returned home they moved into their normal night-time routine, finishing with stories and hugs and kisses, then turned out the lights and closed the doors on two happy (but very tired) young girls. Ally, after bidding them good-night, disappeared into her own room to do some reading.
As they retreated to their own bedroom and closed the door, Sean turned to Elijah. "And just what did you mean by encouraging the girls to get me up on that stage? And don't try to deny it-- I saw you egging Ally on and raising Bella's and Lizzie's hands. You're just darned lucky that Gaston didn't decide that they meant you instead of me."
"But, Sean, you *are* such a fine handsome manly man. That fact needed to be demonstrated, even though I don't qualify as a 'lovely lady.' And don't you still have some homework to do? I'll forego the rose, but I do want that 'proper' kiss."
"I'll give you a 'proper' kiss, you rapscallion. And more. Come here, you!" Sand reached for Elijah and pulled him close, and as their arms clasped and their lips met, they thoroughly disproved the very idea that they were in Mundania as they sank into the magic of true love's kiss.
lbilover This isn't much, but you did say that you would like one of my S/E plot bunnies if I could get them to settle long enough to become something. So here it is: my very first S/E.I hope that you enjoy it.
"Daaa-ddy!! Come on! We're gonna be late!"
Sean and Elijah shared an amused glance. Lizzie had been able to speak of nothing but the Renaissance Faire all week, and now that the weekend had finally arrived, she could barely contain her impatience.
"Easy there, Lizzie-my-love. The Faire will last all day. We've got plenty of time."
"But Lijah, I don't wanna miss anything!"
Stifling a grin, Elijah walked out of their bedroom to join the three girls in the living room. Ally was doing her best to hide her anticipation beneath a mask of teenage "cool," but he could see the gleam in her eyes and knew that she was just as excited as her younger sister. And Bella -- well, everyone else was excited, so she was too.
Sean joined them a minute later. "Well, my ladies, shall we go hence?"
"Oh, Daddy, you're so funny," Lizzie giggled.
"Funny, am I? I'll have you know that I am speaking 'forsoothly,' as is but fitting. Mock me at your peril."
"Fie, Sir Sean! A knight should not speak so to his lady," Elijah chided. And then added in an aside to the girls, "See? I can speak 'forsoothly,' too!"
All of them were laughing as they got into the car and headed toward the Faire.
Once they had parked out in the field adjoining the Faire site, they trudged to the gate where Sean bought their tickets. The costumed Faire staff welcomed them as they entered, "Greetings, my lords, my ladies. Welcome to the town of Berkston-on-the-Brae, where today we will be honored by the presence of our gracious queen, as she visits Lord Berkston. Divers entertainments have been planned for her amusement, and it is our hope that you, too, shall find them enjoyable."
"We surely shall, good sir," Sean replied, and led the way inside. The first thing that they saw was a cart just inside the gate, selling flower wreaths. "What say you, my ladies? Shall we adorn your fair heads with a caplet of flowers?"
"Oh, Daddy, yes!"
And so commenced a day out of time. They visited the shops selling all sorts of wares, from full medieval costumes to crystals, from leather goods to swords. Elijah managed to talk Lizzie out of the wax hand that had caught her eye in favor of a butterfly wand bedecked with ribbons. "Much more fitting for the Lady Lizzie, don't you agree?"
Bella had set her heart on a pair of fairy wings that Sean tied carefully around her shoulders. "There! A true fairy princess you are, m'lady!" And Ally, after careful consideration, opted for a pair of exquisitely wrought Celtic design earrings.
By this time they were all feeling more than a bit hungry. Sean did his best to find some reasonably healthy options amongst all the Faire food, but consoled himself for his lack of success with the thought that it was, after all, only one meal. Elijah insisted on getting a turkey legge. "Don't I look like Henry VIII?"
And of course there were the various shows. After lunch they went to the mid-day joust, featuring Sir Guy, a seasoned veteran of many tournaments, and Sir Eric, newly-knighted and inexperienced. The audience was split into two camps, one side rooting for each knight, with costumed staff coaching each side in cheers for their knight. Elijah watched their knight, Sir Eric, and murmured, "I think that we're doomed, Sean. Just listen to them."
"But we're on the side of Right, Elijah. I'm sure of it. How can we lose?"
"When the other guy's chant is 'Cheat to win!'? Think about it, Seanie."
The joust proceeded, Sir Eric doing unexpectedly well, and appeared to end in a draw. The two met in the center of the field and Sir Eric reached out to congratulate his adversary. Sir Guy wheeled his horse quickly and drew his sword across Sir Eric's neck, causing a great gout of blood to spurt out as Sir Eric fell limply from his horse. Several people in the crowd screamed as Sir Guy rode in a smirking victory lap around the field to the accompaniment of the steady chant of "Cheat to win!" from his adherents and outraged "Boos" from those of Sir Eric. He then rode back to the center of the field where the Faire staff had helped Sir Eric back onto his horse. Both knight bowed to the crowd and rode off the field together to a thunderous roar of applause.
"Have to say, I wasn't quite expecting that, were you, Lij?"
"No, but after all his motto *was* 'Cheat to win!'"
"Are you o.k., Bella? Sir Eric is really all right, you know. They were just playing; no one got hurt."
Bella nodded, wide-eyed. "Sir Guy was *mean,* Daddy. I don't like him."
"Me neither, Bella. Me neither."
They next headed to the Mud Show. Making sure that they were far enough back to be out of the "splash zone," they watched three actors perform a warped parody of the story of Gilgamesh (and his friend Inky-doo) which consisted chiefly of excuses to push one another into a pool of extremely viscous mud and splash it as far into the audience as possible. Sean was familiar enough with the story of Gilgamesh to at least know what they were parodying. The girls just giggled at the sight of three grown men playing in the mud.
As they left the Muditorium, they were stopped by the passage of the Queen and her court, making her Progress through the village. "I give you good day, my subjects," the Queen called out, and they joined the crowd in shouting 'Huzzah!' and 'God save the Queen!' After the court had passed on, Lizzie asked, "What does 'Huzzah' mean, Daddy?"
"It's the medieval way of saying 'Hooray!,' Lizzie."
Music there was a-plenty, also, from solitary buskers to full-fledged musical stage shows to, at one point, a bagpipe band that could easily be heard at any point on the Faire site. They stopped to listen to several of them and leave money in their hats (or whatever receptacle they happened to be using). Lizzie predictably wanted to know why. "Because this is the way they earn their living, sweetheart. And they're very good, don't you think?"
As the afternoon waned. Sean and Elijah took turns carrying Bella, who was beginning to flag a bit. "One last show, I think, my ladies, before we leave. What would be your pleasure?"
"Daddy! No! We want to stay longer! There's lots we haven't done yet."
"The Faire will be closing soon, Lizzie. We should have just about enough time to see one more show. How about The Duellists? They're about to start."
They found seats near the stage and settled in to watch Gaston and Derek, two self-proclaimed "gentlemen adventurers," demonstrate swordplay and courtly behavior. For the conclusion of their act, they addressed the audience. "Now, which of you lovely ladies has been accompanied today by a handsome and manly man? That's it, raise your hands. Higher. We shall endeavor to instruct some of these gallants in the fine art of being pleasing to a lady."
Elijah looked at Ally, jerked his head up, then grinned and nodded. Ally giggled and raised her hand, while Elijah grasped Lizzie's and Bella's hands and raised them as well. Gaston picked several of the men at random, but when he saw Sean's forest of raised hands, he of course chose Sean. "You are most fortunate. good sir, to have such a garden of lovelies." Sean, with a look at Elijah and the girls that promised later retribution, could only smile and agree and then joined the other chosen men on the stage. There, Derek and Gaston demonstrated proper posture, how to strike a manly pose, and display a well-turned leg. Sean entered into all this good-naturedly, but did respond to Elijah's wolf whistles with a mock glare. After a final manly strut around the stage, they were given a red rose and a "homework" assignment -- to present the rose to their lady and kiss them properly. Sean, having been given three roses, returned to his broadly smiling daughters and gave them each a big hug and a kiss before presenting their flowers with a flourish. Then he looked at Elijah and muttered, "I'll deal with *you* later."
Elijah raised his eyebrows. "Good."
As the town criers announced the Faire's imminent closing, Sean began organizing their departure. "Does everybody have all their stuff? I don't want to have to come back because something's been forgotten." Elijah knelt and carefully removed Bella's fairy wings. "We don't want them to get bent in the car, do we, Bells?" She shook her head emphatically *no.* "All righty then, up you go, m'lady. Your trusty steed awaits." Elijah lifted Bella up over his head and then settled her on his shoulders and stood carefully.
Sean steadied Elijah briefly, then clasped Lizzie's hand and offered his other arm to Ally. "Very well, then, my ladies. I fear that it's back to Mundania for all of us."
"What's Mundania, Daddy?"
"The humdrum, unmagical 'real world,' Lizzie." They passed through the gate, bidding farewell to the gatekeepers and trudged across the field to the car. Sean's query "Did everyone have a good time?" met with a trio of enthusiastic yeses and a "Can we come back, Daddy? Can we?"
"I don't see why not," Sean replied. "The Faire runs for another five weeks. We'll see if we can work out a time."
After a day of Faire food, Sean was adamant that they find a more nutritious dinner. so on their way home they stopped at a favorite spot that specialized in simple, well-cooked family food. By the time that they had finished eating, Bella was more than half asleep and even Lizzie was drooping.
"I think that it's time for two of our princesses to retire to their towers for the night, don't you, Sir Sean?"
"I certainly do, my Lord Lijah."
Once they had returned home they moved into their normal night-time routine, finishing with stories and hugs and kisses, then turned out the lights and closed the doors on two happy (but very tired) young girls. Ally, after bidding them good-night, disappeared into her own room to do some reading.
As they retreated to their own bedroom and closed the door, Sean turned to Elijah. "And just what did you mean by encouraging the girls to get me up on that stage? And don't try to deny it-- I saw you egging Ally on and raising Bella's and Lizzie's hands. You're just darned lucky that Gaston didn't decide that they meant you instead of me."
"But, Sean, you *are* such a fine handsome manly man. That fact needed to be demonstrated, even though I don't qualify as a 'lovely lady.' And don't you still have some homework to do? I'll forego the rose, but I do want that 'proper' kiss."
"I'll give you a 'proper' kiss, you rapscallion. And more. Come here, you!" Sand reached for Elijah and pulled him close, and as their arms clasped and their lips met, they thoroughly disproved the very idea that they were in Mundania as they sank into the magic of true love's kiss.
no subject
Date: 2013-09-23 02:13 pm (UTC)Thank you so much for remembering my birthday and gifting me with this gorgeous story. And I do think you should repost it at Tol Eressea so more people can read it. It deserves a wider audience than just me!
*hugshugshugshugs*
no subject
Date: 2013-09-24 09:56 pm (UTC)It's been an annual thing, meeting up with friends from my old hometown (and more recently, adding my good friend from up here) and going to the Ohio Renaissance Faire. It hit me while watching The Swordsmen's Show at last year's Faire what a great S/E bunny it would make, to have Elijah and the girls get Sean up on stage. So after percolating for a year it actually managed to sprout a smidgen of a plot. (I shamelessly pulled things from faires of long ago. Sadly, the Theatre in the Ground no longer does Gilgamesh, so I don't remember many of the details anymore except for "Inky-doo." And the "Cheat to win," throat-slitting joust was easily the most fun of all the ones we've seen. The throat-cutting took us all by surprise. Poor Sir Eric definitely got the worst of things-- some of the other chants for the bad guy's side were "Sir Eric has a limp lance" and "Sir Eric mounts his horse from the rear.")
Anyhow, I hope that your birthday was marvelous and that you and your dogs are all doing well.
*Many hugs back*