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 Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 4:30 pm
These are kinda just short scenes and stories that came to mind. Most of them are headcanons of ideas that would happen in roleplay. Some are elaborated versions of things that have happened/ might have.
Posted in order of writing, regardless of actual continuity.
Ghost canon: Technically confirmed/ things that only involve my own characters.
Unconfirmed: Things that would happen in the future or involve characters/ situations not my own.
Just inkfeathers: Just thought experiments.
Thread Contents:
Thoughts about that boy: August is unhappy about his cousin's relationship with a certain person (wc 1,447) [Sonora] [Jonah]
The Cat: August talks to a cat. (wc 680) [Unconfirmed] [Rhea]
Drowning: Unexpected boggarts. (wc 619) [Unconfirmed] [Rhea] [boggarts]
Unintentional Dates: Rhea follows August around sometimes and calls it a date. (wc 1,409) [Unconfirmed] [Rhea]
Valentine's Dance: August finally catches Rhea for a dance and says his feelings. (wc 1,737) [post] [Rhea]
Royal Masquerade: Medieval AU where Rhea is a Princess and August is a scribe. (wc 1,213) [AU] [Rhea]
Header code:
[color=indigo/mediumvioletred/thistle][size=18][b]#TITLE[/b]:[/size]
[i]#TL;DR [/i]
[b]WC[/b]: with commas
[b]Written:[/b] ## DAY MONTH YEAR completed
[b]Who[/b]: Non-background included character that doesn't involve the title character.
[b]When[/b]: # approximate age of title character
[b]Tags[/b]: [Ghost canon] [Backstory] [Unconfirmed]
[b]Notes:[/b]: #A/N and notes to self [/color]
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 4:40 pm
Thoughts about that boy:
August is unhappy about his cousin's relationship with a certain person.
WC: 1,447
Written: 5 September 2018, edited 20 September 2018
Who: Sonora, Jonah.
When:3rd-6th year (Sona and Jonah would be in 4th-7th year)
Tags: [ship] [language]
Notes:: Wrote this while still writing August's profile in an attempt to figure out what he'd be like. This is probably not how it would happen anymore though.
“If you break her heart, I will ******** kill you.”
--------------
Meyling was crying?
A thousand thoughts rushed through his head. Why? What happened? Who did this to her? Why hadn’t she come to him?
He found her perched on a broom over the Quidditch pitch, staring out at the evening sky. He climbed to the top of the stands and just observed her for a while. His cousin was just floating there, gazing over the field. He couldn’t see her face from here, but the fact she wasn’t moving around indicated she wasn’t actually thinking about Quidditch.
“Meyling!” He called, after giving her over 5 minutes to notice him. Sonora jolted upright and turned. She perked up a little when she recognized him and guided her broom down to him without beckoning.
“Meylian! What brings you out here?” So far, normal.
“I heard you were out here crying. Fa1 shen1 she3 me2 le5?” What happened?
Sonora opened her mouth, then closed it, hesitating to tell him. August felt a pang of hurt rush through his head and down his back. She was hiding something from him. “Meyling. Gen1 wo3 shuo1.” Tell me.
She laid her broom aside and took a seat next to him, resting her chin in her hands. She returned to staring out at the pitch, her eyes not really there.
“Meimei?”
She sighed a little then turned to him as she spoke. “Jonah and I…got in a bit of an disagreement.”
August exhaled sharply, then stood up. He knew it. ******** that boy, he was going to kill him. “Gan4 ta1 de5. Wo3 ba3 ta1 sha1 le5.”
“Don’t! Stop! Wait!” Meyling jumped up with him, putting her hand on his arm to pacify him. “It was really a small disagreement. Nothing major. Mei2 she4.”
“Go2 she3,” he spat, drawing his wand and moving to leave. That boy made her cry--how could it be nothing? “Ta1 ba2 ne3 nown4 ku1 le5, hai2 mei2 she4.”
“Meylian, zhen1 de5!” She pulled on his arm. “Really, sit down, don’t you want to at least listen to what happened?”
He stopped in his tracks and turned around, eyes narrowed and mouth drawn in a hard frown that clearly showed his displeasure. Sonora tilted her head gave him skeptical look. She sat down, patting the seat. August exhaled sharply again. He sat, but kept his wand in hand. That boy better have had a mighty good reason.
“It was just about schedules#(idk what would they fight about?). With Quidditch, and…well, I’m not sure our electives are going to line up. I insisted I could do everything, and he was worried that I wouldn’t have time to really enjoy life or go on dates or anythi--”
“In what world do dates come before studies? I’m--”
“Wait,” Sonora said, moving her hands in a mollifying motion again. “I got upset and started crying because I thought he didn’t believe I could do it. It was silly, and I was immature.”
“Well. he shouldn’t tell you how to schedule your life.”
“He’s just looking out for me, Meylian,” Sonora said with a smile. “I’m already taking 4 electives and doing music and art clubs. I hardly had time to journal in the evenings and I’ve been waking up more tired than usual. Jonah picked up that I was tired and frazzled. I didn’t even think that was the problem.”
August had to admit, that boy had a point, and it was a point August himself had made before. Sonora was busy enough as it was without taking on additional electives and extra responsibilities. He understood her ambition, but he couldn’t allow her to run herself to the ground with superfluous things. He’d said as much, but of course she only took it so seriously when that boy brought it up. Whatever. The important thing was that she fix it.
“Okay,” August replied, his face a careful neutral. “But that doesn’t explain why you’ve been out here all evening just staring at the pitch.”
“Oh,” Sonora flushed a little. “I’m just embarrassed. I’m trying to figure out how to best apologize. I need to apologize to Alex too—he was worried about us.”
“For an entire hour?”
Sonora shrugged. “I started thinking about how else I could organize my schedule.”
August couldn’t really stay mad when Sonora was smiling like that. It didn’t mean he forgave that boy. He made a mental mark in the dark corner of his mind that represented that boy. He’d made his precious cousin cry. Another thing to detest about him.
Sona chattered on a little longer about her ideas and thoughts. August nodded along, offering his usual level-headed input. Even though she was sad to drop a few electives, she eventually agreed. They settled into a comfortable silence as Sonora reviewed her thoughts and order of actions. Then he noticed she was smiling at him.
“What?”
“Are you okay now?”
“Of course. I was always okay. I came to cheer you up, san1 ba1,” he said with a shake of his head.
“Yes. But you were angry at Jonah before. Are you feeling better now? I told you it was just something small.”
August frowned at that boy’s name. He huffed a little and stood up. “I don’t think he warrants any talking to today, do you?”
“I mean, I’d love for you to talk, but I don’t want you guys to dislike each other. He doesn’t think you like him very much. And you have to admit, you could afford to be more friendly.”
That’s because I detest him. He’s a terrible influence on you. August’s outward expression remained a neutral frown but he rolled his eyes mentally. Generally. “I believe we’re on civil terms.”
“That’s good. Up!” She summoned her broom and floated alongside him as they made their way down the stands. “That’s very good, because I want my cousin and boyfriend to like each other.”
“Eh.” His face was starting to settle into a gentle smile, despite their topic of conversation.
“After all, you’ll be calling each other ‘cousin’ eventually.”
August’s face snapped back into a neutral mask. It seems I’m going to kill that boy after all. Sonora giggled as she raced off. She made a playful flip on her broom as she sped off to put it away, then ran back to meet him by the castle entrance. Teasing me now. This is that boy’s doing.
———-
The next time August crossed paths with that boy, he stopped abruptly. He opened his mouth to say something along the lines of his usual clipped greeting. Then he hesitated. “Good afternoon…Lane.” He couldn’t bring himself to say his first name—August had enough of it the way he heard it from Sonora—adoring and utterly besotted. “You did a good thing talking to my cousin about her schedule.” Pause. “She listens to you.” Another fraction of a second. “Well good day.” He nodded, once, firmly, then moved to continue down the hallway before he changed his mind.
———-
August brought it up suddenly, in Mandarin, one day after dinner. Lane had gone off ahead to tell Alex something excitedly as Sonora waited for him cheerfully. “Ne3 zhen1 de5 xiang3 jia4 gey3 ta1 ma5?”
Without missing a beat, Sonora replied, “If he asked me tomorrow, I’d say yes without hesitation.” August mentally cursed. Her confidence indicated she’d thought carefully about it before, and that meant she’d imagined it, and that meant that boy had done something to make her think about it.
“What about today? What if he turned around and proposed right now?”
Sonora turned on the tips of her toes to face him, positively beaming. “I’d laugh a bit at his timing. But my answer would be yes. Absolutely and definitely yes.”
“Your career aspirations don’t even align. How are you going to stay together when he’s off traveling and has animals all over—“
“Yes.” She repeated, with emphasis. “Meylian-- Wo3 ai4 ta1. And he loves me. We’d make it work out.”
Suddenly the dark spot in his mind was lit up. Sonora loved that boy. She loved…Jonah. And there was no way around that truth; he had tried denying it and convincing her it wouldn’t work, and it wasn’t working. He was wrong. August was just going to have to deal. He took a deep breath as he dealt quickly with how his entire world was going to need to change. He let the breath out slowly. With the next breath, he was able to reply evenly and sincerely: “Then I’ll be here to congratulate you both when it happens.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 4:47 pm
The cat:
August talks to a cat.
WC: 680
Written: 20 September 2018
Who: a very mysterious cat, Rhea
When: sometime in the middle of 4th/5th/ 6th year? After August starts pushing Rhea away.
Tags: [Unconfirmed] [angst]
Notes:: Once I found out Rhea was going to be an Animagus.
There had been a fluffy cat following him for a few days now. It would just appear out of nowhere after classes and trail him as he walked from the Dragon to the dorm to to the library. At first he was a little suspicious and had politely asked if he could help it. The cat had just sat by his leg, meowing. He sighed, but leaned down and gave it a few scratches behind the scruff. “There there. Go find your owner and beg them, would you?”
But the cat continued showing up around him occasionally anyways. It purred gently and unobtrusively and was mindful not to step on his work, and overall he did not see reason to mind it. So after a bit of questioning turned up no leads to anyone who had a beautiful fluffy cat with blue eyes, he decided it was probably a school cat and welcomed its company. He would carry snacks for it in his bag, pet it while he read—he swore she could read too, the way she followed the page and put a paw on his hand to stop him from flipping the page. And sometimes he just sat with her in a cozy corner of the prefects’ lounge and whispered to it. Silly things like “How are you always so clean?” Or “You smell like herbs. Were you messing around in the greenhouses?...don’t let Professor Hill catch you. He probably eats cute cats for breakfast.”
One time they just had a staring contest, after a minute of which he declared, “Your eyes are very blue and bright.. and...beautiful. They remind me of something but I can’t quite figure it out.” And then it was back to studying.
He occasionally found himself complaining to her about his irritations. Things like “I hate Herbology. I don’t get it at all and it’s always a mess.” Or petty confessions like “I’ll admit that that boy makes Meyling happy but why couldn’t she have friends less...excited about breaking the rules?”
One day, he found her sitting on a desk in the Dragon, pawing through a portfolio someone had left. Usually he would question her being there alone, but it had been a while since he’d seen her, and that day August was just tired.
He sat down and gently ran his hand down her back, staring at the pictures. It must have been that boy’s portfolio, by the pictures. “That’s Meyling,” he pointed out idly. ”Salazar, Alex. I talk about them a lot. Brook...Rhea.”
“I miss Rhea,” he murmured. It was definitely his own doing— he was deliberately pushing her away, not talking to her outside of the necessary coordination of who was announcing the next Quidditch game. He got updates on the sly from Sonora. But somewhere in his head he still worried— was Rhea okay? Was she eating well? Was she doing well in classes?
“I miss her,” he told the cat, who looked up from the moving pictures to glare at him, incandescent eyes narrowed. “But this is better for her. Rhea should have someone that can really take time for her and appreciate her. She should have someone that can treasure he properly. I am...there is too much other stuff I am responsible for.” He put his head on the desk in a rare show of exhaustion. “Could you find Rhea? She’s this beautiful fourth year in Gryffindor, full of energy and sass and stubbornness—a complete bother, really...but also a very intelligent and respectable bother, you know? Like an opposing lawyer that you’re just like ‘oh gosh this is going to be a hard case’ but you look forward to it anyways. She’s … a complete romantic. All these lovely, pure notions of the world that much be protected— I ramble. You know all this already, and now you even have a picture of her. Could you.. find her and give her snuggles? She probably needs you more than I do right now… and just… make sure she’s okay, will you?”
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Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2018 4:20 pm
Drowning:
Unexpected boggarts
WC: 619
Written: 26 September 2018
Who: Rhea
When: Summer before his sixth year
Tags: [boggarts]
The first time August had faced a boggart in DADA, he had been confronted by a giant wave that had suffocated him: Drowning. He had panicked, casting freezing spells as the water washed over and around him and clawed at his lungs before he remembered it was a dumb boggart and cast the right spell. The boggart vanished, only to turn into a severe image of Headmaster Steele, informing August that he had failed all his NEWTs and was expelled. His mother stood next to the Headmaster, shaking her head with disappointment.
He’d been crushed and confused. Then he’d remembered it was a boggart. He took a deep breath and stared Steele in the eye. “Really? The water was better,” he’d taunted. “Riddikulus!” Headmaster Steele and his mother were suddenly dressed in ancient wushu armor, tripping over their own feet and clattering their weapons everywhere. “Ridiculous,” he scoffed. Of course, somehow it had gotten back to Salazar and that boy and they’d been ridiculous enough to actually try it-- seeing them stumble around had been even more satisfying in person. Boggarts on the final had been the easiest obstacle after their lovely re-enactment.
It had been three years since then, and August had always assumed he’d be fine if he ever ran into boggarts. It was a whole different issue when he actually almost drowned that summer, but an illusion? Cake.
When this boggart launched itself at him, August wasn’t even afraid of the initial wave it turned into. Water rushed over his head and a flash of coldness tugged at his lungs, but it wasn’t accompanied by the usual panic. Rhea’s been teaching me to swim, he smirked proudly. Seems her lessons have been paying off. He raised his wand before the water illusion submerged him--and then noticed he wasn’t alone. A mere few feet away, Rhea herself was swimming towards him, calling out a warning. He turned--another wave overtook them. Wave after wave crashing into them but when he finally broke free of the water, they were safe on the shore. No--Rhea was next to him, but she was still. “Rhea?” Nothing. He touched her wrists for a pulse--nothing. No. This didn’t make sense. Rhea was a mermaid. She could never drown. Another wave came in and he pulled her in the shallow waves. Mermaids needed water, right? Still nothing. He shook her limp body in desperation.“Riddikulus! Riddikulus!” She didn’t stir. She wasn’t moving, and neither water nor air nor spell could made her stir.
He screamed. Was screaming. A blood-curdling cry of frustration and despair alerted someone else to the room and the water turned to darkness. There was a pop and awful sounds-- and then he was being dragged out of the room. Sparrow was shaking him and screaming silly songs in his ear. Wren slapped him a few times.
“I’m good,” he snapped, brushing the younger kids aside. “Stop screaming. And don’t hit people--it could be interpreted as reckless aggression.” He claimed his wand from Sona when she stepped out of the room, boggart taken care of and concern in her expression. “Yeah. I’m fine. I was just...caught off guard.”
But even his eight-year old cousin could tell it was a lie. He behaved normally. But the boggart’s image had been seared into August’s mind-- a drowned mermaid princess, her tiara shattered, her light extinguished forever. She’d gotten hurt trying to save him. She’d died.
That wasn’t going to happen. He just had to make it so she would never want to save him. He could make her hate him--no. That was unnecessarily cruel. He just needed to make her stop caring about him so much.
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Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 7:37 pm
Unintentional Dates:
Rhea follows August around sometimes and calls it a date.
WC: 1,409
Written: 14 October 2018
Who: Rhea
When: 4th year and beyond
Tags: [Unconfirmed]
Notes: Based off the incorrect quote.
4th year
“This date is boring.”
August shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and suppressed a sigh. “This is not a date. I said I was going for a walk,” he replied, keeping the annoyance carefully out of his voice. His face was drawn into a straight line again, and he was trying--rather unsuccessfully—to focus on something besides the little girl next to him.
“Then why did you invite me?”
“I specifically told you not to come with me but you said ‘I do what I want’ and followed me here,” he replied without missing a beat.
They had wandered out to one of the tower bridges with a magnificent view of the campus. Good thing it isn’t Lizzie with me, he thought absentmindedly, running his fingers along the railing and looking down. He caught a glimpse of the lake and stood back from the railing.
The tower seemed to be a lonely place. A chill breeze whistled through the area, foreshadowing winter. August shivered, then removed his scarf and set it gently over Rhea’s shoulders. If he was cold, she was probably more so. He at least was wearing a sweater. She on the other hand, seemed to be in a perpetual summer. He frowned when she held the scarf out and twirled instead of wrapping it around her. “Colds start at the neck,” he said sternly, frowning until she wrapped the scarf around her obediently.
He was honestly a little confused why Rhea continued to hang around him. She was summer and he was winter. She was bright and happy and he was sullen and serious. It made sense that she was friends with Sonora or Lizzie. But him? What did she get out of hanging with him? She was already well-equipped as a Quidditch announcer, and surely crushes didn’t last this long when given no indication of reciprocation?
Unless...of course, he was unintentionally giving her some indication of reciprocation? No, strictly not. He had always been careful to be professional and polite around everyone at Hogwarts--well, besides Sonora. Lizzie and Aldrick were the only exceptions. Lizzie was--well he was as polite with Lizzie as you might expect one to be polite to a tornado. Aldrick he was more honest with than most people, but still careful. He might have been a little cold towards Salazar and that boy...so there. Rhea should be very clear that he was just being polite by offering her a scarf or something. He was definitely not being confusing or leading her on.
“Bhallange na; nikuchi korechhe,” he murmured. These thought patterns were pointless and he hated it; to hell with it. He wasn’t thinking over his idiotic herbology paper or the next language club lesson. If he wasn’t being productive he might as well think through actual problems. Rhea was not a problem.
“What does that mean?”
“Bad words,” he brushed aside absentmindedly. They actually weren’t as bad as he usually said. Nonetheless. “Little girls shouldn’t know them.”
“Oh so that means you think I’m cute?”
He opened his mouth then closed it, abruptly focused on the conversation. “Surely I just said little girls, with no mention of cute?”
“You said cute,” Rhea replied, grinning at him. “You said ‘Bad words. Cute little girls shouldn’t know them.’ You said I was cute!”
“I did not. You simply assumed I added it because cute and little are often used together. But I merely said you were cute, not little.”
Rhea smirked in triumph.
Nyaka. How are you still making stupid mistakes like that? She played you completely. he cursed himself and backtracked. “That you were little, not cute. That time I did say cute, but it was a slip of tongue.” August frowned a little to hide his embarrassment. No way would he actually say cute. This word was not in his usual vocabulary.
“Then... are you saying I’m not cute?” She was pouting to get a rise out of him, he knew. But he didn’t like it when Rhea Lane of all people said she was not cute—not like he had anything to do with her outside being her former Quidditch announcing mentor, but people shouldn’t be in the habit of thinking untrue things.
“I made no comment on the matter at all. The subject in question is simply that I believe you are too little—that is, too young, to be be saying such words. You should practice speaking with precision and meaning.”
“You should too.”
“I meant exactly what I did.” And without knowing what he’d said, she’d have no counter to that, August imagined.
Either way, she left his thoughts there and his mind wandered back to other things. He was a little worried about the situation back home: Mother had indicated her winter travel plans took her to Russia but she would spend the New Year with him and her family in Scarborough; unless she was stopping by Taiwan in a very out-of-the-way layover, that would mean his parents hadn’t seen each other for almost a year. Had they gotten in another argument?
“Something’s on your mind, isn’t it?”
“Family stuff, nothing to concern yourself with.”
“Why not?”
“You’re young. You should enjoy life for now,” he said, entirely serious.
“You’re young too. You’re only two years older than me, you know?”
August opened his mouth for a retort and found nothing that made sense even to him. Was indeed Rhea only two years younger than him? He’d always seen her as much younger, in need of care and protecting. Well.
“I concede the point,” he replied instead. “You’re not as little as I seem to think. I still don’t want to talk about it.” A small sigh, more out of resignment than irritation than he would like to admit. Rhea did a triumphant pirouette and August had a sudden urge to dance as well. To dance with her. What an odd thought. He blamed it on dance classes four nights a week during the summer. It had been a while since summer ended. Maybe he missed dancing? No that was stupid; he hated dance class. Taking it was the dumbest thing he’d ever done with a summer. “It’s cold,” he decided abruptly.
“Wait up!” Rhea leapt out of her twirls as he started striding indoors again.
“Your fault for following me,” he snarked, even as he hung back to walk with her.
---------------------------------
5th year
“This date is boring,” someone piped up next to him.
“This isn’t a date; I’m on patrol,” August replied, but he had a ghost of a fond smile for her. Rhea had appeared out of nowhere to follow him before he started his curfew shift. August didn’t really mind the company. He usually just stewed on a certain couple and other things that made him frustrated. Maybe with Rhea around he wouldn’t end prefect patrol with his mindset in a scowl. Besides, better walking around with him than wandering around alone at this time. “What are you doing out past curfew anyways?”
“Brook and I were studying and lost track of time.”
“How diligent.” He peeked into an ajar classroom and shut the door when it was found abandoned.
“My legs aren’t as long,” she commented, grabbing onto his sleeve when he continued down the hall. He slowed his pace immediately. He ought to be patrolling carefully, not just strolling anyways.
“They sure look long when you’re twirling about,” he muttered. Of course she heard.
“Oh? Does this mean you were looking at my legs?”
“Uh--” He really needed to watch his mouth around Rhea. August looked intentionally away and out a convenient window. It was way past sunset, but a gibbous moon cast a beautiful glow over the castle towertops. “Look.” He pointed with the arm she wasn’t holding. “Isn’t the night sky beautiful?”
“As beautiful as my legs?”
“No--I mean, I don’t know. I don’t stare-- I don’t… look.”
“Are you blushing?”
“No, you’re seeing things in the dark. I don’t blush,” he said stiffly, hoping it was indeed dark enough. His face certainly felt warm. “Come on. I still have to check the rest of this floor, then we’re getting you back to your dorm.”
—--------------------
Post graduation
“This date is boring,” Rhea said, her voice teasing.
August laced her fingers through his own and pressed his lips to her hair in greeting. “What would make it better?”
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Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2020 11:46 pm
Valentine's Dance:
August finally catches Rhea for a dance and says his feelings.
WC: 1,738
Written: 21 March 2020
Who: Rhea, also Aidene, and mentions other friends and family
When: 14 February 2039, sixth year.
Tags: [romance]
Notes:: Mostly planned out things just put into prose form. Maybe save this for an actual post. Theme Song for this post: A Simple Song by Skyhawk DriveAugust was standing by the door of the Great Hall, watching the festivities and generally helping students with...whatever needed doing. It was mostly making sure the booths were running smoothly, checking in on food...he helped change a few tie colors and fix a few shoes for kids who had simply panicked in nervousness and forgotten they could do magic. August didn’t blame them-- he was a bit of an anxious mess himself, and kept glancing over at the table with Rhea. Aidene and Brook looked like they were recounting the entire storyline of ...some game, no doubt, to Vespera Salazar and Augustus Moore. He was greeted by a few regulars at Saturday study group and after a pleasant chat, turned back towards the table, only to be accosted by a short blonde girl. ”August Li.” Aidene glared up at him. Before he had so much as a moment to greet her, the spirited Ravenclaw burst into a lecture. ”So listen here, Month Boy. Rhea has been hanging out with me and Brook all evening, which is perfectly fine because we love her, but Gus-Gus went through a lot of emotions to ask Brook out tonight, and I also have a date and want to hang out with her alone. So. I understand that you are locking in Rhea, so I am here to be your tutorial NPC and tell you that in order to lock in the romance, you need to initiate the “Save Me a Dance” questline, which you, as I understand, have started, but you need to go and initiate the final quest by asking her to dance..”Aidene sank back on her heels and nodded satisfactorily. ”You should also do that before the Valentine’s Dance DLC is over because it expires afterwards.”August blinked at the fiery message and tried backing up as she talked, but Aidene, despite being half a foot shorter, talked closer intimidatingly. He stopped backing up and held his ground. ”By your analogy, I haven’t even received the quest. I wrote Rhea a note earlier but she hasn’t said--””Yes, good. Now you need to follow up on that with her in person. Repeat after me, ‘May I have this dance’... ” Aidene instructed, mimicking how he broke down spell pronunciations in studying. “Aidene, I hardly--” “Repeat. After. Me. ‘May’.” “...May I have this dance.” “Livelier, you’re asking a question!” August gave her a withering look, but acquiesced. “May I have this dance?” “Good. And no, I prefer girls. But that concludes the tutorial, you have gained the ‘Asking someone to dance’ skill. Please use it.” Aidene marched off, whirling once to give him a quick glare. ----------------- It was half an hour later. August had gone to settle a small uproar that had started when Wren tried getting in wearing a dress. August certainly had thought it was a headache of Wren to do so, but Wren was family, and he was not about to lecture him in the middle of the dance. All said though, he had told Wren quietly to be careful about his obnoxious behavior. ”August? You’re still here? I saw Rhea head out a few minutes ago and thought you would be with her.”August turned from one cousin to another. Sonora and her boyfriend were also technically on duty, but that didn’t stop them from spending the night on each other’s arms, dancing between duties and following each other around. He stiffened with a guilty stare at Middle Lane. ”Head out? Back to the dorm? Already?”August fidgeted almost imperceptibly, glancing at the table where Rhea had been at. It was empty. He scanned the tables again, before resting on the door. Rhea wouldn’t have just left right? Had he missed his chance? Maybe she just doesn’t want to see you again. But he remembered Lizzie’s efforts to get them to talk, Mallaidh’s insistence he talk things through, and Aidene’s intimidating encouragement that he had to be the first to speak up this time. He had to try. ”Please excuse me,” he told Sona and Rhea’s brother, and walked briskly for the door. He started down the hallways, speeding to almost a jog in the deserted parts, scanning for signs. A few snuggling couples jumped at his approach, but prefect things were far from mind for now. He searched the halls nearest the doors, hope lodged somewhere between his stomach and throat. ”Rhea?” he called. A silhouette shifted, and August turned down a corridor towards the courtyard. A lone figure sat on the stairs, framed by the night sky. ”Rhea?” The silhouette didn’t reply, but she also didn’t turn away, and as August got closer, he was relieved to see Rhea. ”Are--are you okay? Are you cold?” he asked, immediately reaching to offer her his. ”Not really. I was just enjoying the quiet.”August stopped a few paces away. Her tone wasn’t really annoyed, but it felt off anyways, cold in a way that he never expected from her. She wasn’t crying. Or really moping it seemed. She...hadn’t told him to go away. That was a good sign, right? The music from the dance wasn’t quite audible from here, but that they had danced a dozen pop quizzes without music before. August took a small breath. Just initiate the quest. The worst she can say is no and leave. He hoped she wouldn’t do that. He moved to the bottom of the stairs and helf his hand out tentatively. ”Rhea? Could I...have this dance?”He waited nervously for a terrifying heartbeat. Maybe Rhea would ignore him. Maybe she would turn away. Instead, after a few beats of silence, she took his hand. They fell into a familiar waltzing dance. August was relieved how easily their hands came together and their stepps synced together after six months of nothing but studying and school work between them. He focused on dancing properly for the moment. He had three summers of dance classes and practice now and probably didn’t need to stare at their feet, but it gave him something to do besides freak out. What was he supposed to do here? Every step felt like a miraculous effort. He had consulted a few manga about confessions one sleepless night--he really should have studied them more. Cross reference confession and reconciliation scenes like he had told Lizzie sarcastically once. But what actually made sense to say here? ”Don’t look at your feet,” Rhea reminded softly. August snapped his gaze up. Their eyes met, and it was like remembering what water tasted like: Blue, like the sea, bright in the full moon behind him. ”Sorry,” he murmured. They danced together quietly, steps second nature and gazes resting on each other. August studied her quietly-- her makeup tonight was flawless of course, but he was remembering her expressions, how her eyelashes framed her eyes as she gazed back, how her lips sparkled-- chocolate covered strawberries, he recalled, all too well. “I’m sorry,” he repeated, form softening as he said it. “About not talking things through with you clearly. About...for avoiding you last semester.” Rhea hummed a note-- not acceptance, and certainly not forgiveness, but acknowledgement of his apology. “I...did you get my note from before?” He asked awkwardly. “Mhm.” Another sound, this time confirmation. “I…” he started again after a few more swaying steps. He wasn’t really following an outline and was just saying what had been on his mind. “I never gave you a reply to your confession last winter. To be honest, I never really thought about...about an us. It-It’s not your fault! I just...my idea of romance has always been falling in love with my wife.” He held her tighter instinctively, worried she’d walk away at that. There was a feeling screaming at him from his lower spine, telling him to stop, shut up before he said something she didn’t need to hear after all this time, or worse, something untrue. ”I...still don’t really know what to feel about you. But I care deeply for you. I miss you terribly when we miss each other. I want to protect you from everything terrible in the world, and I want to watch you grow--as a witch, as a dancer, as a...as a mermaid princess. And be helpful if I can. I don’t know what kind of relationship you want from me, or what I want from you. I just know it’s not...it’s closer to last spring than this past fall. More than one of us avoiding the other. And... if..if you can work with that...if you still feel the way you did last winter that Saturday in the hallway...then can we start with Madam Puddifoot’s next weekend?” It was Rhea’s turn to look down. August gave her a moment, stepping back and spinning her slowly away from him. When she spun back, she asked quietly, voice betraying nothing: ”What does this mean?”August held her as close as decorum would allow for a beat. ”If you’re okay with it, then it means dances in the evenings and walking back to the dorm together again. Maybe...maybe holding hands. If means Sunday Hogsmeade dates with just the two of us. It means we’re not planning to court other people. It means…my heart is yours.”
To shape or to break, in sickness and in health, from now until you no longer want me.
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Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 11:04 pm
Royal Masquerade:
Medieval AU where Rhea is a Princess and August is a scribe.
WC: 1,213
Written: 14 April 2020 completed
Who: Rhea
When: AU
Tags: [AU retelling]
Notes: Inspired by the puppet dress-up and a bit by a Pinterest prompt.
“What does that mean?” Princess Rhea piped.
“It means he’s the Royal’s Scribe’s new apprentice. Why?”
“He’s cute, I call dibs.”
-----------------
“Would you dance with me?”
The scribe’s apprentice looked up from his work copying books. “Your highness, aren’t you supposed to be in lessons now?”
“I had a few minutes,” Princess Rhea replied. “What are you copying today?”
August set his quill aside to show her the book cover. “It’s a record on the realm’s knowledge on ghosts and ghouls.”
“Oooh. May I?”
August reclaimed the book. “Perhaps after your lessons, Princess. You shouldn’t be distracted.”
-----------------
“Would you dance with me today?”
The scribe’s apprentice looked up from his work. The princess was here again, visiting his corner of the library during her break.
“Are you copying the ghost book again?”
“Yes, your highness, I’m nearly done.”
“Then you must have time for a break!”
August glanced at the page. He had just come to the end of a chapter... “I suppose.” He shuffled nervously.
“What’s wrong?”
“I...don’t know how to dance, your highness.”
“That’s okay, I’ll teach you! But first, when it’s just us, you can call me Rhea, you know. No need for all the formalities.”
Wiping the ink from his hands, August nodded. “Okay...Rhea.”
Princess Rhea pulled the scribe to his feet. The apprentice carefully took the girl’s hand and followed her instructions: “So first you hold my hand like this, my waist like this...and move your feet this way.”
-----------------
She told him about her diplomatic visits, and he told her about his studies. She was so kind and warm, so every time she told him about a new royal delegation arriving, he would find the history and language of their visitors for her. He loved numbers and tales, so she paid extra attention to her lessons and brought him fun tales of the kingdom.
-----------------
“August, dance with me!”
The scribe’s apprentice grinned at her arrival, calmly finishing the word before looking up. “Rhea, I saw you at your swordsmanship class yesterday. Your form was impressive— You’ve been practicing a lot and now it’s paid off!”
She beamed at his compliment and reached for his hands. “Thank you! Now the question is, have you been practicing your dancing?”
They stepped together, quiet feet echoing in the Royal Library. August stared down at his feet, counting their steps, determined to prove he had taken the young princess’s lessons seriously.
“Don’t look at your feet,” Rhea said, touching his cheek. “Just dance. I’ll follow you.”
August looked up and his heart skipped a beat. He has forgotten how close dancing brought two people. The late afternoon shrouded their meeting in comfortable silence, and for a moment they weren’t Princess and scribe, just girl and boy, dancing between the books. She closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest. He held her softly in his arms and swayed with her.
“August?”
“Rhea?”
“I like you.”
The setting sun cast long shadows over the shelves of the library and the scribe remembered his place.
“We...we should stop.”
“Thank you for the dance.”
“...Thank you, princess:”
-----------------
“August?”
The scribe nearly dropped the books he was shelving. He held his breath, hiding behind a shelf as he heard her search through the aisles.
“Auuugust~~”
August clutched the book he’d nearly dropped to his chest, and held his breath. Last time this had happened had been magical. He couldn’t let it happen again. She was the realm’s princess! She would be Queen someday! And he...he would just be a scribe. He had a duty to serve and inform her. There was no room for romance there. He knew nothing could happen between them. She was just a kind princess, taking notice with a lowly apprentice like himself. Maybe, he had told himself, she meant she just enjoyed his company. But he knew in his heart that more romance than companionship had been reflected in their gazes.
“I guess he’s not here again….”
His heart dropped out of his chest, fighting to run to her. He held it tightly, and with every step she took away, he felt it tear a little more.
-----------------
August set his quill down, finished with another transcription. He stared into the void of the Library’s lifeless aisles. Princess Rhea hadn’t been around for some time. He supposed he had taken for granted that she always stopped by between her lessons. No, this was better. He still caught glimpses of her when he walked by the training grounds in the morning, and he had seen her once having tea with her friends, the other young noble ladies.
He had an original story, on mermaids and ghosts, that he’d written for her. He bound the pages, left it with a pretty colored pebble by the lake where he knew she would find it. But later he had seen her crying over the pages, and clutching the pebble to her heart. It took every ounce of restraint fighting against every fiber of his being not to run to her and ask what was wrong-- he was sorry if the story was terrible, or if it was the handwriting, or whatever it was! What was wrong?
-----------------
The princess had gone missing. She had been sick in bed for days, and then suddenly vanished. The entire staff was searching the castle and the village. August ran for the lake, then was sent to the village. He dared not call her name, but as the guards searched each face and hood, he ran through the alleys blindly, searching for any trace. He found only a fluffy cat he had seen some times around the castle. She had a pebble tied around her neck. He fell to his knees and cried. “Anything, anything, I’d give anything to have her safe again,” he confessed.
“August?”
“Rhea!” He wrapped his arms around her, safe away from prying eyes hidden in this alley. “Rhea, you’re safe, you’re here. Thank goodness you’re okay.”
-----------------
She had caught his gaze this morning when he passed the training grounds. He had frozen, dead in his tracks and the packages he was carrying tumbled over the path. She had paused immediately to help him gather the packages.
“Thank you, your highness.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied crisply, and turned coldly away. The very sun in the sky seemed to dim and clouds swallowed the rest of his way to the Library.
-----------------
From the servant’s peephole he could see Princess Rhea on the dance floor. She danced with her brothers, with her friends the noble ladies and lords. But he couldn’t shake the feeling that her smile didn’t quite touch her eyes, and the red in her cheeks was from the exercise or the paint, instead of loving sunset feelings.
So the scribe found the best robes he could and affixed a mask over his face. At the stroke of midnight, he approached her. “Would you dance with me, Princess Rhea?”
Their hands knew each other, and their steps fell into familiar pace. He twirled her around and around and when she came back into his arms, she knew it could only be one person behind the mask. “What does this mean?”
“It means my heart is yours.”
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