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badass_tiger) wrote2022-12-22 12:05 am
badass_tiger) wrote2022-12-22 12:05 am
Regarding the Cloak (Where Shines the Sun Aslant)
Title: Regarding the Cloak
Fandom: Original/Where Shines the Sun Aslant
Characters: Hilbert/Solange
Summary: When Solange asks Hilbert to give her her cloak, he hands her the cloak he gifted her several months before.
Not until Hilbert invited her to spend the day with his hunting party did Solange realise that it had been almost a year since she had left the castle for anything other than business - and to say that her most recent excursion had brought her any pleasure would be a plain exaggeration. Her stepfather, the previous king, had also gone on excursions with his party that were more for pleasure than for the gathering of food, and Solange had sometimes made up one of the party whenever there were guests to entertain. To be one of the company that included her husband, her sister-in-law, and her friends, would be incomparable in the happiness it would bring her.
'Is it alright for me to come with you?' Solange said. 'I thought these excursions were for the soldiers. Will anyone else be bringing their wives?'
'Some of the women will be wives to some of the men, but they are all soldiers,' Hilbert said, and Solange rolled her eyes in fond exasperation. 'You are as good as a soldier, my love.'
'Yes, alright. I understand.'
Winter had set in as deep as it would ever get. To go out and picnic on a day like this, it seemed, was an act of defiance for the people of Rasfura, a proclamation that they were not afraid of what the winter would bring them. This remained true even when the winter they were experiencing was mild by their standards.
'Do you consider this weather warm?' Solange asked, looking out at the snow that lay several inches thick on the grass.
'No. It is a rather cold day,' Hilbert replied. 'But we will move the snow out of the way in the area we intend to be for the day. One of the soldiers will bring tools to break the ice so that we will have no need to bring water, either.'
'I'm glad you're experienced with dealing with this type of weather, at any rate.'
Solange dressed carefully that morning. She knew that the soldiers would take care to appear presentable before her in ways they would not do in front of Hilbert, with whom they were all more accustomed to thinking of as a friend than a king. She stood apart from them, and she would play that role to the best of her abilities.
It would not be so bad to have the same intimacy with her subjects as Hilbert did with his people though, Solange thought. She had perceived the informal way many of Hilbert's people addressed him as a vulgarity during the early days of his time in Fleuyan, but now she was almost ashamed of the distance she herself kept from her servants. She wanted to emulate Hilbert's leadership style, which made all of his people love and admire him so. As such, she was determined to make the most of their excursion today in order to acquaint herself with the soldiers as much as possible.
'Hilbert,' she said, standing before the floor-length mirror in their bedroom and surveying her reflection critically, 'will you bring me my cloak?'
He went to her wardrobe, then returned with the cloak in hand. Solange was surprised by the dark, heavy cloth he draped over her shoulders. She looked down at herself, and then at her reflection.
'Oh ... this is the cloak you gave me,' she said.
'Yes.' Through the reflection of the mirror, Solange looked into the apprehension in Hilbert's eyes. 'You look even more beautiful in it than I imagined.'
'Do you really think it suits me?'
'Naturally.'
'Then you have no eye for fashion at all.'
The fur collar completely swallowed up her shoulders, and the cloth fell almost all the way to her feet, one long swath of deep brown that was black from a distance. It made her look tiny. Her golden head seemed to be floating over the mass of fabric that engulfed her. Solange had seen Brigitta wear a dress of the exact same colour, and she strongly suspected that the reason Hilbert had selected this colour for her was because Brigitta had once demanded something like this for herself, and he had come to the conclusion that it was something all women would find pleasing. It was very like him to think so directly and so simply.
Hilbert looked disappointed.
'But I know you say that out of love,' Solange said, 'and you gave me this out of love too. I will wear it if you wish.'
'You are kind to me,' he said.
'It is not kindness. Wasn't I shockingly rude to you over this thing you gave me with nothing but the purest of intentions?'
'Your anger was understandable - and expected,' Hilbert said, the hint of a smile making his beard twitch.
'And now you tease me!' Solange laughed. She turned around to face him. 'I never thanked you for this, so let me do so now. It is a beautiful gift, though it suits me so ill.'
'You will not hear anyone say that today,' Hilbert said eagerly.
'Well, of course not,' she said. She was going to say further that no one would dare criticise the queen, but then she thought of the outcome she desired from the day's excursion. To become closer to her subjects, they would, at the very least, feel able to tell her if she looked silly. They would certainly do so if Hilbert appeared before them covered in flowers and jewels, or something of the sort. 'Certainly not initially. But I shall ask our friends for their honest opinions, and you will soon see.'
'I will indeed - hear that you are the loveliest woman of any land no matter what you are wearing.'
Solange laughed. He was impossible to argue with.
'Let's not leave their opinions waiting any longer then.'
Hilbert offered her his arm and they left for their outing. No matter what their party had to say about the fit of Solange's cloak, it was undeniable that it was the warmest thing she had ever had.
Fandom: Original/Where Shines the Sun Aslant
Characters: Hilbert/Solange
Summary: When Solange asks Hilbert to give her her cloak, he hands her the cloak he gifted her several months before.
Not until Hilbert invited her to spend the day with his hunting party did Solange realise that it had been almost a year since she had left the castle for anything other than business - and to say that her most recent excursion had brought her any pleasure would be a plain exaggeration. Her stepfather, the previous king, had also gone on excursions with his party that were more for pleasure than for the gathering of food, and Solange had sometimes made up one of the party whenever there were guests to entertain. To be one of the company that included her husband, her sister-in-law, and her friends, would be incomparable in the happiness it would bring her.
'Is it alright for me to come with you?' Solange said. 'I thought these excursions were for the soldiers. Will anyone else be bringing their wives?'
'Some of the women will be wives to some of the men, but they are all soldiers,' Hilbert said, and Solange rolled her eyes in fond exasperation. 'You are as good as a soldier, my love.'
'Yes, alright. I understand.'
Winter had set in as deep as it would ever get. To go out and picnic on a day like this, it seemed, was an act of defiance for the people of Rasfura, a proclamation that they were not afraid of what the winter would bring them. This remained true even when the winter they were experiencing was mild by their standards.
'Do you consider this weather warm?' Solange asked, looking out at the snow that lay several inches thick on the grass.
'No. It is a rather cold day,' Hilbert replied. 'But we will move the snow out of the way in the area we intend to be for the day. One of the soldiers will bring tools to break the ice so that we will have no need to bring water, either.'
'I'm glad you're experienced with dealing with this type of weather, at any rate.'
Solange dressed carefully that morning. She knew that the soldiers would take care to appear presentable before her in ways they would not do in front of Hilbert, with whom they were all more accustomed to thinking of as a friend than a king. She stood apart from them, and she would play that role to the best of her abilities.
It would not be so bad to have the same intimacy with her subjects as Hilbert did with his people though, Solange thought. She had perceived the informal way many of Hilbert's people addressed him as a vulgarity during the early days of his time in Fleuyan, but now she was almost ashamed of the distance she herself kept from her servants. She wanted to emulate Hilbert's leadership style, which made all of his people love and admire him so. As such, she was determined to make the most of their excursion today in order to acquaint herself with the soldiers as much as possible.
'Hilbert,' she said, standing before the floor-length mirror in their bedroom and surveying her reflection critically, 'will you bring me my cloak?'
He went to her wardrobe, then returned with the cloak in hand. Solange was surprised by the dark, heavy cloth he draped over her shoulders. She looked down at herself, and then at her reflection.
'Oh ... this is the cloak you gave me,' she said.
'Yes.' Through the reflection of the mirror, Solange looked into the apprehension in Hilbert's eyes. 'You look even more beautiful in it than I imagined.'
'Do you really think it suits me?'
'Naturally.'
'Then you have no eye for fashion at all.'
The fur collar completely swallowed up her shoulders, and the cloth fell almost all the way to her feet, one long swath of deep brown that was black from a distance. It made her look tiny. Her golden head seemed to be floating over the mass of fabric that engulfed her. Solange had seen Brigitta wear a dress of the exact same colour, and she strongly suspected that the reason Hilbert had selected this colour for her was because Brigitta had once demanded something like this for herself, and he had come to the conclusion that it was something all women would find pleasing. It was very like him to think so directly and so simply.
Hilbert looked disappointed.
'But I know you say that out of love,' Solange said, 'and you gave me this out of love too. I will wear it if you wish.'
'You are kind to me,' he said.
'It is not kindness. Wasn't I shockingly rude to you over this thing you gave me with nothing but the purest of intentions?'
'Your anger was understandable - and expected,' Hilbert said, the hint of a smile making his beard twitch.
'And now you tease me!' Solange laughed. She turned around to face him. 'I never thanked you for this, so let me do so now. It is a beautiful gift, though it suits me so ill.'
'You will not hear anyone say that today,' Hilbert said eagerly.
'Well, of course not,' she said. She was going to say further that no one would dare criticise the queen, but then she thought of the outcome she desired from the day's excursion. To become closer to her subjects, they would, at the very least, feel able to tell her if she looked silly. They would certainly do so if Hilbert appeared before them covered in flowers and jewels, or something of the sort. 'Certainly not initially. But I shall ask our friends for their honest opinions, and you will soon see.'
'I will indeed - hear that you are the loveliest woman of any land no matter what you are wearing.'
Solange laughed. He was impossible to argue with.
'Let's not leave their opinions waiting any longer then.'
Hilbert offered her his arm and they left for their outing. No matter what their party had to say about the fit of Solange's cloak, it was undeniable that it was the warmest thing she had ever had.