So this is my @captiveprince–ss thing for @actuallydrarry who asked for some post Kings Rising angst and courting in an AU where Auguste is alive. I really hope that you like that and have an amazing start into the new year!
The rain was drumming a steady rhythm against the castle walls and Damen’s eyes were fixed at the grey piece of heaven that one of the high windows showed him. It was raining, had been for days, and Damen sighed. He glanced at the papers in front of him, words above words securing the outlines of a peace between two countries that would hopefully prove to be steady. A few weeks had passed since Damen’s crowning ceremony, him being busy with negotiations ever since, and even before, as he still lay recovering from his wound inflicted by Kastor, diplomats from both Akielos and Vere had started to outline the peace that Auguste and Damen had agreed on.
Damen certainly was glad to be back in Ios, at home, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but admit to himself just how much he missed the two Veretians who had helped him so much in defeating Kastor and reclaiming his throne. Auguste had proven himself to be not only a true king and leader to his people but also a man whose company Damen enjoyed greatly, and Laurent… Well. As much as Damen was still surprised by it himself, he couldn’t deny that he had fallen in love with the prince of their former enemy country, and he also knew that this wouldn’t have been any different if Akielos and Vere would have still been at war with each other. He had made his decision between a kingdom or this long ago; his heart had decided probably even earlier than he became aware of it.
While Damen was still looking out into the rain, a servant arrived to remind him of the meeting he was supposed to attend in the evening; talking about new treaty regulations and taxes between Akielos and Vere with some influential merchants in the house of one of them. So he got ready, actually thankful for a reason to leave the palace and the thoughts of missing a certain Veretian; of blue eyes looking at him with so much honesty in them, soft blond hair between his fingers…
It was still raining when Damen rode out of the palace’s gates with Nikandros and the little guard that accompanied them, and soon, Damen felt like his cloak was soaking wet. The anticipation for the evening quickly vanished, what was it than just more hours of negotiations, and when he was just wondering when he might be able to go on a state visit to Vere, the world suddenly seemed to lose its ground, he was flying, flying through the air, the breath getting knocked out of his lungs, and then there was darkness, the world going black, black, black…
“Laurent?”
Auguste’s voice caused Laurent’s eyes to snap up from the book he had nearly fallen asleep over; fixing on his older brother. His lips were tightly closed, a hint of worry in his oh so blue eyes, and in an instant, Laurent was wide awake.
“What happened?”
“A messenger has just arrived. From Ios.”
Laurent balled his hands into fists, nails digging into soft flesh.
“Apparently, Damen was taking a ride on a rainy day, and somehow, his horse slipped at a wet cobblestone, and he fell.”
Auguste had witnessed his little brother growing up to be a man who was an expert when it came to controlling his emotions in front of others, but he himself had known Laurent for too long and knew him too well to miss the panic in his eyes, the trembling of his hands that he fought hard to supress. And he was sure that Laurent wouldn’t waste a second in getting to Damen’s side.
When Damen woke up, he was confused. He was laying somewhere, probably in his bed judged by the soft pillows supporting him and the familiar smell; his head hurt, it was pitch black and there was someone else in the room with him. Damen could hear them breathing, not deep or even enough to be asleep, and so he started to speak.
“Hello?”
Damen heard a sigh, one that sounded relived, and shortly after he felt a hand in his own, grabbing it tightly. He wouldn’t have needed the light of the candle that was soon lit to recognize that it was no one but Laurent at his side, and though Damen was still confused and feeling a bit dizzy, he felt himself smiling.
In brief words, Laurent told Damen about what had happened, how he fell off his horse and lost consciousness for days, how Laurent had hurried to Akielos as soon as he had gotten the message about what had happened. And he nearly expected Laurent to comment on it but he didn’t, and he wouldn’t say it, but Damen could see just how worried he had been. So both of them stayed silent, holding each other’s hands a bit tighter until Damen fell asleep again.
In the next morning, Damen woke up to a bright sun, a sleeping blond prince holding his hand and a bunch of flowers at his night table. He watched the movement of Laurent’s eyes behind pale eyelids, wondering what he might be dreaming about, and when his lashes fluttered, revealing eyes bluer than the sky at the brightest summer day, he smiled at Laurent.
The Veretian soon got up and insisted for Damen to let the physician check on him, and when they were finally alone again, Damen pointed towards the flowers. He raised a questioning eyebrow while a smile played around his lips.
“I was told that this would be”, Laurent had to fight a smile himself at his next word, “adequate.”
“For?”, Damen asked with a smirk.
“Courting someone”, Laurent answered, his smile turning shy at the edges.
Damen swallowed, playing with the thought of telling him that his heart already belonged to Laurent fully and forever, but when he looked into his eyes, he was certain that Laurent knew this, just as he knew that he felt the same way about him, and so he just leaned up, pressing his lips to Laurent’s in a passionate kiss; a kiss that was an I love you as well as an I’m glad that you are alright…
Hello! I love you for organizing this!!! I'm definitely signing up but I was wondering if we could not include our url? I know that seems odd but is it possible to remain anonymous? Or so only mods have it? Or should I make a side blog? Sorry that's a lot of questions!
Hi! Ahhhh thank you so much! Happy to know that the project interess you ;w; About your questions:
I was wondering if we could not include our url?
Thing is, I need your URL in case there’s a problem with your email, so I can quickly contact you through here. But if you want to remain anonymous, what you could do is write your name and your url in the application, but state right after (in the same box as your url) that you want to remain anonymous. That way, when I send your application to your gifter, I will only send them your name (without your url and without your email, which reminds me to say that no one’s email will be sent to no one, if any you guys was wondering about that) and all the info they’ll need to make your gift. I suppose that I will ask your giftee beforehand to remember to send me a link to your gift once they post it, and I will send that link to you through your email (or your tumblr, since I will be the only one to have it)!
Is it possible to remain anonymous?
As explained previously, yup! You will remain anonymous to your gifter and to the rest of the community. And…
Or so only mods have it?
If you want to remain anonymous, I will make sure to be the only one to have your URL, yes ^^
Or should I make a side blog?
A side-blog could work too! But tbh I don’t think you need to complicate things for you that much. We can perfectly make this work out without a side-blog!
Don’t worry about the amount of questions! I’m here to help clear any and all of your doubts so you’re 100% comfortable with everything when sending your application. I hope this isn’t too messy! But please feel free to leave another quesion if you need more (or better) explanations~
If we don't want to sign up to produce, can we get on the pinch hit list anyway?
Hey there!
When you sign up as a gifter and you click the option to sign up as a pinch hitter (referred to as “back-up” gifter in the application) it means that there could eventually be extra content for you to produce. If another gifter drops out, for example. But it’s not sure at all, and you’d still be producing your own piece.
However, if you sign up only as a pinch hitter, you would only be producing a gift if someone withdraws from the event, but you would not be getting a gift, which would be a bit sad ;;;
When we finish the gift do you want us to tag the giftees in it? I'm sorry if it said that and I didn't understand, comprehension isn't my best skill.
Hello! This wasn’t mentionned anywhere, so it’s not your fault at all if you didn’t catch it, worry not! I was actually going to address this later on, but I don’t want you to worry about this any longer so here it is:
Once the moment comes for you to post your gift(s) (between Dec. 24 and Dec. 31), you will have three options for posting:
post it on your own blog and tag your giftee’s URL in it (optional: @captiveprince--ss as well) OR
submit it to your giftee’s blog (if possible) OR
submit it to the event’s blog
Choose whichever way feels more comfortable and less stressful for you! And remember, whether you submit your gift to your own blog or directly to the event’s blog, please add in the info listed below along with your gift:
you giftee’s name and URL
pairing(s) and/or character(s) you created for
any trigger/squick warnings or pertinent tags
and maybe a small note for your giftee?
All gifts posted to the gifter’s own blogs (option 1) and the gifts received by the giftees through submission (option 3) should be tagged with #cpss2k16 in the first five tags so that they can be tracked and reblogged here!
I hope this isn’t confusing! But if it is, don’t hesitate to come back and ask for further explanations! I’m here to clear up any and all doubts you might have so that this can be a fun experience for you ^^ Hope you have a beautiful day/night❤
I don't know if it's just me or the application page doesn't work? Btw, nice idea!
My deepest apologies OTL This problem caught me by surprise... You can now access the application here, then send it through the submission box. Hope to see you application in the inbox soon! Cheers~
