Attolian ROYALTY, Irene and Eugenides, have come a long way since the wildcard couple was voted Most Likely To Break Up by our readers last year. We spotted them Saturday, sharing a romantic walk together on the way to Ambassador Ornon's birthday celebration. The fashionable pair chose a casual look, with Irene in a striking purple pullover and Eugenides in a teal cardigan. The ensembles are from their in-house designer, but the choice of wool garments is a clear gesture to Eddisian textile industries, a fact confirmed by Ornon's reaction. The ambassador "definitely noticed when they came in," said our source. What fun!
drawn (I mean, excavated from the Attolian tabloids) for hippolytas as part of Candy Hearts Exchange!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Summary: I thought that my master’s return to the imperial court would mean a return to normal for all of us, but it soon became clear that the gods had other plans.
The events of Thick as Thieves from Laela’s point of view.
Characters: Laela, Nahuseresh, Ornon, Original Characters
Pairings: Laela/OFC
Notes: This one took forever to write, and it's SUCH a relief to be done with it!!!
Laela grapples with the events of the previous chapter, but it's not long before her entire situation changes once again. Now instead of "my best friend died and it's a relief to some people I care about," we get "my best friend is alive and I can't be uncomplicatedly happy about it."
How Ornon lost all his sheep is a tale of Eugenides going to fairly great (and to an outside observer, hilarious) lengths to find a satisfactory (but less efficient than the obvious) method of delivering his god's justice, after a fairly serious offense.
Hence why people still laugh at Ornon about it, and why Ornon dislikes Eugenides but feels very deeply that he owes him...
Happy Halloween, adventurers! Welcome to the Realms & Nerds podcast!
Join our three heroes - Lean Frontheath, Driv Hellsbane, and Zem Darkst
Halloween may have passed this year, but we still have one more spook for you! Part two of our Realms & Nerds Halloween 2018 special: The Dark Downfall! The ghost hunt was just the beginning... 😈 Repost to share, and don’t forget to subscribe!
I'll ask you the same one as you asked me: 15. I want to see what you come up with!
You know that thing, when you know exactly what you want to say, but can’t figure out how to say it? That’s what happened here. Also, this turned out less shippy than you probably wanted, but it’s still about Gen/Irene’s relationship, so I hope it suffices.
Thank you so much for the prompt!
Warning: Some spoilers for Thick as Thieves.
15. “Shouldn’t you be with him/her?”
The temple ofHephestia in Attolia was a stunning building, the product of bothAttolian and Eddisian artisans. The sturdy, square, pillared designsof Eddis, combined with the rounded, swooping styles of Attolia. Atthe dedication ceremony, Ornon admired the powerful appearance (forboth the political statement it made and the piece of architecture itwas). It had been his first visit; he was indifferent when it came tothe old gods—any gods—and might not have visited the temple atwere it not necessary for Eddis’s ambassador to be present at theceremony. But, he would not deny that the building was beautiful.Particularly then, with the midday light gleaming off the stones, andthe place alive with visitors, colors, and the echoing chants of theHigh Priestess.
It was lessbeautiful now, during his second visit, much later. The lamps stillhad not been lit for the evening, and shadows were growing in thecrevices of the lonely, cold chambers. Even the priestesses andpriests were nowhere to be seen. The place seemed empty.
The king wasn’tthere; it had been a mistake to come, then. Ornon turned, to leaveand searching elsewhere, when he caught sight of Eugenides. He was kneeling before the inner altar, bowed low to the ground, arms stretchedforward in supplication.
Ornon’s footstepssounded loudly as he approached, and the king stiffened as thoughstartled. He straightened and turned, an odd look on his face. Ornonwondered if Eugenides had expected another, less less earthly, lessmortal visitor.
“Has there been achange?” Eugenides asked, before Ornon could even open his mouth togreet him.
He shook his head.“I’m afraid not.”
The king slowlyturned back to the altar, bowing his head once more. He did notspeak. In the silence, the atmosphere of the room grew cold and tenseand heavy. For the first time in a long while, Ornon felt awkward andunsure. With a desperate search through his mind for what to do andsay, he decided to risk what repercussions he might bring, and asked,“Shouldn’t you be with the queen?”
It was blunt, and itwas bold, and may have been the wrong thing to say. For all that thiswas Eugenides, the trouble-making boy Ornon has known since Gen was ababy, he was the king of Attolia. And surely, given the presentsituation, he would be less giving than usual and twice as shorttempered.
Surprisingly, therewas no snapping reply. There was no growl. There was no reaction atall from Eugenides for a long moment. And then, when he did speak, itwas in a calm tone without bite.
“And do what?”he asked, sounding more tired than anything else. “Should I paceoutside her door? Sit uselessly at her bed, and watch as…” Heshook his head. “No. I’m here, like the good little believer thatI am. I’m making sacrifices and pleading with everything that is inme for the gods to let her stay, even if—“ There, at last, thedisturbingly calm voice shook and broke. Desperation and sorrowfilled its cracks as he continued, in a whisper, “Even if they didnot choose to intervene and save my child.”
His shoulders shook,but there was no sound. And as Ornon watched Eugenides grip thefabric on his right arm so tightly that the knuckles on his one handturned white, he realized he was not dealing with an angry king. This was a young man plagued with fear.
A Eugenides who wasafraid was a terrifying sight.
Sighing, Ornonstepped beside the boy, and dropped to his knees as well. Heremembered a few prayers from his youth. So he stayed bowed at the side of the scared young man, and joined him in petitioning the gods Eugenides believed in. And their voices filled the quiet, cold chamber.
