Thimbles and Thunderstorms! - for [livejournal.com profile] october_26

Sep. 3rd, 2012 07:23 pm
[identity profile] nfe-gremlin.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] narniaexchange
Title: Thimbles and Thunderstorms!
Author: [livejournal.com profile] rthstewart
Recipient: [livejournal.com profile] october_26
Rating: Gen, G
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: Alternate Universe for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair
Summary: The problem with seeking the advice of the Lord Trumpkin is that everyone else is going to hear about it, too.

Thimbles and Thunderstorms!


"Two strangers, my lord," said the Owl.
"Rangers! What d'ye mean?" said the Dwarf. "I see two uncommonly grubby man-cubs. What do they want?"
Chapter 3, The Silver Chair

+++

"Master Glimfeather, please send a message to Ambassador Scrubb instructing him that he has the approval of this Council to accept the terms of the Tisroc, and my thanks. Our thanks," Rilian amended quickly as Magistrate Pole snorted and the other five members of his august Council tittered, tutted, and huffed their collective disapproval. Eight years into his reign and Rilian had still not mastered the Royal We.

"Tu-Whoo, your Majesty. I will whoo," Glimfeather replied.

"Here are Scrubb's instructions so that you may give them to the courier," Jill said, writing out the coded message. "And thank you, learned Owl, for meeting this Council at so uncivilized an hour. Do get to the Parliament for some much-deserved rest."

Glimfeather blinked and if he had been a Cat or a Human, would have yawned. "I'm glad to be of service, Magistrate Pole."

Jill offered the note and Glimfeather took it gently in his beak. The Owl hopped down from his perch, minced across the meeting table, weaving through everyone's notes and ledgers (though only three of the individuals present had hands with which to write), and launched himself out of the meeting room's large window.

"With that, we are concluded," Rilian said, sounding, he thought, very definitive and not at all like the obliging King everyone on the Council knew he truly was. Maybe he could

“Your Majesty!” Lady Mismilla injected. “There is still one matter to discuss!”

Rilian suppressed the groan and sank back into his chair, feeling very much like the young Hound who had made the mad break for wild freedom only to be sternly called back to heel. Whoever thought a King might do as he wished had never been King – or never had to contend with meddlesome distant relations and the courtly retainers who hid their purposes behind a decorous air of gentility. He loved his Kingdom; he disliked politics; he hated subterfuge.

“Yes, Lady?” Rilian asked politely, though he very much dreaded what shortcoming his Cousin (third removed) would pointedly raise this time.

“We owe a response to the Duke of Galma regarding the offer of his daughter…”

“Do not speak of it!” Rilian interrupted sharply. “We do not owe anything to the Duke of Galma given that We did not initiate the suit in the first instance."

"But…"

"That is enough! You know my, Our, views. We will hear no more on it!"

His hand slammed down on the table as he rose up.

They would have to end the Council now. Rilian stalked out of the chamber, furious. Fortunately, in his anger, he did remember that Grgur, his Guard, was right behind him and so he managed to slam the door only after the he-Wolf was also through it.

"My tail thanks your Majesty," Grgur said.

"I am not in a mood for your humours, Grgur," Rilian snapped. "I especially do not wish to hear tell, again, of my father, the Duke of Galma's daughter, squints and freckles!"

"Of course, your Majesty," Grgur replied. "Your irritation is understandable. This is the fourth time in a month someone has raised the issue of courtship; it was six times the month before…"

"Yes, thank you," Rilian gritted out.

When he had been ensorcelled, there had been no illusion of control. He had been the Lady's toy, tool and weapon. Duty to Narnia was completely different, of course. By Aslan's grace, and the bravery of loyal friends, he had been delivered and Narnia saved. He knew he was highly sensitive on the matter but would not apologize for feeling that the manipulations of others to persuade him to their preferences stank very much of the Lady's dark magiks.

The Witch had hideously twisted his Monarch's duty to take a consort and produce heirs. Nearly 20 years ago, there had been a negotiated betrothal to a Duchess – what was her name? – the contract had been annulled once he disappeared. Now, Rilian would be no one's pawn and resented those who persisted in dismissing his opinions and desires as romantic whims. The number of individuals whom he truly trusted with his heart was limited to Scrubb and Puddleglum, who had seen him before and after the Witch's spells, and those very few who had known him very well before his kidnapping. And there was Jill, of course.

One of those most trusted and beloved few was now owed a visit. Rilian did not need to say where he was going. Grgur knew. They quickly wound their way up the back stairs and down the side stairs; the route was so familiar, Rilian could walk it blindfolded. Everyone, fortunately, avoided him. The sensitive ears and noses of the Talking Beasts would warn everyone away from his path.

He knocked on the modest door of the ground floor office for courtesy's sake though it certainly would not matter. The door was already open and swung wider to admit King and Wolf.

"My lord?" Rilian asked. "Council is over for the day. May I tell you of it?"

"Caterpillars and crackers!" Trumpkin bellowed. "Don't hang at the door like a thief!"

Rilian obediently came into the office. He left the door open a crack because closed and locked doors made Narnians without hands very nervous. Grgur hated them. Nor was there was ever any point in knocking on Trumpkin's door. The old Red Dwarf was deaf as a post.

Trumpkin was propped up on a couch and buried under a mound of rugs and furs. There was a fire in the hearth to ward off any chill. When he stood, which was rarely, Trumpkin was as wide as he was tall. Long ago, he'd gone completely bald and his beard, turned from red to grey, went to the ground.

Trumpkin had spent some 60 years in this room in service to Narnia. The books, papers, treaties, and ledgers of the business of Narnian rule were all here, neatly ordered in the manner common to all Dwarfs. Anyone who wanted to review the records had to get past Trumpkin, who guarded them as zealously as a dragon before a hoard. Not surprisingly, Scrubb had unfettered access, and Jill as well.

"Sit!" Trumpkin ordered.

Rilian pulled the footstool over and perched on it, so low he was looking up at the Dwarf. He had so sat for years, like an apprentice before a learned master. He thought Trumpkin deliberately altered the stool to always preserve their respective postures.

"Council concluded? What news? Famine? Fire? Flood? Invasion?"

"You sound as a Marsh-wiggle, my Friend," Rilian said. "Truly, Narnia is at peace."

"Piece of what?" Trumpkin demanded. "What piece do the Wiggles want? Loyal folk. Whatever they want, they've earned it and three besides."

"Narnia is at peace!" Rilian repeated, louder and closer to Trumpkin's ear. The Dwarf, regrettably, only used his silver eartrumpet when he wished to do so and became very testy if anyone suggested it. "We have a new trade treaty in place with the Tisroc, thanks to Eustace."

"Who's useless?"

"No, not useless. Eustace! He's my Ambassador and one of my closest advisors."

"Thimbles and thunderstorms! What are you thinking, trusting someone who's useless!"

"Eustace isn't useless!"

"Why are you calling your Ambassador useless?! Tubs and tortoiseshells, you can be thick, boy. Eustace Scrubb is the King's man! Your man! Loyal as a Hound! Especially now that he isn't a grubby man-cub. That girl who was with him. I liked her. Did she ever wash?"

"Yes! She did! And she's not a girl! She's a woman! A beautiful, brilliant woman and, with Eustace, my dearest friend."

"Not polite to call your dearest friends useless, your Majesty."

Rilian shook his head. "No! They are NOT USELESS!"

"Buckets and bluebells! Glad to hear you talking sense, your Majesty." Trumpkin shifted on his couch and peered down at him with sharp, keen eyes that even after so very long, could perceive so very much. "So your friends are trustworthy and competent and Narnia's not in pieces. Why then did you come in here after Council looking like you'd chewed on a wasp?"

"Because I must take a wife," Rilian said miserably.

"Knife? No reason to be glum about that. You're King! Get a knife from the smithy or the kitchens!" Trumpkin said, very loudly. "My judgment, your Majesty, is that it's high time you had a proper Queen, for you and for Narnia."

"Yes! I agree!" Rilian nodded earnestly. "But therein is my problem, Trumpkin. I don't want one selected for me. Not after the Witch. I wish to choose my own wife."

"Forget about the knives!" Trumpkin yelled, his face reddening.

"Wife!" Rilian shouted back.

"So go to the kitchen and get one! And find a wife while you're at it!"

Rilian took a deep breath. Trumpkin was being especially cantankerous today. "I HAVE found a woman I wish as a WIFE. I love her! I want to wed her!"

"Weed what? I thought we were talking about you getting married. Not gardening! No wonder you aren't married when you can't even keep your mind on it."

"I am talking about marrying!" Rilian cried. "I want to marry Jill!"

"Who got killed?"

"No one was killed! Jill! I want to marry Jill Pole!"

"WHO?"

"JILL POLE! I WANT TO MARRY JILL POLE!"

"If you want to marry her why did you leave her in a hole!?"

The throat clearing interrupted Rilian's bellowed refutation.

To his withering embarrassment, Magistrate Pole was standing in the doorway of the office. Rilian leaped up from his footstool perch.

"Jill!" Trumpkin hollered. "Thank Aslan you're here! I've told King Rilian that he needs to get married and he's making a mess of it."

Jill nodded. "Yes, my Lord Trumpkin, I can see and hear that."

Rilian winced at her arch tone. "How much did you overhear?"

"I believe the relevant question is who in this wing of the palace did not overhear this exchange."

Jill looked over her shoulder into the hallway. "Oh do get back, all of you! This is not your concern!"

Rilian heard shuffles, flaps, and clops of hooves on stone. Jill shut the door, so now it was just the two of them. And Trumpkin. And Grgur. And Tilly, the Boarhound who guarded Jill and had come to Trumpkin's office with her. Both Canines were wearing the same look of weary disgust.

Jill tilted her head. "I believe there is something you wish to ask me?"

"Well, yes. I…"

"Toadstools and tulips! He wants to marry you, girl!" Trumpkin shouted, establishing that he could hear some things just fine when he chose to. "Especially since you had a wash."

"Thank you, my lord Trumpkin, for your wise and valued assistance," Jill said. Trumpkin received a fond smile. Rilian received a skeptical eyebrow raised. "You wish to marry? But not your Telmarine fourth cousin with appropriate political connections? Or the Duke of Galma's wealthy daughter? Or the beautiful Archen princess who solidifies our ties to Anvard? Or any in the very, very long line of beautiful, rich, titled, accomplished, well-connected women who have been beating on the Cair Paravel doors for the last eight years?"

"Yes, but I mean no, not them." Rilian said.

"You wish to marry me though I provide no political advantage to you and to Narnia whatsoever?"

"Yes! We do."

"We?" Jill replied, smiling. "You revert to the Royal We now?"

"Me," Rilian repeated. "Myself. I. Love. You. Jill. Pole. I…" He threw up his hands. "I am so sorry. This was not how it was supposed to be. I wanted to ask you on the Tower, where we first walked to stave off our fears of night and dark. I wanted to sing my love with the Stars of my family watching over us." All the pretty and heartfelt declarations he had rehearsed were spilling out in a jumbled, garbled rush. "I didn't want …"

"Oh do stop correcting yourself, Rilian," Jill interrupted. "You were doing very well."

"I was?"

"Yes, so please continue. Scrubb told me that he was so weary of our dithering that he was going to lock us in a room if we had not resolved it by his return."

"So you do wish to marry? Us? We? Me?"

"Yes, Rilian, I do. All of you, regardless of pronoun confusion. Very much. You did not really expect a different answer, did you?"

"Well, I…"

"Soup and celery! Your Majesty, what are you waiting for!" Trumpkin bellowed as Rilian tried to bend a knee before the woman he had come to love so well over so many years. "Would you just kiss her and be done with it!"

"Thimbles and thunderstorms, yes, please do so!" Jill said, and stepped into his waiting arms.
+++
Author's note: Given the specific request for a happy ending with either a Lucy/Caspian or Jill/Rilian pairing, AU seemed a necessity. Rilian's desire to sing to Jill with his family of Stars watching over them is very much inspired by Snacky's Sing Down The Stars, a wonderful Rilian fic from last year's NFE.

Thank you for a fun prompt!
Thanks to [redacted] for the beta!

Original Prompt: What I want: Jill or Lucy-centric fic, Golden Age/Silver Chair. Jill/Rilian, Lucy/Caspian. Movie fic.
Prompt words/objects/quotes/whatever: Lucy prompt: I've always wanted more of Lucy on Dawn Treader - how did it feel to be back? how did it feel to meet Caspian so much older? And, if you've seen the movie, how does Eustace react to the much more mature/active Lucy?

Jill prompt: I've been fascinated by Jill's role as they meet Rilian since I was a little girl and I would love to read more about them together. If you've seen the BBC TV-series, I thought that there were interesting sparks between Jill and Rilian while he's still bewitched. If you decide on a romance, please tweak her age up a bit. :)

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-03 11:43 pm (UTC)
hydrangea: (me: vardag)
From: [personal profile] hydrangea
Thanks so much for the gift fic! I had tons of fun reading it and I really liked it. ^^ I love all kinds of AUs and alternate endings, so this was perfectly my thing and delightful at that.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-10 01:01 pm (UTC)
ext_418583: (Default)
From: [identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com
I am so glad you liked it! It was never a pairing I had thought of before and it was such fun to play with! Thank you for a great prompt!

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-04 12:26 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] starbrowsings.livejournal.com
Oh how lovely! I find an AU in which Jill and Eustace stay in Narnia very believable (why are the Pevensies the only ones who get to enjoy Narnia for years?), and even more so that Rilian would be far more drawn to Jill (herself an outsider and newcomer to the Narnian way of life) than any of the silly princesses. This was just beautiful, and hilarious too. You got Trumpkin to a T! And the allusions to Trump's first impressions of Jill Pole, WIN!! I loved the way Rilian shouted his proposal first to Trumpkin, I was laughing so hard! I've gotta agree with the prompter, Rilian was totally seducing Jill in the Underworld. (In my head, that is.) I'm so glad to see this pairing done so thoughtfully and realistically. This would make a lovely longer fic too. I'd be thrilled to read more of the world you introduce here: Rilian's awkwardness dealing with the Narnians after such a long and painful separation, and the roles Eustace and Jill have taken in his kingdom, and perhaps some extra UST between Rilian and Jill to set up the yummy proposal. You did an amazing job here and left me craving more more MORE! :D

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-10 01:04 pm (UTC)
ext_418583: (Default)
From: [identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com
Thank you!

As I mentioned in the PM, I had thought of doing more UST with them on the tower, he looking for comfort from his family and Jill afraid of the dark -- I totally agree with you about her being afraid of the dark, which I remember from your own story. But it would have been a very, very long tale, I think. This is a long courtship I think, one of a friendship that slowly grows into something else before either of them are even aware of it. So, after your awesome Lucian, you get right on this, OK?

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-04 12:36 pm (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
This is so wonderful! Love the pronoun confusion! <3
-Ruan Chun Xian

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-10 01:04 pm (UTC)
ext_418583: (Default)
From: [identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com
Thank you! It's been wonderful to have you in the NFE this year!

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-04 01:40 pm (UTC)
the_rck: (Default)
From: [personal profile] the_rck
This is an interesting AU. I enjoyed seeing what Jill and Eustace made of remaining in Narnia. Rilian's love for Jill is sweet.

Thanks for writing!

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-10 01:04 pm (UTC)
ext_418583: (Default)
From: [identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com
Thank you so much! it was great having you in the NFE this year!

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-04 02:18 pm (UTC)
snacky: (narnia silver chair)
From: [personal profile] snacky
Poor Rilian, thwarted at every turn, and humiliated in front of a very interested audience, but he triumphed in the end and got the girl! :D

What a fun AU, seeing what could have happened, if Jill and Eustace stayed in Narnia! Well done. And thanks for the shout-out at the end.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-10 01:06 pm (UTC)
ext_418583: (Default)
From: [identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com
The best of this story is what would be totally owed to you and Sing Down the Stars -- the friendship and then real love that grows between Jill and Rilian as they stand on the castle ramparts at night because she is afraid of the dark and he finds comfort in it and he talks to his family in the sky.

Thank you!

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-05 10:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ilysia-039.livejournal.com
Much fun! Thanks for sharing!

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-10 01:06 pm (UTC)
ext_418583: (Default)
From: [identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com
Thank you! OMG she WROTE FLUFF

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-06 05:59 am (UTC)
edenfalling: stylized black-and-white line art of a sunset over water (sun on the water)
From: [personal profile] edenfalling
This is sublimely ridiculous, from Rilian's pronoun confusion to Trumpkin's (occasionally deliberate?) inability to hear the nuances of what Rilian is trying to say, to Jill's adoption of Trumpkin's "this and that!" exclamation pattern, to Eustace's plan to lock them in a room if they hadn't sorted themselves out by the time he got home. I love seeing Jill and Eustace staying and growing up in Narnia -- it always seemed a shame they were denied that experience -- and I am glad Jill and Rilian get a chance at happiness together. :-)

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-10 01:08 pm (UTC)
ext_418583: (Default)
From: [identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com
Trumpkin's deafness is VERY convenient. This is a bit of fluff, light and fun, in response to an AU request that was light and fun. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-07 12:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] aurilly.livejournal.com
This is so wonderful. It has to be at least 15 years since I watched the BBC Narnia films, but the second you said you saw sparks, it all came rushing back that I did, too!! OMG this was so completely perfect. This thing I used to ship as a child and had completely forgotten about. Until now. Rilian being charming, Trumpkin being deaf, the pronouns, the shouting. All of it. Funny and romantic and lovely. I also love the voices. They feel so spot on, with that formal Narnian-ness but with everyone still sounding like a carefree and charming young person with a relatable sense of humor. Amazing job and such a delight.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-10 01:14 pm (UTC)
ext_418583: (Default)
From: [identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com
Thank you so much. I've not seen the BBC myself, so I'm more influenced by [livejournal.com profile] wingedflight21's AU vision of SC and in that one she marries Eustace. But this was fun, such fun, to write a grown up Jill and a Rilian who is not a complete headcase form his imprisonment. I tried to show that he tries very hard to demonstrate he is a true and loyal Narnian and not a conqueror puppet, and while he is probably on the one hand very (maybe too) fair, polite, and accommodating, he is also very sensitive to manipulation. This was such fun and thank you.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-07 07:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] linneasr.livejournal.com
Ha! Hahahahaa! Great story, and I totally did not expect it at all. Brilliant pairing, and I agree with another reviewer: why should the Pevensies be the only ones who get to stay in Narnia for years and years? You've captured Rillian quite well, too, I think. Congratulations!

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-10 01:15 pm (UTC)
ext_418583: (Default)
From: [identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com
Thank you so much! VERY different from my usual and fun all the same!

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-08 03:18 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
This was charming and romantic, and Trumpkin's misheard words were fabulously done verbal slapstick!!

The pairing is sort of AU I guess (given that it's Rillian and Jill...) but I like the way you established that Eustace, far from useless, is a good friend to both king and his old schoolmate!

This was an excellent response to a challenging promp..and a funny, entertaining, and sweet story!!

Clio1792

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-10 01:15 pm (UTC)
ext_418583: (Default)
From: [identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com
Thanks so much for your support.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-08 04:57 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] snitchnipped.livejournal.com
"Eustace isn't useless!"

LOL. It's so good to read your work again, rth! It's been way too long, it seems! A fantastic, funny piece, and it was great to read what you would do with Rillian. And oh, it got the shipper part of my heart all tingly. I've been a closet Jill/Rillian shipper for a very, very, very long time (ever since BBC's The Silver chair first aired here in the States… oh hey, I just now read that in the prompt, too! Well, glad to know it's a common interest.)

Loved it!

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-10 01:17 pm (UTC)
ext_418583: (Default)
From: [identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com
Awww, I had no IDEA there were Jill/Rilian shippers. I've never seen the BBC version. I'm so glad I was able to satisfy that little guilty pleasure! Thank you so much for the review.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-08 12:35 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] heliopausa.livejournal.com
That was a lot of fun! Jill has long been a favourite of mine, and it was great to be able to enjoy a little more of Glimfeather and Trumpkin, as well.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-10 01:18 pm (UTC)
ext_418583: (Default)
From: [identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com
Thanks so much! And it's been great getting to know you better! That ability to share and bond over fic is a magical part of the whole process.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-09 01:01 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tantella.livejournal.com
Aw, Ruth, this was very sweet, and quite funny! You've written Trumpkin so perfectly; he's exactly how I might have imagined him in his crotchety old age. I loved the Useless Eustace bit, in particular! This reads a bit differently from your other works (not a criticism!), but I love that there are still those little pieces (particularly with regard to the Beasts) that are so true to what we have all come to know and love about your Narnia.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-10 01:19 pm (UTC)
ext_418583: (Default)
From: [identity profile] rthstewart.livejournal.com
Yes, if there is a mention of Narnians with no hands, it's probably me or someone whose picked up on it and the problem of doorknobs to those with paws. Thank you so much for reviewing. I know it's different and fluffy but it was such fun to do.

(no subject)

Date: 2012-09-22 01:58 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] animus-wyrmis.livejournal.com
Awwww, I've shipped them since forever. I like this look at what could have been, post-SC.

Profile

narniaexchange: (Default)
Narnia Fic Challenge on Dreamwidth

September 2024

S M T W T F S
123456 7
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930     

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated May. 29th, 2025 04:34 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios