A Ficathon Walks Into a Bar
Mar. 30th, 2010 10:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
metonomiaTitle: Time from Time
Your prompt: Susan Pevensie walks into a bar and meets... Gaius!
Fandoms: Chronicles of Narnia; Merlin
Characters/pairings: Susan Pevensie, Gaius, Uther, Merlin
Rating/warnings: K+
Word count: 1,141
Time from Time
and in a mystery to be
(when time from time shall set us free)
forgetting me, remember me
Camelot is not what Susan imagined, but then, nothing is, these days. She thinks she ought to know by now that other worlds, even when they are just other times, cannot be contained in her expectations. A fairy-story can be her realest life, and England’s once and future glory can be subject to discrimination and superstition.
- - -
“It never changes, you know.”
“What never changes?” But she thinks he must already know.
“This. The human condition, some will call it. The way we are. People will always hurt each other and betray each other, and we can’t do much about it.”
Gaius drinks deeply, stalling, and peers at her over the rim of his cup. Susan stares back mildly, unaffected by his scrutiny.
“And why is that?” he finally asks. “We must do what we can. I can’t let them all turn on each other – it’s my duty to help them learn.”
“You did not cause it.”
“But I could have prevented it.” She laughs shortly.
“Those far greater than you have failed to prevent the past from repeating itself or fate from driving them forward. Certain things will happen no matter how you try to hold them off, Gaius, for time does not care for our tiny whims.”
He hears her, and comprehends far better than most would, and yet he continues babbling on about his hopes for the future of magic in Camelot, all hinging on a reconciliation between Morgana, allied firmly with Mordred and the Druids the last three years, and Merlin, bound by secrecy and toil to Arthur and thus to Uther.
“She’s a good girl, Morgana. The dreams were so unsettling . . . if she’d only had someone other than just me to talk to about them . . . if only Uther would have told her about Morgause, or . . .” He stops rambling and looks sharply at Susan. “You really do look like her, you know. But I think you’ve seen much more than Morgana. Maybe even more than I.”
She wishes she could smile at him, give him some consolation, tell him that everything will work out. She knows it won’t, though, not in the way he wants. Albion is fixed and cannot be tampered with by her or by anyone. This is a good thing, she tells herself sternly. Uther’s reign will end, and the justice and mercy of Arthur’s court will come. It is not enough, though, not when she also knows that Morgana’s betrayal will only deepen, and that Arthur’s glory will be cut down from within.
- - -
“Damn you,” she snaps at Uther, unflinching even as his guards yank her arms so that her neck snaps forward in a grotesque obeisance. “Damn you and all you have corrupted. I came here to hide from the ugliness of the world, but this is one of the ugliest places I’ve yet seen. You think you have a safe, shining city, but your people cower from you and word spreads throughout the land that Uther Pendragon would sooner kill than learn, would rather hide behind unjust laws than understand his world. You are an idiot, and I will not weep for the destruction of this Camelot.”
“And I say you are a witch,” he replies, “and ought to burn before you spread such lies any further.”
“What magic have I done?” she demands, knowing even as she tries that it is futile to argue with this man.
“You are conspiring against this kingdom’s sacred law, and I have little doubt that you are in contact with our enemies in the woods, including the former Lady Morgana. Your death will be an example to them, and to any who dare to question my rule.” He flicks his hand dismissively at the guards.
“Take her to the dungeons for the night, and tell the executioner to prepare the stake. My law must be upheld.”
Susan sits in her cell and wonders if fire is worse than ice, and wishes she had been able to do more for the world.
- - -
“You are diving,” she tells Merlin as they trek through the woods, pausing every so often to erase the tracks that have carried them away from Camelot. Susan likes the young wizard, who is quietly witty and understands secrets, as well as being remarkably handy with escape routes, and she is desperate to do something for these doomed people. Words are all she has to offer.
“Actually, we’re walking,” he replies. She wants to be annoyed, because he knows she’s being metaphorical, but the silliness is clearly his way of dealing with a destiny that is at once glorious and terrible.
“You – you, Arthur, Guinevere, Morgana – you are diving right now, pulling yourselves into murky depths when your instincts want you to float. And you will – one day you’ll make it all the way down, and then there will be nowhere else to go but up.” He glances at her with a new sobriety, surprised, she thinks, by her sudden passion.
“I don’t think we’re exactly swimming downward,” he says. “At least, not by our choosing.”
“No,” she concedes, “so you’re sinking. But still, Merlin, one day that rock bound to your feet is going to fall away, and you’ll rise, and that first breath of air will be worth it. You just have to make it until then, and then you’ll be free from all this oppression.” At least, until it all goes downhill again.
He watches her, wary and intrigued, wondering what Gaius has told her of his fate and just where she is from, but she cannot say anything else. It is fixed. She cannot make Morgana wait for a better future or overthrow Uther and set Arthur on the throne; she cannot fix Mordred or lock Guinevere away from Lancelot – but she can offer a little hope. She’s felt these little pieces of faith chipping off of her more and more recently as she gives them away, tracked through time like a bread-crumb trail she’ll never be able to follow back home.
“Will you be alright?” Merlin is looking at her with genuine concern, but she cannot force a smile for him when all she can see is his still-innocent young face etched into ice cold stone, his king dead and their hope reduced to a myth.
“Fine,” she waves him off. “My companion is waiting for me just over there. Tell Gaius that I thank him, and thank you, Merlin.” She waits until the wizard is out of sight before trudging across one last stream and up to the familiar blue box that stands waiting for her.
“Where to now?” the Doctor asks with his usual grin, and Susan lets herself smile back because he understands.
“Home,” she says, though she’s not really sure where she means by that.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Title and little teaser quote are from e.e. cummings' poem 'in time of daffodils' I'm really not pleased with this, because it is just a fraction of what I wanted to do with the prompt/situation, but my main ideas are here, and I'll come back to it at some point and expand and hopefully make it generally better.
Edit to include huge thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lady_songsmith , be_themoon , and rthstewart for idea-bouncing and support! When i'm not being angsty over how hard this has been/is to write, I've really enjoyed discussing it with y'all.
Your prompt: Susan Pevensie walks into a bar and meets... Gaius!
Fandoms: Chronicles of Narnia; Merlin
Characters/pairings: Susan Pevensie, Gaius, Uther, Merlin
Rating/warnings: K+
Word count: 1,141
Time from Time
and in a mystery to be
(when time from time shall set us free)
forgetting me, remember me
Camelot is not what Susan imagined, but then, nothing is, these days. She thinks she ought to know by now that other worlds, even when they are just other times, cannot be contained in her expectations. A fairy-story can be her realest life, and England’s once and future glory can be subject to discrimination and superstition.
- - -
“It never changes, you know.”
“What never changes?” But she thinks he must already know.
“This. The human condition, some will call it. The way we are. People will always hurt each other and betray each other, and we can’t do much about it.”
Gaius drinks deeply, stalling, and peers at her over the rim of his cup. Susan stares back mildly, unaffected by his scrutiny.
“And why is that?” he finally asks. “We must do what we can. I can’t let them all turn on each other – it’s my duty to help them learn.”
“You did not cause it.”
“But I could have prevented it.” She laughs shortly.
“Those far greater than you have failed to prevent the past from repeating itself or fate from driving them forward. Certain things will happen no matter how you try to hold them off, Gaius, for time does not care for our tiny whims.”
He hears her, and comprehends far better than most would, and yet he continues babbling on about his hopes for the future of magic in Camelot, all hinging on a reconciliation between Morgana, allied firmly with Mordred and the Druids the last three years, and Merlin, bound by secrecy and toil to Arthur and thus to Uther.
“She’s a good girl, Morgana. The dreams were so unsettling . . . if she’d only had someone other than just me to talk to about them . . . if only Uther would have told her about Morgause, or . . .” He stops rambling and looks sharply at Susan. “You really do look like her, you know. But I think you’ve seen much more than Morgana. Maybe even more than I.”
She wishes she could smile at him, give him some consolation, tell him that everything will work out. She knows it won’t, though, not in the way he wants. Albion is fixed and cannot be tampered with by her or by anyone. This is a good thing, she tells herself sternly. Uther’s reign will end, and the justice and mercy of Arthur’s court will come. It is not enough, though, not when she also knows that Morgana’s betrayal will only deepen, and that Arthur’s glory will be cut down from within.
- - -
“Damn you,” she snaps at Uther, unflinching even as his guards yank her arms so that her neck snaps forward in a grotesque obeisance. “Damn you and all you have corrupted. I came here to hide from the ugliness of the world, but this is one of the ugliest places I’ve yet seen. You think you have a safe, shining city, but your people cower from you and word spreads throughout the land that Uther Pendragon would sooner kill than learn, would rather hide behind unjust laws than understand his world. You are an idiot, and I will not weep for the destruction of this Camelot.”
“And I say you are a witch,” he replies, “and ought to burn before you spread such lies any further.”
“What magic have I done?” she demands, knowing even as she tries that it is futile to argue with this man.
“You are conspiring against this kingdom’s sacred law, and I have little doubt that you are in contact with our enemies in the woods, including the former Lady Morgana. Your death will be an example to them, and to any who dare to question my rule.” He flicks his hand dismissively at the guards.
“Take her to the dungeons for the night, and tell the executioner to prepare the stake. My law must be upheld.”
Susan sits in her cell and wonders if fire is worse than ice, and wishes she had been able to do more for the world.
- - -
“You are diving,” she tells Merlin as they trek through the woods, pausing every so often to erase the tracks that have carried them away from Camelot. Susan likes the young wizard, who is quietly witty and understands secrets, as well as being remarkably handy with escape routes, and she is desperate to do something for these doomed people. Words are all she has to offer.
“Actually, we’re walking,” he replies. She wants to be annoyed, because he knows she’s being metaphorical, but the silliness is clearly his way of dealing with a destiny that is at once glorious and terrible.
“You – you, Arthur, Guinevere, Morgana – you are diving right now, pulling yourselves into murky depths when your instincts want you to float. And you will – one day you’ll make it all the way down, and then there will be nowhere else to go but up.” He glances at her with a new sobriety, surprised, she thinks, by her sudden passion.
“I don’t think we’re exactly swimming downward,” he says. “At least, not by our choosing.”
“No,” she concedes, “so you’re sinking. But still, Merlin, one day that rock bound to your feet is going to fall away, and you’ll rise, and that first breath of air will be worth it. You just have to make it until then, and then you’ll be free from all this oppression.” At least, until it all goes downhill again.
He watches her, wary and intrigued, wondering what Gaius has told her of his fate and just where she is from, but she cannot say anything else. It is fixed. She cannot make Morgana wait for a better future or overthrow Uther and set Arthur on the throne; she cannot fix Mordred or lock Guinevere away from Lancelot – but she can offer a little hope. She’s felt these little pieces of faith chipping off of her more and more recently as she gives them away, tracked through time like a bread-crumb trail she’ll never be able to follow back home.
“Will you be alright?” Merlin is looking at her with genuine concern, but she cannot force a smile for him when all she can see is his still-innocent young face etched into ice cold stone, his king dead and their hope reduced to a myth.
“Fine,” she waves him off. “My companion is waiting for me just over there. Tell Gaius that I thank him, and thank you, Merlin.” She waits until the wizard is out of sight before trudging across one last stream and up to the familiar blue box that stands waiting for her.
“Where to now?” the Doctor asks with his usual grin, and Susan lets herself smile back because he understands.
“Home,” she says, though she’s not really sure where she means by that.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Title and little teaser quote are from e.e. cummings' poem 'in time of daffodils' I'm really not pleased with this, because it is just a fraction of what I wanted to do with the prompt/situation, but my main ideas are here, and I'll come back to it at some point and expand and hopefully make it generally better.
Edit to include huge thanks to
lady_songsmith , be_themoon , and rthstewart for idea-bouncing and support! When i'm not being angsty over how hard this has been/is to write, I've really enjoyed discussing it with y'all.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-03-31 01:32 pm (UTC)I've never seen a episode of Merlin, of course, but I find Gaius so very sad -- seeing it -- though not quite as clearly as Susan does. Merlin is lovely and I love how she is chipping away at little bits of faith to follow a path home when she does not know what home is. Who better than Susan knows what can and cannot be changed?
It was wonderful to wake up to this! Is it cross posted anywhere else so that I can leave comments there too?
no subject
Date: 2010-03-31 02:57 pm (UTC)Susaaaan. She was musing about ionic bonds of hope, too, before. That needs to find its way back in.
The link is posted over at the ficathon walks into a bar site, but this is the only place I have the text.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-31 03:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-31 04:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-31 11:22 pm (UTC)I love what's here and I'm looking forward to seeing whatever else you make of it.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-31 11:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-03 11:53 pm (UTC)I loved the opening line that Camelot is not what Susan imagined; it's lovely because as one who traveled and lived in another world, she is not surprised to find it to be different from the myths and legends in our world of the fabled city.
She and Gaius seem to get along pretty well. Both have chips on their shoulders and it must be hard for her to know what is to come for Camelot and not be able to change the outcome. In this, I am reminded in some ways of how Aslan will not tell Lucy what would have happened had she chose to do something differently.
As for Uther, I suspect that he dislikes Susan even moreso because she probably does remind him of Morgana in some way.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-04 12:04 am (UTC)I really like that idea of the similarity here between Susan and Aslan - I may very well work that in as I revamp this, so thanks for reading more into it than I'd thought of!
And oohhh, yes, that's, I think, the big unspoken reason why Uther wants Susan gone. He *knows* she hasn't done any witchcraft, but she knows a bit too much for comfort about Camelot, and she reminds him in a very disquieting way of Morgana, so she is Upsetting the Peace and Must Go.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-08 05:08 am (UTC)This is gorgeous. I agree that it has a bit of an unfinished feel, but that's mostly in the transistions. The ending is great (the Doctor! Of course!).
I love the comment to Merlin about how they are all sinking, and one day they will have no where to go but up. Beautiful thought, and very freeing.
Also, you compared Susan to Morgana, which is funny because I do think they are very similar in more ways than one - which actually gives me an idea. (Susan. Nightmares in Narnia that are more than just dreams. Huzzah.)
Wonderful, and I do hope you expand on this!
no subject
Date: 2010-04-08 05:12 am (UTC)I can't wait until I have the time/words to really flesh this out.
And yeah, very freeing. Also TOTALLY ANGSTY, because what she's not telling him is that even after all the glory they'll achieve, it will all be lost. *pets Merlin* Poor kids.
WRITE THAT. Susan IS Morgana, from the look to the place in the quartet of characters, to the estrangement from the group....please please, I would love to read Susan the Prophetess.