Original Fiction: Danilion x Aikyla
Fandom: Original fiction
Pairing: Danilion x Aikyla
Theme set: Gamma
Rating: PG, maybe dips into PG 13.
Author’s Note: Once again, these characters belong to me. They’re connected with Cassandra and Simon, and I will once again happily share their (somewhat better fleshed-out) story if asked. Other people mentioned include their daughters, Mariya and Kiatha, and their son Leeson. Not remotely chronological.
#01 - Ring
He doesn’t wear his wedding ring anymore, because it has no meaning for him; but the handkerchief she gave him on their first reunion still resides, tattered and cherished, in his breast pocket.
#02 - Hero
They see themselves as survivors, not heroes, because all they have done is survive death and loss and pain; it’s their friends who see them as heroic, because they still love each other.
#03 - Memory
She has packed away all of Mariya’s things, all reminders of their lost daughter, except for the boy, the child they cannot hide away; and she will not admit it to anyone, not even her husband, but she would murder the boy with her own hands if it meant her daughter would live again.
#04 - Box
They’d smuggled her out in a coffin, and she still has nightmares about it; lying on her side, great with child, and wishing she could have died with her husband.
#05 - Run
He who breaks and runs away, lives to fight another day, but greater is the honor shown to those who stay to lose their own...he runs anyway, because it’s all he can do, and he owes it to her to finish it.
#06 - Hurricane
Aikyla is familiar with hurricanes, since she’s survived through them several times in the River Palace at home; this one is hardest, because it’s the first one since she’s left him.
#07 - Wings
In the months after their reunion, they forgo sleep in favor of talking about their son; the time Leeson made himself tree-leaf wings and tried to fly is a particular favorite.
#08 - Cold
Aikyla is always cold, and Danil loves to tease her about it until she squirms around in his arms and smacks him lightly; she doesn’t move away from him, though, because he’s keeping her so delightfully warm.
#09 - Red
Red for passion, red for death; red for her wedding dress, and red for his blood.
#10 - Drink
She never had tea before she came to Lantica; after she returns home, she has it imported, but it isn’t the same without him smiling at her.
#11 - Midnight
Unable to sleep, he traces the curve of her collarbone, noting how fragile it is, and tries not to think about how close he came to losing her.
#12 - Temptation
Simon warns him against temptation, looking darkly at Cassandra, but Danilion is looking at his wife when he wistfully agrees not to give in.
#13 - View
The view from her balcony really is spectacular; still, Danil thinks he’ll stay in and watch Aikyla instead.
#14 - Music
He asks her, about a year after she’s returned, why she doesn’t play the flute anymore; “I have better things to do with my mouth,” she replies saucily, and he laughs.
#15 - Silk
The silk veil lies over her hair like snowflakes on a black horse’s mane, the one image of his wedding he wants to retain.
#16 - Cover
He’s lying over her, kissing her sleepily, and she has never been so happy in her life.
#17 - Promise
“Promise me,” she murmurs, tracing the outline of his mouth relaxed in sleep, “promise me you’ll never give up.”
#18 - Dream
She dreams, holding her son against her breast, that she is home and Danil will walk in, mock-frown and pretend to be jealous of the baby-any moment now.
#19 - Candle
The candle atop her memorial stone has gone out, and for the first time since her death, he allows himself to cry.
#20 - Talent
He has a talent for leadership, for seperating the personal and the important; but he still worries desperately, if wordlessly, when they are apart.
#21 - Silence
The sudden silence from within the room frightens him, as does the solemn look on the healer’s face.
#22 - Journey
All in all, he has made four journeys to Chenia; once to marry her, once to bring her back, once to visit her brother on his coronation, and once to bury her.
#23 - Fire
For just an instant, the sunlight on the water around Kiatha’s feet looks like flames; Danilion snatches his daughter up and holds her close, and tries not to remember the funeral pyre of his eldest child.
#24 - Strength
Aikyla has always seen serenity as a form of strength; it takes him weeping in her arms to teach her differently.
#25 - Mask
It’s a formal masquerade, and technically he doesn’t know who is behind any given costume, but he recognizes his wife easily as breathing; he knows every line of her.
#26 - Ice
She came from a hot, slow country; icicles fascinated her, and learning to skate hand-in-hand with her new husband became a joy.
#27 - Fall
Danilion introduces his wife to the subtle art of leaf-jumping their second autumn together, once he feels comfortable enough to catch her when she falls.
#28 - Forgotten
The court thinks she is forgotten, abandoned in favor of some new upstart mistress; it is only the two of them, and Simon and Cassandra, who know the truth.
#29 - Dance
Aikyla dances, the swift, rhythmic styles of her homeland; her husband comes in, and she adds a quick spin from the more formal paired dances of his country, and draws him into the whirl.
#30 - Body
Contrary to popular belief, he did know she was alive after about a year; there wasn’t any body, after all, and his intelligence network isn’t that bad.
#31 - Sacred
She prays to Raziya, goddess of women, he kneels to the Lord and Lady, she weaves garlands, he lights incense; one would never know that they worship side-by-side.
#32 - Farewells
She didn’t know that when she kissed him that morning, it would be the last time she saw him for nearly six years.
#33 - World
Aikyla spreads out the map and names the kingdoms for her five-year-old son, her fingers lingering over each spot where her husband might be.
#34 - Formal
Simon and Cassandra are avoiding each other, are awkward and formal when they do talk; “Were we like that?” Danilion asks Aikyla, and gets only a rueful laugh in reply.
#35 - Fever
He was ill once, hot to the touch, so ill she feared he would die; the fever broke later that night, but his skin stayed hot against hers.
#36 - Laugh
Leeson and Cail are playing with Kiatha, swinging her around and around; watching, Danilion decides to imitate them, and his wife’s laughter warms his soul.
#37 - Lies
He knows when she’s lying to him, because her face goes still and expressionless, and only her eyes are wounded.
#38 - Forever
The country mourns their king, and wonders at their new queen, and why she smiles as she cries; Kiatha stands before their shared memorial stones, and knows, and does not speak.
#39 - Overwhelmed
The first time she walks into a full Lantican court, she can barely speak, she is so nervous; he lays a hand on her arm, gently, and suddenly she is braver.
#40 - Whisper
The voices hiss behind her, bad mother, bad wife, bad queen; Danilion pulls her against him and the voices are silent.
#41 - Wait
Aikyla sits with her mother and laughs, pretending; they’re waiting for her father, but she is waiting for her husband.
#42 - Talk
He becomes more remote as Mariya lives, is weaned, is declared heir; in the end, Aikyla returns to Chenia simply because she can’t stand that he won’t talk to her.
#43 - Search
Aikyla dreams, running through the palace, Mariya dragged behind her, screaming her husband’s name; he shakes her awake and holds her as she cries.
#44 - Hope
The times turn dark and war looms, but hope lives, in their son, in their daughter, in each other.
#45 - Eclipse
Danilion has always been afraid of the dark, with good reason; the night she dies lasts forever.
#46 - Gravity
It’s supposedly a solemn occasion, with all the guildmasters gathered together to pay homage to their new king; but she’s tickling his leg and it’s all he can do to keep a straight face.
#47 - Highway
The constable scowls and chases after the couple, to stop them and arrest them for racing on a public thoroughfare, and is extremely surprised when the king, looking sheepish, and the queen, still giggling, apologize.
#48 - Unknown
Aikyla closes her eyes beneath her veil; she’s marrying a man she’s never met, and yet something inside wants to take that step.
#49 - Lock
He stares at the door between their bedrooms; it’s never locked, and yet tonight it is.
#50 - Breathe
She stands there, holding their son, watching as he rides into the courtyard; he dismounts, and his eyes meet hers, and it isn’t until she sways on her feet that she remembers to breathe again.
Pairing: Danilion x Aikyla
Theme set: Gamma
Rating: PG, maybe dips into PG 13.
Author’s Note: Once again, these characters belong to me. They’re connected with Cassandra and Simon, and I will once again happily share their (somewhat better fleshed-out) story if asked. Other people mentioned include their daughters, Mariya and Kiatha, and their son Leeson. Not remotely chronological.
#01 - Ring
He doesn’t wear his wedding ring anymore, because it has no meaning for him; but the handkerchief she gave him on their first reunion still resides, tattered and cherished, in his breast pocket.
#02 - Hero
They see themselves as survivors, not heroes, because all they have done is survive death and loss and pain; it’s their friends who see them as heroic, because they still love each other.
#03 - Memory
She has packed away all of Mariya’s things, all reminders of their lost daughter, except for the boy, the child they cannot hide away; and she will not admit it to anyone, not even her husband, but she would murder the boy with her own hands if it meant her daughter would live again.
#04 - Box
They’d smuggled her out in a coffin, and she still has nightmares about it; lying on her side, great with child, and wishing she could have died with her husband.
#05 - Run
He who breaks and runs away, lives to fight another day, but greater is the honor shown to those who stay to lose their own...he runs anyway, because it’s all he can do, and he owes it to her to finish it.
#06 - Hurricane
Aikyla is familiar with hurricanes, since she’s survived through them several times in the River Palace at home; this one is hardest, because it’s the first one since she’s left him.
#07 - Wings
In the months after their reunion, they forgo sleep in favor of talking about their son; the time Leeson made himself tree-leaf wings and tried to fly is a particular favorite.
#08 - Cold
Aikyla is always cold, and Danil loves to tease her about it until she squirms around in his arms and smacks him lightly; she doesn’t move away from him, though, because he’s keeping her so delightfully warm.
#09 - Red
Red for passion, red for death; red for her wedding dress, and red for his blood.
#10 - Drink
She never had tea before she came to Lantica; after she returns home, she has it imported, but it isn’t the same without him smiling at her.
#11 - Midnight
Unable to sleep, he traces the curve of her collarbone, noting how fragile it is, and tries not to think about how close he came to losing her.
#12 - Temptation
Simon warns him against temptation, looking darkly at Cassandra, but Danilion is looking at his wife when he wistfully agrees not to give in.
#13 - View
The view from her balcony really is spectacular; still, Danil thinks he’ll stay in and watch Aikyla instead.
#14 - Music
He asks her, about a year after she’s returned, why she doesn’t play the flute anymore; “I have better things to do with my mouth,” she replies saucily, and he laughs.
#15 - Silk
The silk veil lies over her hair like snowflakes on a black horse’s mane, the one image of his wedding he wants to retain.
#16 - Cover
He’s lying over her, kissing her sleepily, and she has never been so happy in her life.
#17 - Promise
“Promise me,” she murmurs, tracing the outline of his mouth relaxed in sleep, “promise me you’ll never give up.”
#18 - Dream
She dreams, holding her son against her breast, that she is home and Danil will walk in, mock-frown and pretend to be jealous of the baby-any moment now.
#19 - Candle
The candle atop her memorial stone has gone out, and for the first time since her death, he allows himself to cry.
#20 - Talent
He has a talent for leadership, for seperating the personal and the important; but he still worries desperately, if wordlessly, when they are apart.
#21 - Silence
The sudden silence from within the room frightens him, as does the solemn look on the healer’s face.
#22 - Journey
All in all, he has made four journeys to Chenia; once to marry her, once to bring her back, once to visit her brother on his coronation, and once to bury her.
#23 - Fire
For just an instant, the sunlight on the water around Kiatha’s feet looks like flames; Danilion snatches his daughter up and holds her close, and tries not to remember the funeral pyre of his eldest child.
#24 - Strength
Aikyla has always seen serenity as a form of strength; it takes him weeping in her arms to teach her differently.
#25 - Mask
It’s a formal masquerade, and technically he doesn’t know who is behind any given costume, but he recognizes his wife easily as breathing; he knows every line of her.
#26 - Ice
She came from a hot, slow country; icicles fascinated her, and learning to skate hand-in-hand with her new husband became a joy.
#27 - Fall
Danilion introduces his wife to the subtle art of leaf-jumping their second autumn together, once he feels comfortable enough to catch her when she falls.
#28 - Forgotten
The court thinks she is forgotten, abandoned in favor of some new upstart mistress; it is only the two of them, and Simon and Cassandra, who know the truth.
#29 - Dance
Aikyla dances, the swift, rhythmic styles of her homeland; her husband comes in, and she adds a quick spin from the more formal paired dances of his country, and draws him into the whirl.
#30 - Body
Contrary to popular belief, he did know she was alive after about a year; there wasn’t any body, after all, and his intelligence network isn’t that bad.
#31 - Sacred
She prays to Raziya, goddess of women, he kneels to the Lord and Lady, she weaves garlands, he lights incense; one would never know that they worship side-by-side.
#32 - Farewells
She didn’t know that when she kissed him that morning, it would be the last time she saw him for nearly six years.
#33 - World
Aikyla spreads out the map and names the kingdoms for her five-year-old son, her fingers lingering over each spot where her husband might be.
#34 - Formal
Simon and Cassandra are avoiding each other, are awkward and formal when they do talk; “Were we like that?” Danilion asks Aikyla, and gets only a rueful laugh in reply.
#35 - Fever
He was ill once, hot to the touch, so ill she feared he would die; the fever broke later that night, but his skin stayed hot against hers.
#36 - Laugh
Leeson and Cail are playing with Kiatha, swinging her around and around; watching, Danilion decides to imitate them, and his wife’s laughter warms his soul.
#37 - Lies
He knows when she’s lying to him, because her face goes still and expressionless, and only her eyes are wounded.
#38 - Forever
The country mourns their king, and wonders at their new queen, and why she smiles as she cries; Kiatha stands before their shared memorial stones, and knows, and does not speak.
#39 - Overwhelmed
The first time she walks into a full Lantican court, she can barely speak, she is so nervous; he lays a hand on her arm, gently, and suddenly she is braver.
#40 - Whisper
The voices hiss behind her, bad mother, bad wife, bad queen; Danilion pulls her against him and the voices are silent.
#41 - Wait
Aikyla sits with her mother and laughs, pretending; they’re waiting for her father, but she is waiting for her husband.
#42 - Talk
He becomes more remote as Mariya lives, is weaned, is declared heir; in the end, Aikyla returns to Chenia simply because she can’t stand that he won’t talk to her.
#43 - Search
Aikyla dreams, running through the palace, Mariya dragged behind her, screaming her husband’s name; he shakes her awake and holds her as she cries.
#44 - Hope
The times turn dark and war looms, but hope lives, in their son, in their daughter, in each other.
#45 - Eclipse
Danilion has always been afraid of the dark, with good reason; the night she dies lasts forever.
#46 - Gravity
It’s supposedly a solemn occasion, with all the guildmasters gathered together to pay homage to their new king; but she’s tickling his leg and it’s all he can do to keep a straight face.
#47 - Highway
The constable scowls and chases after the couple, to stop them and arrest them for racing on a public thoroughfare, and is extremely surprised when the king, looking sheepish, and the queen, still giggling, apologize.
#48 - Unknown
Aikyla closes her eyes beneath her veil; she’s marrying a man she’s never met, and yet something inside wants to take that step.
#49 - Lock
He stares at the door between their bedrooms; it’s never locked, and yet tonight it is.
#50 - Breathe
She stands there, holding their son, watching as he rides into the courtyard; he dismounts, and his eyes meet hers, and it isn’t until she sways on her feet that she remembers to breathe again.