Tin Man fic: Frozen In Time
I...have no excuse for this.
Title: Frozen In Time
Characters/Pairing: Ambrose/Cain, Queen Lavender
Rating: PG
Length: 1270 words
Summary: A short, slightly bent retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale.
***
~Once there was a handsome young prince. He was brother to the Queen, a woman of great power. The magical strength of Queen Lavender was so vast that no other supernatural being in the Outer Zone could hope to steal the throne from her.
The rest of her family, however, was not so well protected despite all of her efforts.
The Prince, on the eve of his twenty-fifth birthday, fell victim to a curse placed upon him by the Witch of the East. Upon his head she had laid a spell, one that left him frozen in time, a prisoner of his own mind and body, until the day his true love rescued him with a kiss.~
***
“And how is my dear Ambrose today?” Queen Lavender asked of the palace guard, a fine-looking young man with stunning blue eyes. She had assigned him to stand watch over her brother; a task most would consider mind-numbingly boring but was of vital importance to the family. But the guard had never once complained in the two annuals he had been there, keeping the silent, still Prince Ambrose company while he slept.
“Fine, Your Majesty,” Sentry Cain replied instantly, giving her a slight bow. “Though Lady Patrice was most displeased that her kiss didn’t wake him. I suspect she thinks very highly of herself.”
Lavender gave a tiny smile, though it turned sad as she looked down at her brother, sleeping on his bed. She reached down to fuss with the shiny silver material of the top of the pajamas she had dressed him in. “I would not wish that woman upon any man, let alone my dear, sweet brother.”
“Then why did you let her try?”
With a broken sigh, Lavender took a seat in the chair next to the bed. “It has been over two annuals and no one who has tried to wake him has succeeded. One cannot take the chance of missing the one person who might be able to simply because we do not like them.”
Cain nodded, giving a sigh of his own. He had been there through it all, from the moment Ambrose collapsed into his current state and through the unending stream of prospective suitors; mostly women, some men, all from royal or high-class backgrounds, all stepping forward in hopes of waking the porcelain Prince. Every last one of them left with the same accusation: that the Prince’s lips were as cold as ice.
Cain never complained, but he could not help how much it pained him. To see all of those people given the chance to prove their worth while his own heart fractured more with every failed kiss. A commoner, he was, a simple Sentry. But he could not stop what he felt. Though he had only known the Prince from a distance before the curse, Cain had known him to be a kind, intelligent, thoughtful and gentle soul. Always greeting Cain as they passed in the hall, Prince Ambrose seemed to know everyone’s name from the first moment they began working in the Palace.
But after all this time spent alone with Ambrose, Cain had only felt his affection grow rather than fade. Even with Ambrose trapped in his own mind, Cain spent the days talking to the Prince. Telling him stories from childhood, keeping him up on the Palace gossip, sharing the adventures of the Queen’s young daughters.
Cain knew the time was swiftly approaching that he would have to take his leave. That he could no longer stand by and watch as one after another, the residents of the realm filed in and failed to wake Ambrose. It was becoming too hard to watch.
“Your Majesty,” Cain started quietly, realizing a long moment had passed since she last spoke. He waited until she looked up from her vigil. “I...feel it may be best if there were a changing of the guard.”
Lavender looked confused, but her face soon showed understanding. “It is a difficult position to be in, watching over someone who cannot hold up their side of the conversation.”
“It’s not that, not at all,” Cain hurried to protest. “It’s just...” He had no idea how to explain himself to her, without giving away his feelings.
“It’s quite all right,” she replied, taking a moment to brush her fingers over Ambrose’s dark curls before standing. “Give me a few hours to find a suitable candidate among the staff. Then you will be free to return to other duties.”
Cain hadn’t known this moment would hurt so much, knowing his time with Ambrose was coming to an abrupt end. When he had made the decision to ask for reassignment, he had not expected it to take place so quickly.
Alone with Ambrose again, Cain felt his throat tighten and his heart start to pound in his ears. This was his last chance, one final opportunity to tell Ambrose everything. Cain knew in his mind that it was for his own selfish good, that Ambrose would not hear him. But that didn’t matter.
Leaning down close to the Prince’s ear, Cain whispered all the things he had kept inside for annuals. But most importantly, how much he loved Ambrose.
When his heart was empty, Cain raised his head, closed his eyes and pressed a kiss to Ambrose’s lips, fully expecting them to be cold. But he found his lips were met with nothing but soft warmth.
Eyes flying open and leaping back with a start, Cain was even more shocked to find a pair of deep brown eyes looking back at him. “By the stars - “
“What took you so damn long?” Ambrose’s voice was rough with disuse, though his eyes sparkled with amusement.
Cain stared at him in disbelief, unable to process what had happened, let alone that question. “What?”
“I’ve been listening to you ramble on for ages, waiting for you to just kiss me already,” Ambrose informed him. “Now get over here and help me sit up.”
Having no proper reply to any of that, Cain did as he was told. He propped himself on the edge off the narrow bed and pulled Ambrose up until he was sitting with a sideways tilt. “Can you - I mean, do you need - “
Ambrose simply flopped forward and flung his arms around Cain’s waist and Cain had no choice but to hold on. “Thank you,” Ambrose mumbled into Cain’s shoulder, not having enough strength to hold up his head.
“You’re...welcome?”
“I thought you were going to leave,” Ambrose shifted his head so his breath warmed Cain’s throat. “I heard you telling Lav you didn’t want to be here anymore. I thought...”
“Shhh,” Cain closed his eyes, giving in to the impulse to stroke his hands over Ambrose’s back. “I couldn’t stand it anymore, watching all those people come through and try to wake you.”
Ambrose sighed. “I wish I could have gotten you to kiss me earlier. Why now? Just as you were leaving?”
“I couldn’t walk away without giving you a proper goodbye,” Cain admitted.
Ambrose tilted his head, brushing his lip against Cain’s throat. “And when I have my strength back, I’m giving you a proper hello.”
Cain chuckled. “Now that’s something to look forward to. Though hopefully that will be before Her Majesty fires me for molesting her brother in his sleep. How am I going to explain this?”
“The same way you explained it to me,” Ambrose shrugged with one side. “Besides, you’re mine now. I’m not letting you go anywhere.” And he held on to his true love just a little tighter.
***
End
Title: Frozen In Time
Characters/Pairing: Ambrose/Cain, Queen Lavender
Rating: PG
Length: 1270 words
Summary: A short, slightly bent retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale.
***
~Once there was a handsome young prince. He was brother to the Queen, a woman of great power. The magical strength of Queen Lavender was so vast that no other supernatural being in the Outer Zone could hope to steal the throne from her.
The rest of her family, however, was not so well protected despite all of her efforts.
The Prince, on the eve of his twenty-fifth birthday, fell victim to a curse placed upon him by the Witch of the East. Upon his head she had laid a spell, one that left him frozen in time, a prisoner of his own mind and body, until the day his true love rescued him with a kiss.~
***
“And how is my dear Ambrose today?” Queen Lavender asked of the palace guard, a fine-looking young man with stunning blue eyes. She had assigned him to stand watch over her brother; a task most would consider mind-numbingly boring but was of vital importance to the family. But the guard had never once complained in the two annuals he had been there, keeping the silent, still Prince Ambrose company while he slept.
“Fine, Your Majesty,” Sentry Cain replied instantly, giving her a slight bow. “Though Lady Patrice was most displeased that her kiss didn’t wake him. I suspect she thinks very highly of herself.”
Lavender gave a tiny smile, though it turned sad as she looked down at her brother, sleeping on his bed. She reached down to fuss with the shiny silver material of the top of the pajamas she had dressed him in. “I would not wish that woman upon any man, let alone my dear, sweet brother.”
“Then why did you let her try?”
With a broken sigh, Lavender took a seat in the chair next to the bed. “It has been over two annuals and no one who has tried to wake him has succeeded. One cannot take the chance of missing the one person who might be able to simply because we do not like them.”
Cain nodded, giving a sigh of his own. He had been there through it all, from the moment Ambrose collapsed into his current state and through the unending stream of prospective suitors; mostly women, some men, all from royal or high-class backgrounds, all stepping forward in hopes of waking the porcelain Prince. Every last one of them left with the same accusation: that the Prince’s lips were as cold as ice.
Cain never complained, but he could not help how much it pained him. To see all of those people given the chance to prove their worth while his own heart fractured more with every failed kiss. A commoner, he was, a simple Sentry. But he could not stop what he felt. Though he had only known the Prince from a distance before the curse, Cain had known him to be a kind, intelligent, thoughtful and gentle soul. Always greeting Cain as they passed in the hall, Prince Ambrose seemed to know everyone’s name from the first moment they began working in the Palace.
But after all this time spent alone with Ambrose, Cain had only felt his affection grow rather than fade. Even with Ambrose trapped in his own mind, Cain spent the days talking to the Prince. Telling him stories from childhood, keeping him up on the Palace gossip, sharing the adventures of the Queen’s young daughters.
Cain knew the time was swiftly approaching that he would have to take his leave. That he could no longer stand by and watch as one after another, the residents of the realm filed in and failed to wake Ambrose. It was becoming too hard to watch.
“Your Majesty,” Cain started quietly, realizing a long moment had passed since she last spoke. He waited until she looked up from her vigil. “I...feel it may be best if there were a changing of the guard.”
Lavender looked confused, but her face soon showed understanding. “It is a difficult position to be in, watching over someone who cannot hold up their side of the conversation.”
“It’s not that, not at all,” Cain hurried to protest. “It’s just...” He had no idea how to explain himself to her, without giving away his feelings.
“It’s quite all right,” she replied, taking a moment to brush her fingers over Ambrose’s dark curls before standing. “Give me a few hours to find a suitable candidate among the staff. Then you will be free to return to other duties.”
Cain hadn’t known this moment would hurt so much, knowing his time with Ambrose was coming to an abrupt end. When he had made the decision to ask for reassignment, he had not expected it to take place so quickly.
Alone with Ambrose again, Cain felt his throat tighten and his heart start to pound in his ears. This was his last chance, one final opportunity to tell Ambrose everything. Cain knew in his mind that it was for his own selfish good, that Ambrose would not hear him. But that didn’t matter.
Leaning down close to the Prince’s ear, Cain whispered all the things he had kept inside for annuals. But most importantly, how much he loved Ambrose.
When his heart was empty, Cain raised his head, closed his eyes and pressed a kiss to Ambrose’s lips, fully expecting them to be cold. But he found his lips were met with nothing but soft warmth.
Eyes flying open and leaping back with a start, Cain was even more shocked to find a pair of deep brown eyes looking back at him. “By the stars - “
“What took you so damn long?” Ambrose’s voice was rough with disuse, though his eyes sparkled with amusement.
Cain stared at him in disbelief, unable to process what had happened, let alone that question. “What?”
“I’ve been listening to you ramble on for ages, waiting for you to just kiss me already,” Ambrose informed him. “Now get over here and help me sit up.”
Having no proper reply to any of that, Cain did as he was told. He propped himself on the edge off the narrow bed and pulled Ambrose up until he was sitting with a sideways tilt. “Can you - I mean, do you need - “
Ambrose simply flopped forward and flung his arms around Cain’s waist and Cain had no choice but to hold on. “Thank you,” Ambrose mumbled into Cain’s shoulder, not having enough strength to hold up his head.
“You’re...welcome?”
“I thought you were going to leave,” Ambrose shifted his head so his breath warmed Cain’s throat. “I heard you telling Lav you didn’t want to be here anymore. I thought...”
“Shhh,” Cain closed his eyes, giving in to the impulse to stroke his hands over Ambrose’s back. “I couldn’t stand it anymore, watching all those people come through and try to wake you.”
Ambrose sighed. “I wish I could have gotten you to kiss me earlier. Why now? Just as you were leaving?”
“I couldn’t walk away without giving you a proper goodbye,” Cain admitted.
Ambrose tilted his head, brushing his lip against Cain’s throat. “And when I have my strength back, I’m giving you a proper hello.”
Cain chuckled. “Now that’s something to look forward to. Though hopefully that will be before Her Majesty fires me for molesting her brother in his sleep. How am I going to explain this?”
“The same way you explained it to me,” Ambrose shrugged with one side. “Besides, you’re mine now. I’m not letting you go anywhere.” And he held on to his true love just a little tighter.
***
End