The Sweetest Downfall

Let’s talk about maps, shall we? As in world maps.

“A Royal Pursuit” is set in my The Mimickers universe, something that I created over a decade ago, that I’ve been gradually honing and building. This world map was drawn a long time ago in MS Paint but it still serves as a handy reference tool until I re-do it with more current information.

This is the world of Raetaen. See the bottom right continent? That is Ghent, and at the top of Ghent, in a forest that straddles a river, is Aldagar, which is where A Royal Pursuit takes place. Aldagar is both the name of the capital city and the name of the country.

Aldagar is also near Meransia, to the left of Ghent, and Ivaline, which is at the bottom toward the middle, noted by the now defunct name of Ivey.

Meransia is home to the Merans, a cat-lizard like species who has very good relations and trade with Aldagar. Merans also, for the record and thanks to Magic ™ are able to cross-breed with humans.

Ivaline is home to the Verdillan, a plant-human hybrid like species who have two separate lifespans and are also able to cross-breed with humans. Ivaline, however, is very set apart, and its residents don’t interact outside their community.

Their first kiss had been in the dirt, sweat painting their skin, and clothes sticking to their bodies.

They’d been training, practicing self-defense for Serena’s benefit. Her amateur status was painfully obvious given the amount of times Layla got her on her back.

It was the fifth time Layla pinned her down when their eyes met. They’d been laughing because Serena didn’t know how to get frustrated, only flustered.

Layla straddled Serena, pinning her to the practice dirt, when she realized how very lovely Serena was. Dust-streaked face and all.

It struck her then, how very much she wanted to kiss Serena. She said as much aloud, mouth moving before her bran could caution otherwise.

Serena flushed and said, “Well then, why don’t you?”

Layla had taken the invitation, closing the distance between their lips as excitement grew within her.

Their first kiss was brief, an introduction of their mouths, one to the other.

The second and the third were better. Sweeter. Wetter. Layla instantly knew she wanted a fourth and a fifth.

And if the look of wonder on Serena’s face was any indication, she did, too.

Sometimes Serena forgets.

Layla is not royalty nor is she one of the nobility. She is the daughter of a soldier, one of the city guard.

But that doesn’t mean she is uneducated. Her father insisted that he and her siblings attend the local academies no matter the cost.

According to Layla, he’s always believed the path to self-improvement lay in a proper education.

Though that doesn’t explain why Serena keeps finding her lover with her nose buried in those… those obscene pieces of trashy romance that can barely be called stories, much less novels. They are the only thing Layla will read by her own choice, as raunchy and explicit as they are.

Poorly written, too, which if you ask Serena is the greater sin.

“You’re just jealous you can’t come up with a line as epic as this,” Layla says, sticking out her tongue. “My nethers quivered with tumescent desire, soaked in the honey of my longing. I–”

“Enough!” Serena laughs. “Please enough. My brain is bleeding out of my ears.”

“Elitist,” Layla teases.

“Only because I have a sense of taste,” Serena retorts.

Honestly!

For the people of Aldagar, who live in proximity to Elvie and Meransia, their rules of ascension are considered quite lax.

Same-sex marriages are not frowned upon and are treated as normal, even for the nobility or royalty. The Ruling Two can be m/m, m/f, or f/f. The Ruling Two don’t even have to be the married couple, so long as one of the Ruling Two are genetic heirs to the throne.

Take, for instance, Serena’s grandparents, her father’s parents. While they were husband and wife, they were not King and Queen. They were King and wife, with a secondary member of his support staff serving as the balance to his Ruling Two, (King and Dame, or King and Sir, in this instance, King and Sir). The Ruling Two do not have to be romantically linked.

Therefore, if Serena and Layla were to be wed, Serena would have the option to either nominate Layla as her Queen and the second half of her Ruling Two, or Layla (who honestly has no interest in learning how to rule a nation), could politely demur, allowing Serena to choose a more suitable candidate to rule beside her.

It is not the fact that they are a lesbian couple that prevents Serena and Layla from being together with ease, but that Layla is not only a commoner, she’s an Unlearned commoner (which is different from an uneducated commoner). Royalty don’t often marry for love, but for practicality, and Layla’s skills are impractical to assisting and supporting Serena in her future rule.

Princess Serena, daughter of King Elian and Queen Cerise, the Ruling Two of the country of Aldagar, located on the continent of Ghent.

Layla, daughter of Nolan’s Guard, a soldier in training. Her parents are Garrick and Noelle.  

Serena is older than Layla by a couple of years. She has a younger brother. Her father inherited the throne when he came of age, and he has a sister, but she declined the throne. (More to come on royal ascension in a separate post). Serena’s mother is an only child.

Layla, meanwhile, has three siblings – two sisters and a brother – and from one of them, nieces and nephews. Layla is the light of her father’s eye, the only one interested in following in his footsteps. Her father is part of Nolan’s Guard, and her mother works in administration.

They first met in passing, ages ago, when Serena asserted herself against her parents, to refuse their protection. They insisted that if she proved capable of defending herself, she wouldn’t need to keep a guard. Thus, she began to take self-defense classes, one of which was taught by Layla’s eldest brother, and Layla happened to drop by one day, causing them to meet.

Amusingly, Layla hadn’t even recognized Serena. She paid little attention to royalty or nobility and therefore barely knew what the Ruling Two looked like and didn’t even know the names of their heirs. She only noticed Serena because she was hilariously clumsy, but had the most beautiful head of hair.

Friendship came first. It later evolved to more…

Good afternoon! It's that time again!

What is it, you ask?

• Send me a pairing/character/group/what-have-you
• Send me a prompt to go with it, whether it's a word or a song or a phrase or a kink

And in return I write you a ficlet, usually a 500 word drabble. Sometimes, more. It really depends on what the muses give me.

You can give me random names and characters if you want (like say, Steve the Centaur, or Polly the Woodland Elf or Jakobi the space pirate), or you can choose from any of my existing original universes. The limit is your imagination.

Rules? Why yes, there are rules now.

• I do write m/m, m/f, f/f, poly, and pretty much any kink you can think of, if you're not sure, just ask
• One prompt per person please. If you send me more than one, I will pick the one I like better
• Comment on LJ, DW, or ASK me on Tumblr. Please don't send it through an IM or personal message otherwise I lose track of it
• If you choose to submit Anonymously, you must give yourself an identifier so I know who to attribute it to. I'm going on the honor system here so please respect that.

The prompt window is open from now until Sunday, November 15th at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time.

Any questions, feel free to ask and I will certainly clarify them for you. ^_^

And that's it. Happy prompting! I look forward to seeing what you all come up with this time.
 

1. NaNoWriMo Novel
2. Edit and Send off my F/F Fractured Fairy Tale story
3. Begin Revisions of In Darkness Dwells

1. War of the Animum The Road to Ruin - Chapter
2. Prisoner of Conscience Chapter Six
3. Shady Hill Chapter Three
4. Break of Day Part Two - Chapter Three