FIC Courtship Part 5
Feb. 24th, 2009 06:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jessara40k_ljTitle: Courtship
Fandom: FFVII Cetra Restoration AU
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: implied slavery, implied het, implied slash
Zack would prefer to be sitting beside Aeris for this meal, but he’d known that wasn’t an option since they’d planned it out properly. The need to cover why Aeris had issued the invitations had led to a guest list of seven Cetra high nobles, with two low noble spouses, and a total of seven consorts besides Zack. That was too many for anything but a segregated dinner, at least if Aeris wanted to hear from all of her noble guests, so Zack was at the head of the consorts’ table, and he had to guide the conversation, ostensibly to get information about Rowan, but also to get information about Darres, Regis and Lewis. At least he wouldn’t have to remember everything, since Aeris had ordered recording devices placed at the tables and in the ballroom.
Zack waited until the soup had been served before he started, grateful that protocol said everyone should wait for him to speak first rather than start any conversations, and that asking a consort how he came to be with his lord or lady was considered small talk, like talking about the weather.
“Lazard, I’m curious about how all of you ended up as consorts, so would you like to start us off?” It was as much a command as a question, and the blond seemed to recognise that.
“I grew up in Midgar’s slums. I know the Cetra are trying to get people into better places, and less concentrated in the big cities, but my mother and her husband were managing to make a more or less decent life there. She had training as a PA, and she passed some of that on to me, enough that when I decided to go for an indenture they agreed I’d only need a six month course to be marketed that way. Lewis bought me, and he decided that he wanted me, but...it took him long enough to convince me to be with him willingly that we’d fallen in love by then.” Lazard shrugged as he spoke. “I know, it’s normally their bodyguards healer caste fall in love with, but that’s what happened.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Although Zack could see that Lazard had gotten some training in how to fight. “Anyone here got a ‘normal’ story to tell, besides me that is?” Only two of the other consorts raised their hands, both pure humans, so they had to be exceptionally skilled fighters - actually Zack was the only enhanced human at the table, something that had surprised him a bit. “Guess we ‘normal’ consorts are in the minority at this table then. Phaedra, what about you?”
“I think I’ve got the oddest story at the table actually.” She blushed and glanced down at her soup, fiddling with her roll as she spoke. “My lady Lindis once was involved with a warrior caste high noble, and they liked to bring in one of his concubines from time to time, for a bit of extra fun I guess. Anyway, when he called me to their bed she refused, had me sent away, and the next morning, when she left he gave me to her.” There’d probably been a bit more to it than that, but Zack knew Phaedra probably wouldn’t have known about whatever Lindis decided with this lover of hers, and she was certainly beautiful enough to have been in a harem, although not the same sort of beauty Aeris had, not with those lush curves and her dark hair, eyes and skin. “When she got me home she asked me to be her consort, and I said yes.”
“Brave of you to agree so quickly. It took a while before I was ready to agree to that, and I already knew Aeris pretty well when she made the offer.”
“So did I.” Arlene, the woman bodyguard.
“Me too.” Ronald, the third bodyguard agreed.
“And me.” And so did another man, Francisco.
“Well, I agreed at once, but I’d already got to know Regis while he was helping my sister die peacefully, without pain.”
“When did he offer for you then Rhoslyn?” Francisco sounded puzzled, and a bit disturbed by her revelation. “Tell me it wasn’t while your sister was dying or at the funeral.”
“No, no. He still kept on meeting me after she died, and he asked me to be his consort six months later.” She tilted her head as she looked at Zack, obviously ready to change the subject a bit. “Are you saying there was nothing at all unusual in Aeris’ choice of you as her consort?”
“Only that it was Sephiroth, Cloud’s consort, who chose me, to be Cloud’s gift for her on her eighteenth birthday, and possibly that she gave me the option of just being her lover if I didn’t think I could love her.”
“Oh no, the second part’s not at all unusual. Francis did the same for me.”
“And so did Alice with me.”
“Ah, right. Francisco, why were you hesitant about becoming a consort? I mean I was reluctant because I didn’t know if I could fall in love with Aeris, and because I knew that warrior caste get a bit condescending when they’re dealing with consorts.”
“Did you know that I’m a doctor?” That certainly wasn’t how Zack had expected the other man to start his story. “When I was training, on my internship, I met Travis, while he was doing a rotation as a registrar. I didn’t realise he was a noble or even a healer caste at first, and we started dating. I only learned that he was a low noble when I wanted to move things to the bedroom and he explained why he was reluctant. I was in love with him, but...I didn’t want to give up being a doctor. I didn’t agree to be his consort until he promised he’d find a way for me to still act as a doctor, even though consorts aren’t really supposed to work, and when he married Iris she offered the same guarantee.”
“You know...I think Francisco’s story is even odder than yours is Phaedra, what do the rest of you think?” They took the vote while the servers brought in the meat course, along with bowls of vegetables and baskets of bread, and the consensus was both stories were equally odd.
“Do you really need all that much more food than we do?” Francisco sounded genuinely puzzled, he wasn’t being sarcastic or insulting, it was pretty clear Zack had been given more meat than the others, and as a doctor he’d probably understand what Aeris had explained to Zack once.
“Yes, Aeris explained it to me; enhanced humans have a higher base metabolic rate than pure humans do, so we need to eat a lot more than you do. It’s the same as the difference between healer caste and warrior caste Cetra.”
“That makes sense.”
“Speaking of food, I was surprised to see there isn’t any obvious difference between the food served at our table and at the nobles’ table. Usually with segregated dinners the consorts don’t get the same sort of food as our lords and ladies.” Phaedra sounded just a little bitter, and Zack wondered what had made her that way.
“Are there any differences between the food served at each table?” Rhoslyn must have had bad experiences too, and Zack figured there was no reason not to answer.
“Two, maybe three depending how you see it. The bread at our table was baked yesterday, and the bread at Aeris’ was baked today, and the very best cuts of meat went to her table. And of course the Cetra get the first choice of the two deserts the kitchens prepared for tonight.” Everyone seemed to agree that was perfectly reasonable, but Zack decided to change the subject. “Glen, we haven’t heard about how you became a consort yet.”
“I think my story’s the oddest at the table.” Glen had a broad grin on his face as he answered Zack’s question. “I was born a warrior caste, and I grew up near Darres. We started falling in love when we were twelve and thirteen - he’s a year older than me - but we didn’t go past foreplay really, because we knew we were too young. By the time I was fourteen I knew that I wanted to spend my life with him, and we’d known he would be a noble since he was ten. The only cross-caste relationships - or same-sex relationships for that matter - that are legally acknowledged are consortings, and healer caste don’t take warrior caste as consorts, just uncaste and humans.”
“Is that law, or just custom, do you know?” Lazard asked a very good question, but everyone looked at Zack for an answer, and he didn’t have any idea.
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t really matter, does it? Glen, what did you do when you realised you wanted to spend your life with Darres?”
“I decided I’d be willing to give up my caste to be with him, but I knew that if I told him what I planned beforehand he’d say no, and he’d try to talk me out of it. But I wanted security in case he refused to accept me as his consort. So I talked to my parents, they run a weapons school, and they promised that if I could defeat one of my adult siblings before my sixteenth birthday they’d give me a job as an instructor, to show arrogant warrior caste children that being warrior caste or enhanced isn’t a guarantee of victory. And to teach any healer caste or pure humans who preferred to learn from someone who doesn’t have a warrior caste’s natural advantages.” Glen had planned well then.
“Even if Darres decided to accept me after he learned what I’d done to be his I knew I’d still need something to do until he reached his majority. He wouldn’t be able to support me before then, and, like Francisco learned, there are some nobles who allow their consorts to work. Besides, even then Darres was working on trauma injuries, with plans to specialise in field medicine, and he used our school as a way to gain experience, at least with minor injuries.”
“Because you were involved with him?” Zack shared Arlene’s scepticism, but it was a bit rude of her to voice it like that.
“No, in exchange for lessons in how to use a spear. He started when he was ten, and that’s really when we became more than acquaintances, I was assigned as his sparring partner, and tutor. When he learned that I refused the activation ritual for the chance to belong to him he was shocked...and furious, but he still accepted me as his consort when he came of age.”
“Any interesting pupils?” A leading question, Zack knew that Rowan had been one of the students there, and after Cloud had practically made a public announcement that she was courting him Glen should be able to tell who Zack was really interested in without needing to hear it explicitly. And he did, telling everyone an anecdote about Rowan’s first attempt to use a bow from the saddle, prompting other stories about her once the other consorts recognised the ‘real’ reason Aeris was holding the dinner and dance.
Fandom: FFVII Cetra Restoration AU
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: implied slavery, implied het, implied slash
Zack would prefer to be sitting beside Aeris for this meal, but he’d known that wasn’t an option since they’d planned it out properly. The need to cover why Aeris had issued the invitations had led to a guest list of seven Cetra high nobles, with two low noble spouses, and a total of seven consorts besides Zack. That was too many for anything but a segregated dinner, at least if Aeris wanted to hear from all of her noble guests, so Zack was at the head of the consorts’ table, and he had to guide the conversation, ostensibly to get information about Rowan, but also to get information about Darres, Regis and Lewis. At least he wouldn’t have to remember everything, since Aeris had ordered recording devices placed at the tables and in the ballroom.
Zack waited until the soup had been served before he started, grateful that protocol said everyone should wait for him to speak first rather than start any conversations, and that asking a consort how he came to be with his lord or lady was considered small talk, like talking about the weather.
“Lazard, I’m curious about how all of you ended up as consorts, so would you like to start us off?” It was as much a command as a question, and the blond seemed to recognise that.
“I grew up in Midgar’s slums. I know the Cetra are trying to get people into better places, and less concentrated in the big cities, but my mother and her husband were managing to make a more or less decent life there. She had training as a PA, and she passed some of that on to me, enough that when I decided to go for an indenture they agreed I’d only need a six month course to be marketed that way. Lewis bought me, and he decided that he wanted me, but...it took him long enough to convince me to be with him willingly that we’d fallen in love by then.” Lazard shrugged as he spoke. “I know, it’s normally their bodyguards healer caste fall in love with, but that’s what happened.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Although Zack could see that Lazard had gotten some training in how to fight. “Anyone here got a ‘normal’ story to tell, besides me that is?” Only two of the other consorts raised their hands, both pure humans, so they had to be exceptionally skilled fighters - actually Zack was the only enhanced human at the table, something that had surprised him a bit. “Guess we ‘normal’ consorts are in the minority at this table then. Phaedra, what about you?”
“I think I’ve got the oddest story at the table actually.” She blushed and glanced down at her soup, fiddling with her roll as she spoke. “My lady Lindis once was involved with a warrior caste high noble, and they liked to bring in one of his concubines from time to time, for a bit of extra fun I guess. Anyway, when he called me to their bed she refused, had me sent away, and the next morning, when she left he gave me to her.” There’d probably been a bit more to it than that, but Zack knew Phaedra probably wouldn’t have known about whatever Lindis decided with this lover of hers, and she was certainly beautiful enough to have been in a harem, although not the same sort of beauty Aeris had, not with those lush curves and her dark hair, eyes and skin. “When she got me home she asked me to be her consort, and I said yes.”
“Brave of you to agree so quickly. It took a while before I was ready to agree to that, and I already knew Aeris pretty well when she made the offer.”
“So did I.” Arlene, the woman bodyguard.
“Me too.” Ronald, the third bodyguard agreed.
“And me.” And so did another man, Francisco.
“Well, I agreed at once, but I’d already got to know Regis while he was helping my sister die peacefully, without pain.”
“When did he offer for you then Rhoslyn?” Francisco sounded puzzled, and a bit disturbed by her revelation. “Tell me it wasn’t while your sister was dying or at the funeral.”
“No, no. He still kept on meeting me after she died, and he asked me to be his consort six months later.” She tilted her head as she looked at Zack, obviously ready to change the subject a bit. “Are you saying there was nothing at all unusual in Aeris’ choice of you as her consort?”
“Only that it was Sephiroth, Cloud’s consort, who chose me, to be Cloud’s gift for her on her eighteenth birthday, and possibly that she gave me the option of just being her lover if I didn’t think I could love her.”
“Oh no, the second part’s not at all unusual. Francis did the same for me.”
“And so did Alice with me.”
“Ah, right. Francisco, why were you hesitant about becoming a consort? I mean I was reluctant because I didn’t know if I could fall in love with Aeris, and because I knew that warrior caste get a bit condescending when they’re dealing with consorts.”
“Did you know that I’m a doctor?” That certainly wasn’t how Zack had expected the other man to start his story. “When I was training, on my internship, I met Travis, while he was doing a rotation as a registrar. I didn’t realise he was a noble or even a healer caste at first, and we started dating. I only learned that he was a low noble when I wanted to move things to the bedroom and he explained why he was reluctant. I was in love with him, but...I didn’t want to give up being a doctor. I didn’t agree to be his consort until he promised he’d find a way for me to still act as a doctor, even though consorts aren’t really supposed to work, and when he married Iris she offered the same guarantee.”
“You know...I think Francisco’s story is even odder than yours is Phaedra, what do the rest of you think?” They took the vote while the servers brought in the meat course, along with bowls of vegetables and baskets of bread, and the consensus was both stories were equally odd.
“Do you really need all that much more food than we do?” Francisco sounded genuinely puzzled, he wasn’t being sarcastic or insulting, it was pretty clear Zack had been given more meat than the others, and as a doctor he’d probably understand what Aeris had explained to Zack once.
“Yes, Aeris explained it to me; enhanced humans have a higher base metabolic rate than pure humans do, so we need to eat a lot more than you do. It’s the same as the difference between healer caste and warrior caste Cetra.”
“That makes sense.”
“Speaking of food, I was surprised to see there isn’t any obvious difference between the food served at our table and at the nobles’ table. Usually with segregated dinners the consorts don’t get the same sort of food as our lords and ladies.” Phaedra sounded just a little bitter, and Zack wondered what had made her that way.
“Are there any differences between the food served at each table?” Rhoslyn must have had bad experiences too, and Zack figured there was no reason not to answer.
“Two, maybe three depending how you see it. The bread at our table was baked yesterday, and the bread at Aeris’ was baked today, and the very best cuts of meat went to her table. And of course the Cetra get the first choice of the two deserts the kitchens prepared for tonight.” Everyone seemed to agree that was perfectly reasonable, but Zack decided to change the subject. “Glen, we haven’t heard about how you became a consort yet.”
“I think my story’s the oddest at the table.” Glen had a broad grin on his face as he answered Zack’s question. “I was born a warrior caste, and I grew up near Darres. We started falling in love when we were twelve and thirteen - he’s a year older than me - but we didn’t go past foreplay really, because we knew we were too young. By the time I was fourteen I knew that I wanted to spend my life with him, and we’d known he would be a noble since he was ten. The only cross-caste relationships - or same-sex relationships for that matter - that are legally acknowledged are consortings, and healer caste don’t take warrior caste as consorts, just uncaste and humans.”
“Is that law, or just custom, do you know?” Lazard asked a very good question, but everyone looked at Zack for an answer, and he didn’t have any idea.
“I don’t know, but it doesn’t really matter, does it? Glen, what did you do when you realised you wanted to spend your life with Darres?”
“I decided I’d be willing to give up my caste to be with him, but I knew that if I told him what I planned beforehand he’d say no, and he’d try to talk me out of it. But I wanted security in case he refused to accept me as his consort. So I talked to my parents, they run a weapons school, and they promised that if I could defeat one of my adult siblings before my sixteenth birthday they’d give me a job as an instructor, to show arrogant warrior caste children that being warrior caste or enhanced isn’t a guarantee of victory. And to teach any healer caste or pure humans who preferred to learn from someone who doesn’t have a warrior caste’s natural advantages.” Glen had planned well then.
“Even if Darres decided to accept me after he learned what I’d done to be his I knew I’d still need something to do until he reached his majority. He wouldn’t be able to support me before then, and, like Francisco learned, there are some nobles who allow their consorts to work. Besides, even then Darres was working on trauma injuries, with plans to specialise in field medicine, and he used our school as a way to gain experience, at least with minor injuries.”
“Because you were involved with him?” Zack shared Arlene’s scepticism, but it was a bit rude of her to voice it like that.
“No, in exchange for lessons in how to use a spear. He started when he was ten, and that’s really when we became more than acquaintances, I was assigned as his sparring partner, and tutor. When he learned that I refused the activation ritual for the chance to belong to him he was shocked...and furious, but he still accepted me as his consort when he came of age.”
“Any interesting pupils?” A leading question, Zack knew that Rowan had been one of the students there, and after Cloud had practically made a public announcement that she was courting him Glen should be able to tell who Zack was really interested in without needing to hear it explicitly. And he did, telling everyone an anecdote about Rowan’s first attempt to use a bow from the saddle, prompting other stories about her once the other consorts recognised the ‘real’ reason Aeris was holding the dinner and dance.
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HI there
Date: 2009-04-12 04:03 pm (UTC)Interesting group of people. I don't understand Francisco. Why is he having an unequal relationship with someone who ended up marrying someone else? Some of the other consorts didn't have any better choices.
What's wrong with the kitchen that it can't bake enough bread for 14 people on the day of the party? Some breads -- fruit breads improve with age, ones with lots of butter, potato breads -- are as good or better the next day. French and Artisanal breads have to be eaten fairly soon after baking. But any serious kitchen should be able to bake enough fresh bread for one party. If they couldn't they should have changed recipes so that all the bread was baked the day before. Were the consorts who had encountered inferior food being hosted by very poor hosts? If I couldn't afford Rib Roast for all my guests, I would have switched to something cheaper instead of serving Ribs to one set and Chicken to the other.
Re: HI there
Date: 2009-04-13 06:44 pm (UTC)I don't quite understand Francisco either, but the consorts who used to be bodyguards are genuinely in love with their Cetra.
Basically the bread served at Zack's table had been baked last thing the night before, while the bread at Aeriss table was cooked first thing that morning, so the only person who can taste a difference is Zack. The bread's a bit fancier than normal so it took longer than standard bread, and cooking for this party is in addition to cooking for all of the rest of the palace. The difference in cuts of meat is really that Aeris' table gets the first choice, just like with the desserts.
There is a reason for the original segregation at mealtimes - warrior caste have different nutritional requirements to healer caste and uncaste, so it makes sense for warrior caste and their consorts to eat different meals and the segregation originated with warrior caste and their consorts, then spread to other nobles. But now it's just a case of tradition with the different food.