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thebackstage2016-11-26 01:27 am
stagemanagers) wrote in thebackstage2016-11-26 01:27 am
a little kink [the It's Curtains kink meme]
GUIDELINES/RULES:
- All requests- smut, fluff, gen, or otherwise (alternate murders, anyone?)- are welcome so long as it's about It's Curtains. Fic and art fills are all good.
- This is for all rounds of It's Curtains. Intermingled cast requests ("what if so-so and so-so from this and that round met?") are acceptable.
- Stay anon because it's funner that way.
- Use proper trigger/content warnings for sensitive and/or offensive subjects, just like you would in a game proper. If you don't, it will be deleted.
- This is a judge free zone; however, be mindful of character ages, esp. in regards to the younger characters.
- If you do not want your character to be involved with the smut or things that make you uncomfortable please contact me. A list is being prepared to remind everyone.
- Respect player wishes if they ask to not have their character be in smut, or anything out of their comfort zone. Again, comments in violation will be deleted.
Have fun, darlings! If any rules are violated please don't hesitate to to PM this account or alert one of the mods.
Any, Act 2 - after the curtain call
(Anonymous) 2020-08-17 07:55 pm (UTC)(link)A Real Life Happily Ever After [1/3]
Well, perhaps less so in the democracy formerly known as Richard's Land, but they had still gossipped plenty about King Richard's absence the first time he went missing. And over the seven weeks that the (One True, apparently, which was plenty to gossip about all on its own) King was missing this time, there was certainly enough of a fuss kicked up over trying to find him that even the commoners took notice.
Anything that's important enough to delay a royal wedding has got to be some sort of crisis, after all.
And when Richard returned intact with a young girl in tow, a ward of about fifteen years, the rumor mill flew into overdrive.
Some said because of Richard's fiancee's advanced age (which, good on him for not going super young this time, others added with a note of respect), she would be childless, and so Richard had disappeared to find a potential heir. That was a reasonable enough explanation, though there seemed to be no good reason why he would choose to return with a princess rather than a prince.
Some speculated that she was his bastard, which often devolved into philosophical discussions on whether or not girls could be bastards, and whether it was easier to legitimize a bastard who was born before one parent was ever married than one born out of infidelity, since her age handily put her birth long before Richard's marriage to Madalena. They didn't look dissimilar, with pale skin and dark tresses and expressive blue eyes.
Others argued that they had heard from their cousin's hairdresser's sister-in-law, who used to work for the King, that the King had been "untouched" on his wedding day, and therefore the girl couldn't possibly be his. It had to, therefore, be his older brother, Prince Kingsley's.
Gross, said one, not wanting to think about the implications of the much older prince fathering a child, even 15 years ago when he had been more in the autumn of his years than full on winter.
And yet, continued the other, who had been interrupted in the middle of their theory, their father's best friend's older brother had been in court the day that Prince Kingsley turned down the throne and passed it to Richard, and he had totally heard the prince say that he was going to "sow bastards across the land like wildflower seeds."
Well if that's the case, it wouldn't have been hard to find a male heir, would it?
Maybe it was a compromise? Legitimizing his brother's bastard for the sake of the bloodline, but only a girl, just in case he and his wife did get blessed with a son?
Yeah, that seemed fair. Good thing the girl seemed like she was nothing like the Prince.
Richard, for his part, had no idea about the gossip that surrounded his prolonged absence. He was proud to show off his new ward, as proudly as he showed off Roberta his future wife, and there was nary a single function he was willing to attend without his queen on one arm and his ward on the other. The first major social event was Galavant and Isabella's wedding, which Galavant had initially postponed when Richard had gone missing before invites were sent.
The second important event was Richard and Roberta's wedding, and Roberta's coronation as Queen. This took a little longer to organize, but it was worth it in the end. And at the absolutely banging party that one of King Richard's other weird new friends Queen Anne threw after the ceremony, Richard spent the whole night on cloud nine, dancing with Roberta and Red (and his other guests) until he swore his feet were going to fall off.
He adored both of them with his whole chest, a fact that was plain to anyone who watched him watching them for more than five minutes. But anyone who knows what it's like to love knows how blind it makes even the sharpest of men, and Richard could hardly be accused of being the sharpest of men.
So, it often fell to Roberta to protect Red from the rumors about her, which she did by loving and teaching the girl as if she was her own, something which Red made it easy to do. Roberta knew the truth, of course, she'd answered the mysterious summons to "Denny's" and met her King and his new ward (along with several other... well, colorful characters) there.
She'd found out from Queen Anne that Richard had died, a fact which Richard tried to deny at first but fessed up to when he saw that Roberta was more upset than angry. But he had been adamant that it wasn't Red's fault, no matter what she said, that he had been clumsy and foolish. And, well. Roberta knew he could be both of those things, so she believed him. He was alive, now, and he and Red were undeniably close, and that was enough for Roberta.
It was perhaps not the most ladylike for the Queen to teach the Princess swordplay and duelling, but they loved it. And Richard loved watching them at it, could sit on the balcony for hours and listen to the sound of their laughter and their swords meeting, as Bobby taught Red the proper footwork, and most importantly safety behind how to wield a blade. They bonded over being dragged into royalty by how much they loved Richard, despite their common birth, over how much they struggled with the floor-length gowns and sleeves, and stays, and heels, and corsetry, and heavy jewelry, versus how easily all of those trappings came to him.
They were happy. They had each other (and Tad Cooper, of course).
And then they had one more.
A Real Life Happily Ever After [2/2 I lied]
Red hadn't seen him this serious and worried since the opera house, and the thought of losing Roberta left her feeling scared, and ill. She tried to stay close, for Richard's sake, fetching water and cool towels and food, in the hopes that Roberta would be able to keep something down.
The doctor came and shooed Richard and Red out of the room while he examined the Queen. With no other outlet for his emotions, Richard lasted only a few minutes before he broke down and sobbed on Red's shoulder. They sat outside the royal bedchamber holding onto each other and praying for good news, until the doctor emerged, saw them, and broke out into a wide grin. Richard pulled away from the hug for a modicum of poise, but kept hold of Red's hand.
"Congratulations are in order, Your Majesty. Your queen is with child."
Red gasped, squeezing Richard's hand tight. Richard's grip, however, went slack, as his eyes rolled up into his head and he passed flat out on the stone floor.
"Oh! My goodness!" Red exclaimed, hiking her skirts to drop to her knees at his side. The doctor chuckled, kneeling on the King's other side and pulling out a small vial.
"I've seen plenty of this before, too," the old man reassured Red, as he uncorked the bottle and waved it under Richard's nose. Richard sniffed it and pulled a face, scrunching his brows before his eyes fluttered open. "With us again, Your Majesty?" the doctor asked, corking the smelling salts again.
"I- buh..." Red helped the doctor get Richard sitting upright.
"I gave the Queen a potion that should help ease her nausea. She can take up to two per day, if she needs to, but the second one is only for if she starts to vomit again. By my estimate, she's halfway through her second month. It isn't terribly unusual for women, particularly older women, to have a difficult time at first, but it's my professional opinion that if she can limit her activity, and start keeping down food, then she and the babe will both be fine."
Red felt a flood of relief wash over her, chased by a bittersweet pang.
"Baby?" Richard repeated. He looked incredulously between the doctor and Red, and then started trying to get to his feet. "I'm gonna be a dad?"
"By the end of winter, I should say," the doctor said.
"The end of winter? But that's so soon! I'm not ready!"
"Of course you are. You already have a wonderful daughter right here." Red froze, right before she was about to stand up as well. She couldn't look up at Richard, she didn't want to see the look on his face. She wasn't his child or Roberta's. She knew he cared about her - she'd known he cared about her ever since he tried to die to save her - but...no one had ever called her his daughter before. Not to his face, anyway. Would that scare him?
"I do?" He asked the question innocently, but it stung nonetheless. She flinched, clenching her fingers in her dress.
"It's alright," she said quietly, and then stood up. "I'm not really his daughter."
"Oh," said the doctor, after a long moment of awkward silence. "I'm sorry. I just assumed-"
Red felt Richard's hand on her shoulder.
"What she means is, she's not mine by blood," he said. His voice wasn't confused or nervous like it had been seconds ago, it was his regal, natural baritone. He sounded confident in what he said, and she looked up at him in surprise. He smiled down at her, and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "But by choice is just as good, wouldn't you say?"
"Too true, Your Majesty," the doctor replied. "With your permission, then, I have other patients to attend to. Please summon me again if the Queen's condition does not improve." The man probably bowed, as he took his leave, but Red was too overwhelmed with emotions, fighting back tears to notice. When the man was gone, her shoulders hitched, and that was when Richard seemed to notice the effect his words had had on her.
"Oh, no... What did I say? What's wrong?" he asked, coaxing her to sit down next to him on the bench they'd been occupying before. She couldn't bring herself to speak right away, instead just hugged him tight and let it speak for itself. He hugged her back, snuggling her so close that if he wanted her any closer he'd have to pull her into his lap.
"...Did you mean it?" she asked, when her tears had calmed down a little.
"Mean what?" Richard asked.
"What you said, about me being your..."
"My daughter? Of course I did!" He took her by the shoulders and pulled her back from the hug, in a way that was familiar to both of them. Then he tilted her chin up, and wiped the tears from her face with the pad of his thumb. She glanced away from meeting his earnest blue eyes.
"Even with a new baby?" she asked.
"Duh," he said immediately, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He or she will need their big sister." Then, a little sheepishly, "I mean, if you still want to stay..."
Her parents and grandmother had raised her for fifteen years. She still loved them, carried them close in her heart, of course. But Richard, and later Roberta, had been there for her too. They'd taken her in and given her a home, when she didn't have one to return to. It was like a fairytale come true, and she... Between Roberta getting so sick, and the sudden news of a baby, she'd been so briefly afraid that it was all over, that she forgot who she was dealing with.
She nodded, smiling.
"I think I can do that," she said. "I mean, I want to stay." His lips pursed in a thin smile behind his beard, and his eyes softened.
"C'mere, you," he said, and pulled her into another hug. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his chest again, snuggling in close against his velvet tunic. He held her extra tight for a quick moment, gave her a kiss on the head, and then rubbed her shoulder before letting go. "Let's go see how Roberta is feeling," he said, standing and pulling on her hand. She grinned and let him lead her to the bedchamber door.
Roberta looked much better when they opened the door. Still tired, but she was sitting up, and smiled widely when they came in, her hand instinctively coming up to cover her stomach. Red and Richard froze in the doorway.
"He told you, didn't he?" Roberta asked, barely able to contain her excitement. Red nodded, smiling.
"Oh, Bobby," Richard breathed. Roberta laughed, and held out her arms.
"Well, don't just stand there you two, come over here and give me a hug!" she exclaimed, her voice bubbling out of her, waving her hands frantically to gesture them closer. Red looked at Richard, and then took off running.
"Wha- hey! No fair, she's my wife!" he shouted, barreling after her. Red let out a squeal of laughter as Richard roared, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her wholly up and out of the way. She stumbled a little when her feet hit the ground again, but that was all the advantage that Richard and his longer legs needed. He bounced onto his side of the bed like a little kid, eliciting a loud, helpless scream-laugh from Roberta, as the arms that had been raised to welcome him quickly turned into holding him at bay.
"No- no, Richard! You're as bad as Tad Cooper!" Roberta complained with a laugh. "Red, help!" she called out. Red hiked up her skirts and clambered onto the immense bed with them, just as Richard finally won and pulled Roberta into a deep, loving kiss. She sat back on her heels and watched them, as the kiss broke and they just stared deep into each others' eyes. If she hadn't just been reassured that there was space for her here, she would have felt like she didn't belong. She still felt like she was intruding on a private moment.
But then the moment passed, and they both looked to her with wide grins. Richard held out his arm for her, as Roberta made space between them and then motioned her over as well.
She couldn't refuse an invitation like that. She grinned, crawling over and settling into the offered place, wrapping her arms around Roberta in a hug. Richard wrapped his arms around both of them, settling his chin on top of Red's head. Red closed her eyes happily, wrapped in the warmth of their arms. Roberta hummed, her fingers idly toying with the ends of Red's curly hair.
"So obviously their name has to start with 'R,' right?" Richard said, breaking the comfortable silence. He lifted his head from its perch and pushed away slightly, presumably to look down at both of them. "I mean, Richard, Roberta, Red... Ooh! How about Regal, if it's a boy?"
"Richard, I'm not naming our son Regal. What about when he becomes king? 'King Regal' sounds a little silly."
"Well, my brother would have been King Kingsley, so I- oh my God. No, you're right, that is awful. Alright, fine, we'll put a pin in that. What about Romilda-"
"No." Red opened her eyes and glanced up at Roberta, who started laughing with her when they realized they'd said it in unison. She could practically hear Richard pouting, and so tried to think of a suggestion of her own to help.
"What about Rowan?" she suggested.
"Rowan?" Roberta repeated.
"Prince Rowan..." Richard tested the name thoroughly on his tongue.
"Or Princess Rowan," Roberta was quick to point out. "I like it. I think it sounds sweet."
"Hm..." Richard snuggled in again, reaching across Red so he was holding onto both her and Roberta. "Not bad. We'll have to sleep on it some, of course, make sure that God doesn't tell us to name him - or her - something else, but. It's a good start." Roberta hummed her agreement. Richard hummed too, a soft, low note that vibrated against Red's back, and then slowly turned into a gentle song.
Tears pricked at Red's eyes when she recognized it, the song he'd first sang to her to calm her down right after she'd stabbed him. She didn't know how he could think of anything else when he sang it, but she knew it was important to him. From when he was a little boy. He said it helped him feel at peace when he thought of it.
He sang it to her still, sometimes, when the wolf's sharp teeth woke her screaming in the night.
But now she could imagine him singing it to a little baby, maybe even like it was once sung to him.
"Off we embark on our night time ride,
Cozy and warm on the rolling tide,
'Til we arrive on the morning side,
At journey's end..."
She felt Roberta's arms growing heavy and exhausted around her, and snuggled deeper into the warm embrace of her guardians. They'd taken her in when she had nowhere else to go, fed her and clothed her and gave her a home. A family.
"Goodnight, sleep tight, we're gonna be alright..."
Little Red Riding Hood, once an orphan lost in the woods, now a princess of the seven realms, was really, truly home.
"Goodnight, my friend..."