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Valentine's tat ... stuff

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EDIT: Now with text! (scroll down)

Pretty much the only reason I bothered to draw any of this was 'Fangs McSparkle'.

The Valentine's tat was written before I had finished the first draft of Tyrian's book, and is now not canon.  It's not too broken to be fixed, but I will have to get to the right point in the timeline before I know how this day will really go. 

The short version is:

Lucinda went to Fairyland to do a job for Tyrian, as sometimes happens.  The job was to keep Will company on Valentine's, as Tyrian would be busy.  But in the morning, Lucinda was handed a mysterious letter by one of the maids.  She didn't think much about it all day, but as midnight approached she decided to get the jump on whoever it was and turn up early. 

I might repost some bits of it, but midnight approaches now and my my brain no work so good.

EDIT:  Okay, I'll add the relevant bits of text.  And bits where there's important Fairyland info.  But it's not canon cos I haven't caught up in the timeline here in my writing. 
Also there's a reason I called these things 'tat'.  I didn't care about them being literature level stuff, they were just silly things I threw together for the holidays and maybe only went through 2-3 drafts so they aren't my best work.  There will be dumb words and telling not showing and so on. (it takes me a LOT of edits to root out all my mistakes and laziness, okay?)

I figured I should add the ending too, else I might just annoy you all.


-----

"'Meet me alone on the biggest west wing balcony at midnight. And wear a dress.'" Lucinda read out loud. The note had been delivered to her this morning by one of the maids from Fairyland, along with a letter for Sara. Finding it amazingly suspicious, she'd done what she always did with Otherworld stuff and showed it to Erlina. "It sounds like a trap to me, but maybe I've just been working with stories too long."
"Hmm," the fairy re-read the message, turning over the paper and mumbling something. "Well the paper isn't enchanted or anything, but it is a little odd."
"I don't suppose it's from Tyrian?" Lucinda asked doubtfully. "Not that I can think of a reason he'd want to meet me on the balcony or anything, but maybe it's a prank."
"No, this isn't his handwriting," Erlina replied. "I don't recognise it."
"It must be from someone who knows I'm a girl though. Most of Tyrian’s staff don't know." Lucinda tapped her foot as she thought. "That narrows it down, but what do they want? Why am I supposed to wear a dress? Are they trying to expose me, d'you think?" She looked up from the floor to see Erlina was giving her a look somewhere between baffled and incredulous.
"Lucinda," she said slowly. "What on Gaia are you babbling about? This is a love note, is it not? Why else should someone want to meet you alone in a dress at night?" Lucinda re-read the note. Then she read it a third time.
"It's not, is it?" She stared at the offending parchment. "Who would send ME one?"

----

“Lucy, good to see you again!” The king waved cheerily from his throne before leaping lightly down the steps and ruffling Lucinda's hair, causing her to pout in disapproval.

“So what do you want this time?” she complained. “It better not be anything funny.”

“I have people to call on and some of my own chocolate to hand out.” Tyrian shrugged. “The tradition here is that the women hand out chocolates, but you know how I ignore little details like that when it comes to tradition,” he said. “Valentine's is an awfully busy day for me.”

“I can imagine,” Lucinda answered, a little sarcastically. She wondered if he had a cartful of chocolate waiting to be dragged around the kingdom. “Don't tell me you need my help to hand your presents out?” The fairy laughed;

“Oh my no, that wouldn't do,” he answered her. “But I will be out all day, and I don't want to leave my darling Will all alone. He's quite popular you know.”

“Sooo... you just want me to keep Will company?” She tilted her head to one side. “Is that all?” That seemed like an easy enough task. But there was no way it was that simple.

“The thing is, here in Fairyland being a popular human can be quite the problem,” Tyrian explained. “Things have been much quieter for him lately, but it is Valentine's Day after all. I'd feel happier if he had a bodyguard.”

“A bodyguard?” she exclaimed. “Because he's popular? Just what are these fan girls going to try and do?

“This is Fairyland, Lucy.” Tyrian held up a finger. “Quite frankly, they might do anything. But I think if he's seen with a woman on his arm, he might not get into quite so much trouble.” Lucinda ran that through her head a time or two.

“Wait, but-” She gestured at her costume. “-I'm not here as a woman.” Tyrian made an airy gesture;

“Oh don't be silly, that's easy enough to fix. We'll pretend you're a human relative of mine, that way no one will bother you. You look like my cousin anyway.” He snapped his fingers. “Aurelia! You must have some girly clothes lying around somewhere, you don't mind lending some to Lucy do you?” The brown-haired woman stood by the throne bowed.

------

Five minutes later, Lucinda stood in front of the throne with her hands on her hips. Tyrian had started laughing when he saw her, and she was none too pleased.

“Oh, what now?” she demanded crossly. This had better not be a crack about her being in a dress. It was his idea.

“Oh don’t misunderstand, Lucy.” He stopped laughing, but he still looked highly amused. She had to admit, he nearly always looked amused, but this was different. “I’m laughing at me, not you,” he reassured her, seeing her thunderous expression. “I forgot a rather crucial detail and I’m not sure you’re going to like it. It'll work just as well, though.”

“They do say you’ve got to be able to laugh at yourself,” she said, folding her arms.

“Do you see that yellow stripe there?” the king said, indicating the hem of the dress. “I don’t suppose you know what it means?” Lucinda looked down and back up again.

“No?” she replied suspiciously. She’d thought it was a decoration that hadn’t been finished. It was made of a rough material. A very strange material to put on the edge of the aristocratic-looking, velvety thing she was wearing.

“We have a phrase here, only a fool mixes silk with sack cloth,” he continued. “I’d forgotten that Aurelia’s old clothes would have that.”

“You are going to explain at some point, right?” Lucinda tapped a foot impatiently.

“You really would make an excellent fool, Lucy.” He smiled, with a glint in his eye. She knew that look. She shouldn’t have been so impatient. Now he was being awkward on purpose. She tried Sara’s ‘invisible glasses’ look on him. “I gave you your answer!” he said, grinning, before a clunking noise made them both look round. “Ah, there you are, Will.” The jester had entered through a little door to the right of the throne. He was wearing a purple tunic, with a fine, brown and gold, striped cloak over his shoulders, trimmed with white fur. He had a cap with a red feather in it and an ornate leather belt, inlaid with red and yellow rectangles. He looked quite the gentleman, but there were little things that gave his profession away. He was carrying his marotte; a walking cane with a little jester’s head on the end, and his shoes bore his usual colours. But what had caught Lucinda’s eye were his trousers; they were brown, and they had a yellow strip of rough material at the bottom. He was looking at her with a mixture of pleasure and confusion. Like Tyrian, he appeared to find something comical about her appearance. He really had no room to talk, considering his alternate attire.

“I didn’t know we had a new employee,” he remarked.

“Will, what I am dressed as?” she asked him, knowing he would give her a straight answer. “Fangs McSparkle over here is being a git and won’t tell me.” Tyrian cracked up and Will stifled a laugh himself before answering;

“You see that yellow stripe?” he said, pointing to the hem of her dress.

“It has been brought to my attention, yes,” Lucinda replied patiently, ignoring the king’s laughter.

“Well, I’m wearing one, too.” He indicated his own. “It marks us out as being liveried by the royal household.”

“Liveried . . ?” Lucinda repeated, still at a loss.

“Um ‘kept by’,” Will explained. “You’re dressed as a fool.” Lucinda looked down at the luxurious dress. She looked at Will’s own fancy clothes.

“We’re dressed as fools?” She might have replied ‘no we’re not’ to someone else, but it was Will's speciality. “We don’t look very funny?”

“That’s because we’re not supposed to!” he tutted, pretending to tell her off. “A fool and a jester aren’t quite the same thing. They’re companions to the king or queen or whoever, and they have to look like they belong.” He tugged at his fur cape. “So we get fancy pants stuff like this to wear. But,” he continued, “they don’t want these peasants looking like actual nobility, that wouldn’t do at all, so we’re marked out with stripes of sackcloth. It also means we won’t get thrown out on our ear for being commoners wandering about the court.”

“So that’s what you were hinting at.” Lucinda rolled her eyes at Tyrian. “You could have just said.”

“Now what fun would that be?” the king replied.

----------

“Sure,” Lucinda replied. “I guess I’m your employee for the day, so . . . What festival is this?” Will pulled a small, red, leather bound book out of a pocket in his cloak. He opened it carefully and flicked through the pages until he found what he was looking for. He walked over beside her and pointed out a page. The book was quite old and yellowed, and the handwritten text was quite small.

“Valentine’s is kind of a big deal in Fairyland. It’s a national holiday, and they hold a festival.” He pointed to a full page drawing of a street full of stalls. Though it wasn’t clear what they were selling, there was definitely a ‘hearts and ribbons’ theme going on.

---

The outer castle grounds and streets were packed with stalls and people. They were selling food, drinks, a myriad of trinkets, clothing... And the selection of people on display was just as diverse. Centaurs were clattering along alongside slithering nagas, ordinary fairies and petite little changelings dodging around them or under them . . . there were a few humans about and a lot of what looked like humans;

“It's the yokai that brought the Valentine's Day customs and festival to Fairyland, you know. Fairies added their own cultural twists to it, but that's why they're out in such force.” He inclined his head to indicate the various groups of yukata wearing men and women dotted along the street.

“Ah. How can you tell they're yokai anyway?” Lucinda asked him. “Most of them just look like normal humans to me.”

“Well,” Will hesitated. “They're easy to spot right now, because they're flaunting their Japanese heritage. But there's really no easy way to do it. Yokai don't have to hide here, so you can sometimes tell by their slightly strange hair or eye colour, or their unusual teeth, but it really depends how they disguise themselves. There's no point posing as a human if you're easy to catch out, right?”

“How come there are so many of them here anyway?” Lucinda asked. “How come there's so many of... well, everything?” The diversity of Fairyland had been quite a shock to her. In the other places she'd visited, including Sheva, which she knew was also on Gaia, there was nowhere near this varied a population. The people in Polvan were all humans and mermaids, and the population of Sheva was largely just elves. About the only thing Fairyland didn't have was elves. And even then, it would be difficult to tell, since they were visually indistinguishable from fairies.

“A lot of them are refugees,” Will replied. “For example, lots of species have their roots on Earth, but the magic faded and they had to leave or die. There's a magic spring here and fairies are very tolerant of their behaviour, so it's just the natural place for them to come-”

He was interrupted by a scream of delight from a crowd to their left.

“Will!!” a dark-haired girl with fins either side of her head and blue scales on her cheeks fought her way through the group and skipped over to them. She was dressed in something very similar to what Lucinda was wearing; it was brown and beige, the neckline and hem decorated with some simple white, flowery embroidery. She tripped on it and fell flat on her face halfway to them.

“Celia?” Will asked, hurrying over and helping her up. The girl giggled as she struggled to her feet. “You have legs.” Celia was a friend of Will's, and a siren. Sirens being a sub-species of mermaid, legs were not a usual feature of hers.

“Yep!” she confirmed cheerfully “Are you surprised? I get one of those three day legs potions every year for Valentine's Day.” She rubbed her face where she'd hit the floor. “I have to get used to the wretched things again every time. At least it's not like it was in my mother's day, though... they managed to remove that 'feels like walking on sharp knives' side effect. The finding true love thing is optional now too, I can kiss whoever I like.” She grinned at him. “Sooo-” she thrust her face about an inch away from his, “-how about it, Will?” Will turned his head;

“You can give me a peck on the cheek if you like,” he offered, pointing to it. “While it's Valentine's Day and all.” The siren pouted.

“Oooh you're no fun, Will,” she scolded him, jokingly, before kissing him where he'd pointed. She offered him her own cheek and he kissed her back. “I don't suppose you know where Victor is?”


------------------

The two of them wandered round the festival trying different Fairyland delicacies and games.  Lucinda was hesitant to try things at first, knowing what various deadly and disfiguring things Blue Forest fare was capable of, but after Will accused her of being a wimp, they had a contest to see who could eat the weirdest things. They stuck to the plant life though, as there was no guarantee about what the meat in anything was... and there were far worse things to find in Fairyland food than horse.

When the two of them had had enough and Lucinda had bought enough chocolate for everyone, they wandered off towards the return door to Earth. Lucinda needed to head back to the office to hand out her chocolate. But then she'd need to head back to the palace... Lucinda stopped dead in the middle of the forest and swore.

“Such language for a lady,” Will chided her before adding, “You okay? What did you forget that was so dramatic?” Lucinda was reluctant to tell Will about the note. It was pretty mean to blab about love letters, especially if you didn't like the person who sent them. But it was anonymous... so she didn't even know if it was someone she liked. It could still be a trap, of course. Maybe she should ask Will, embarrassing as it was. There was the slight possibility that he'd sent it.

“I got a note from someone telling me to meet them on a balcony in the palace,” she confessed. “They told me to wear a dress, and I'm kinda worried that it's someone trying to out me. Erlina said it's a love note, though...” she trailed off, waiting for his reaction. Judging by the look on his face, it certainly wasn't him. He actually looked concerned.

“...I agree with the princess. I don't think it's a trap,” he said. “But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful. If some boy back home wanted to meet you alone at midnight, you'd be a bit sceptical, right?”

----------

“Cinders, you're wearing a dress,” Sara remarked, raising an eyebrow.

“I wish people would stop saying that,” Lucinda complained. “I wear dresses quite frequently.”

“Well you weren't wearing one when you left this morning,” Sara pointed out. “I hope you haven't changed employers on me Cinders. I've no doubt you'd make an excellent fool, but I would be at a loss.”

“I wish people would stop saying that, too.” Lucinda pouted. Will laughed and nudged her gently in the ribs;

“It's a compliment coming from royalty, Lucinda,” he reassured her. “Fools are a valuable asset, you know.”

“And it seems I was mistaken,” she looked Will up and down. “We have met before. You're the fool of that idiot fairy.” Lucinda glanced sideways at Will. She was used to Sara's flippant attitude towards the Stollenheims and vampires in general and understood it, but Will had no idea;

“A clever fool may play anything from an innocent to a madman, milady, but many would prefer him to the real thing.” He looked Sara in the eye as he adjusted his cap. “I'd appreciate it if you didn't insult my master to my face, Your Majesty.” Sara gazed back unblinkingly;

“Leave it to a jester to take a joke seriously,” she replied, not missing a beat.

“Jokes are serious business, ma'am,” he countered. “One may discuss in a carefree tone serious things far better than it's possible to discuss the carefree in a serious one.”

“And there's as many kinds of idiocy in the world are there are ways to be clever. Not all of them are an insult, like the folly we call bravery,” Sara replied. “Not unlike what you're displaying now. Do you take me for a fool, jester?”

“No lady, I don't think you're smart enough,” Will replied coolly. The two of them stared at one another while they weighed up who had won their little exchange. To Lucinda's amazement, it was Sara who appeared to concede defeat, if indeed that was what it was. She dragged one of the two little boxes over in front of her with her index finger.

“He came round to give me this, this morning,” she said, flicking almost absent mindedly at the little bow. “I'm familiar with the custom, because Freya gives me chocolate every year. But I was surprised when he turned up. The Stollenheims and their collective foolishness never cease to amaze me.” Will looked like he might retaliate again, but she clearly had something more to say. “Perhaps it really is bravery or perhaps there isn't a word for it at all. In any case, I shall have to remember him on White Day.” She shifted position so she was leaning on one elbow. “He never did say what sort it was.” Will relaxed. Clearly whatever was going on had been resolved. “Did you want something, Cinders?” she added suddenly, dispelling the atmosphere.

(I wasn't gonna re-post this bit, but.. well it shows a few important things.  Also Will and Sara had a FIGHT.)

-----------

“So what did Tyr want, anyway?” Erlina asked her on the way back.  “I expect you know you're dressed as a fool?” Lucinda sighed.

“You expect right,” she replied. “I was being a bodyguard for Will. Still no leads on that letter. I guess I'll just have to go and see who it is.”

“You're going to actually go and meet them?” Erlina sounded dubious.

“Hell no,” Lucinda replied. “Will warned me against it. Besides, I still think it's some kind of trap...” Midnight, on the balcony, in a dress. The more she thought about it, the creepier it sounded.

“If you think it's a trap, why are you wearing a dress?” Erlina asked. “Although I notice you've rearmed yourself.” Lucinda had grabbed her sword and belt when she'd got back to the palace, and the two of them were waiting around in Erlina's old room until it was about 11:30pm. Lucinda wasn't taking any chances. Waiting around was going to be boring, but she'd rather wait around than screw up. “You know Lucinda...” Erlina continued suddenly, sounding hesitant as if she were trying out some new and strange idea. “You could just not go?” Her forehead creased as she considered this bold new suggestion. “If you're that worried I mean.” Lucinda opened her mouth and then shut it again. That was a good point. She could just not go. But... no. That was how things worked on Earth. This was Fairyland. You couldn't get a mysterious note and do something as crass as ignore it completely. Stories didn't work that way. That was breaking the rules, and she was a prince. Princes didn't do that sort of thing, whether they were in a dress or not. Not going was inconceivable.

“Can't not go,” she replied in a stunned fashion. “Just... can't.” Erlina was wearing a similar expression.

“I honestly don't know where that came from,” she said, sounding almost disgusted with herself. “I must have been spending too much time with you Earth people.”

“It's just about time...” Lucinda stood up and took a deep breath. “Let's go see what all this is about...”

----------

They picked a shadowy corner where they could hide and settled down behind a pillar. It wasn't long before there was a polite and slightly strangled cough behind them. Both of them jumped.

“Um, Miss Lucinda, Your Highness, what are you doing?” It was Victor. He looked extremely worried and like he'd rather run a mile than be speaking to her, but as Lucinda remembered it, that was his usual expression. “A-are you spying on somebody?”

“Er...” Well there didn't seem to be any point in lying. “Yes, actually. I got a suspicious note. I wanted to see who it was from.” Sheer panic flashed across his features;

“O-oh? Suspicious you say?” he squeaked. Lucinda noticed he was carrying something bright. It was a box of chocolates. Lucinda indicated the pretty, little package.

“Did someone give you Valentine's chocolate?” She smiled at him. “I guess they had to stay up pretty late to give it to you, huh?” He looked at the package like he'd never seen it before.

“Oh yes, I got it from Miss Celia,” he explained, sounding guilty. “I f-forgot all about that, we don't celebrate Valentine's Day where I come from...” He jumped. “Ah, I mean, er I s-should just leave... you seem busy...” Lucinda looked at her watch. It was gone midnight now, and no-one had shown up. No-one but Victor.

“I don't suppose you saw anyone on your way here?” she asked, frowning. She was too tired for this. It had been a long day. Fun, but long.

“No,” Victor answered before appearing to rethink his answer. “I mean, I saw Miss Celia and Uncle Tyrian. And a few servants. Everyone is a bit... tipsy...” Getting drunk wasn't a noted feature of Valentine's Day back home, but it certainly seemed to be here. Maybe her mystery person had got drunk and forgot. Erlina was peering at Victor with some suspicion. He had been the only person to approach them and all, but surely there was no way it was him? The first time they'd met he'd immediately ran away, and the second time. The third time a whole group of them had had to corner him to get him to talk to a human. He'd not talked to her much since, the few times she'd seen him at the palace when she was working, he'd been pretty distant. It was a remarkable show of confidence that he'd dared to talk her at all, Fairyland clearly had done him some good, but she still doubted he had the guts to send her such a note. Besides, it was a pretty creepy note. Well, she wasn't going to wait around for a mystery note-sender who was late, and she had business with Victor anyway.

“So, are you doing anything right now Victor?” she asked him. He'd looked nervous before, but now he looked like he might faint.

“No?” his tone suggested this answer could be changed at a moment's notice.

“I've got something for you. But I left it in Erlina's room. I thought I was going to have to give you it later,” she explained. “I'm pretty tired but if you wanna just come with me...”



While Victor waited outside with a still-wary Erlina, Lucinda grabbed her one, last shopping bag. She selected one of the two remaining boxes and sighed. In all the excitement, she'd forgotten to give one of them to Will. She'd have to do it another time. Opening the door again she held out the little box and apologised;

“Sorry to have to do this in such a hurry, but I'm super tired now. It's the tradition here for girls to give out chocolates,” she explained. “So, you know... I got you some.” Victor took the box reverentially before turning crimson;

“T-thank you very much, Miss Lucinda!” he spluttered. “I don't know what to say!”

“I don't mean to be rude, but how about good night?” she prompted hopefully. “Me and Erlina should really get to bed.” Victor didn't need telling twice. He bid them good night and made a hasty bow. Erlina shrugged and ducked under Lucinda's arm to get back into her room. She watched the vampire practically skip down the corridor, smiled and turned back into the room, practically crashing on the bed, too tired to get changed...

“Lucinda,” the fairy began hesitantly. “Don't you think-” Lucinda waved a hand to cut her off.

“Too tired to think,” she declared. “Think later, sleep now.” Erlina gave her a long look, shrugged, lay down on the bed and snuffed out the candles with a snap of her fingers. It had indeed been a long day...


All characters, Miss Prince/Vampires Don't Belong in Fairytales (c) Alicia L. Wright and Tannbourne Ltd. 
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Rightfield's avatar
Actually, this is just fantasmo en masse. Loving VDBIF more and more every time!