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theoldguardkinkmeme) wrote2020-07-22 10:07 am
theoldguardkinkmeme) wrote2020-07-22 10:07 am
Fills Post
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FILL: Yusuf/Nicolo - arranged marriage with a twist (4/?)
(Anonymous) 2020-10-24 08:20 am (UTC)(link)To be fair to the duke, he doesn’t seem to regard Yusuf’s presence as an imposition.
“I’m glad to see that you are finding so much pleasure here,” he says, the third time, which is after the evening meal, and therefore does not end in him being reminded of other duties.
“It’s a very fine collection,” Yusuf says, truthfully. “Did you assemble it?”
“My mother, mostly,” says the duke. “When I was growing up.”
“Forgive me for asking – but you lived here? Your father’s seat is elsewhere, I thought.”
“My parents,” the duke says, very neutrally, “did not have the happiest of marriages; my brother and I were brought up here.”
“I see,” Yusuf says, though he doesn’t particularly. His aunt and uncle always seemed very happy. His parents were too, he is told. “Well, I approve of your mother’s tastes, then.”
The duke looks at him consideringly for some period before saying “Even though half of it is religious works? At least.”
“I’m not going to criticize somebody else’s devotion, even if it isn’t to my own faith.” Yusuf looks at him curiously. “And I thought – again, forgive me – you had that reputation as well.”
“Yes,” the duke agrees, and hesitates. “Signor Yusuf. I do not think you need to beg my forgiveness for anything. I am aware of the situation I have put you in.”
Yusuf mutters something and makes an early night of it. He does not want to be reminded of what he wakes up every morning and thinks about.
The next day, he is intercepted by Andromache before he can return to the library, or get lost, or begin sketching, which have been the principal occupations of his days here.
“I’m here to show you the palace,” she informs him. “I hope you like walking.”
Yusuf is confused. “I thought you were the captain of the guard.”
“I am.” Andromache takes his elbow. “But Quỳnh said you were supposed to be shown the palace, and I thought that it was time we talked. Nile says that you wouldn’t object to marrying the duke?”
“I don’t see how that matters,” Yusuf says.
“Maybe it doesn’t,” she tells him very cheerfully, and proceeds to lead him up and down and sideways until he would be entirely turned around, if it wasn’t for the fact that he insists on stopping and adding to his map every so often. It’s an effort not to smudge the charcoal. Andromache’s view of the palace is very specific to her position; she reveals to him the locations of five stabbings, three invasions (if you can call it an invasion when the invaders are close relatives of the then-occupant), one alleged strangulation, and one –
“I don’t know that word,” Yusuf says. “Defenestration? How do you kill someone with a window?”
“You push them out it.” They are on the highest floor, with a glorious view out over the harbour; however, the room itself is some sort of storage attic.
“Yes, well, that would do it,” Yusuf says, observing the distance to the ground. “Captain Andromache, is there a reason we’re recounting this building’s bloodiest moments?”
“Being married to a duke isn’t always a peaceful endeavour.”
“Your duke isn’t marrying me, however.”
“Yet.” Andromache studies him. “I wasn’t going to do this, but…you have to promise this won’t go on your map.”
“What won’t?”
“First you promise.”
“I promise,” Yusuf says, sighing. Andromache grins, and leads him to a blank spot in a nondescript wall, in the oldest part of the palace.
“Watch this,” she says, poorly-hidden glee dancing in her eyes, and presses on one of the stones. There is a slow rumble, and a section of the wall swings, very slowly, outwards.
“A secret door!” Yusuf says, unable to not be delighted by it.
“Yes!” She pulls him through. The passage is very narrow, and dark. He follows Andromache carefully. She points out three spy-holes, and warns him before they come to an even narrower spiral staircase, which goes down and down and then emerges, suddenly, into an armoury on the ground floor. Yusuf blinks frantically at the return to daylight.
“Are there more of those?” he wants to know.
“Only the one.” She brushes some dust out of her hair; Yusuf pats his, more carefully.
“It’s not exactly a secret, most of those rooms are only used for storage now, and to use it you have to be well into the palace anyway…but I thought, since you were making your map, you might enjoy seeing it.”
“I did,” Yusuf tells her. “It’s like something out of a story.”
“Well, that’s the palace,” Andromache says, brushing off her hands. “And I need to get back to my work. I’ll show you how to get back to your rooms.”
Yusuf looks around at the racks of blades and long guns. They are polished and gleaming, but the room does not feel like a display; the racks and benches have signs of wear. He suspects Andromache is good at her job.
“Do you know how to use a blade?” Andromache asks him, pausing in the doorway.
“Not this style.”
“Hmmm,” she says, and comes back in. “We have a few odds and ends…” She kneels down in front of a chest. “Any of these?”
He kneels down next to her and goes through it, carefully. These blades are not as well-cared-for as the ones the guard use. None of them are familiar to him, but there is one with a single edge and enough of a curve that he thinks he could use it in the way he knows. He gives it a couple of experimental swings.
“This one,” he says. “With practice.”
“Keep it, then.” She shuts the chest, and stands. “And come and practice with us, sometime. You can’t draw all day.”
“Why?” He can’t help but ask.
“It might be fun,” is all she says.
*
Yusuf feels very silly walking through the palace with a naked blade in his hand, but nobody challenges him on it, although he does walk past Quỳnh, who gives him a very curious look – though one that seems more curious about him than the sword. In truth, Yusuf has only had to use a blade in earnest twice in his life, and his uncle always made it clear he had more use for Yusuf with a pen than Yusuf with a sword. When he was very young he’d fantasised about running away and having adventures with a sword in hand, but it had become evident very quickly that there weren’t a lot of those adventures to be had.
Still, he has a moment, walking through the halls of the palace, when he thinks about those childhood dreams, and where he is, and feels quite pleased with his life after all.
He wraps the sword up carefully in a spare bit of cloth and spends the rest of the day marking out his map in ink. He goes to dinner with inkstains on his fingers and a sense of having done something. That, he realises, is what he’s been missing. If the marriage had gone ahead as planned, he might have had some responsibility; instead he’s just been drifting around. It’s been unmooring.
“You look like you had a good day,” the duke says at dinner.
“More work on my map,” Yusuf says, happily. He is slowly getting used to the fashion of dining here. It still seems unnecessarily complicated, and the chairs are terrible, but…well, no, the chairs are terrible. “Did you know you have a secret passage? Between your armoury and a corridor.”
The duke raises his eyebrows. “Is that going on the map?”
“Andromache asked that it didn’t.”
“Andromache is very cautious,” says the duke. “That’s not even the good secret passage.”
Yusuf waits, but the duke continues eating, instead of saying anything else.
“Fine,” Yusuf says, eventually. “What’s the good secret passage?”
“I can’t tell you,” the duke says, innocently. Yusuf wishes, stupidly, that they actually were getting married so he could feel good about prying. Under the circumstances, it doesn’t seem right.
The rest of the meal passes in silence, again. Yusuf just isn’t very good at this.
Re: FILL: Yusuf/Nicolo - arranged marriage with a twist (4/?)
(Anonymous) 2020-10-24 08:41 am (UTC)(link)Is this a Chekhov’s sword and hidden passage I sense? Hm. Hm. Don’t tell me.
Re: FILL: Yusuf/Nicolo - arranged marriage with a twist (4/?)
(Anonymous) 2020-10-25 02:19 am (UTC)(link)