WIP: Dan/Casey Fairytale (part 2)
Dec. 17th, 2003 02:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
out_thereWatch Annie avoid work. Avoid, Annie, avoid!
Jeremy and Natalie changed into plain, common clothes and set off. They rode at a steady pace, not daring to ride too fast lest they attract the queen's attention, and reach her castle a few hours before sunset.
Natalie wanted to storm the castle immediately, but Jeremy convinced her to wait, pointing out the palace guards stationed around the main gate. Natalie recalled that the Lady Dana had mentioned a huge tree that grew just beyond the castle walls, so they took their horses around the back of the castle to find this tree.
It wasn't hard to find. The tree had been growing for over a hundred years and its trunk was as wide as a horse was tall. It grew outside the castle walls, but it's big, broad, branches stretched all the way over the castle courtyards.
They tethered their horses to the base of the tree and decided to climb. Jeremy started first and then tried to hold a hand out to his fair love. She refused his help and hitched up her skirts instead. Remembering a childhood of climbing trees and play with the boys of her village, Natalie pulled herself up and quickly surpassed Jeremy and sat on a strong branch, waiting for him.
Jeremy climbed up to meet her and then led them cautiously along the branch. It was the lowest branch to breach the castle walls but it still rose high above the low rooftops of the outer buildings. They would have to jump down. Jeremy reached the end first and tried to steel himself to jump. Now, this young man was not a coward, but he had always been afraid of heights. The distance he had to jump was less than the height of two men, but to him it seemed the height of a mountain. He was frozen in terror, too afraid to jump down and too embarrassed to turn back, when he heard an ominous creak behind him. Looking back at the frightened face of Natalie, he realised that the branch was breaking under their combined weight.
Grabbing Natalie’s hand, he yelled at her to jump, and they leapt off the branch together. They landed with a muffled groan, hurt but not wounded, and lay on the tiled roof as they heard the cracks grow louder. Sitting up, they watched as the might branch went crashing into the empty courtyard below.
Suddenly, guards came rushing into the courtyard, running from every direction and making sure no one was hurt. Jeremy saw their chance and together, they quickly climbed down the opposite wall. Out of sight of the courtyard, they shimmied through an open window and ran downstairs, heading to where Lady Dana had told them the dungeons were.
Reaching the dungeons, they found the guards’ place empty. Jeremy started looking for the keys as Natalie walked down the corridor searching for the cell that held their friends. By the time Jeremy found the keys, Natalie was up to the last cell. Looking inside, Natalie saw bare walls and two makeshift beds of straw. On one of these harsh beds, Lady Dana lay fast asleep. Jeremy fumbled with the keys and unlocked the heavy bolt, freeing their lady.
However, when they went to wake her, she wouldn’t stir. She simply lay there, gently snoring. It didn’t matter how hard they shook her or how loud they yelled, she remained asleep.
Realising that the Witch Queen must have cast some kind of spell or curse on Lady Dana, her loyal servants pulled her out of bed and carried her out of the cell. They placed her in the guards chair as they carefully checked the other cells, thinking that Sir Dan may have been hiding as part of some clever plan. They called out for Sir Dan as they searched, but all of the other cells were empty. Sir Dan was not there.
Hoping that Sir Dan had already escaped, they quickly made their way to Prince Charlie’s rooms. Luckily, most of the guards were still busy clearing the courtyard, so they managed to carry Lady Dana there without being caught. As they approached, they heard a child’s laughter. Following the sound they were delighted at the sight that met them. Prince Charlie, the exact image of his father at that age, was playing in the centre of the room, laughing with Sir Dan.
They ran into the room, trying to explain about Lady Dana’s slumber. They were overjoyed to find the prince and the knight, but when they tried to leave, Sir Dan refused. He said that Prince Charlie was happy here and that this was his home. Natalie was speechless, but Jeremy begged his friend to come with them before the guards returned. Panicking at the thought of the guards returning, Jeremy grabbed the prince’s hand and was stopped by Sir Dan’s sword. Sir Dan pulled Prince Charlie behind him, physically sheltering him from his shocked friends, and said that he would protect the prince with his life. As they had been his friends, he would let them leave with Lady Dana, but Prince Charlie belonged here with his mother and with Sir Dan.
Natalie asked why he would want to stay here and Sir Dan looked confused, explaining carefully that he loved Queen Lisa, that he had loved her for years.
[Casey sat up quickly, looking worried. “He didn’t really love her, right? During their marriage, he wasn’t secretly in love with her, was he?”
“Casey, Casey, Casey,” Dan said gently, shaking his head. He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Casey’s cheek. “It’s just a story.”
“I know that, Dan,” Casey said and squinted at him, obviously annoyed by the patronising tone. Casey sounded irritated, but his eyes still held a shadow of that concerned look. “I hadn’t thought that Sir Dan as the type of guy who would lie to his best friend for years.”
“That’s harsh,” Dan said with mock hurt and settled down against Casey’s side.
Casey wrapped an arm around Dan’s shoulders. “So, was he in love with her? Really?”
“I think you should just wait and find out,” Dan replied smugly and Casey huffed in impatience.]
Seeing that Sir Dan was utterly serious, and knowing his skill with a sword, Jeremy and Natalie carried Lady Dana out the door. Although she didn’t want to leave, Natalie knew that it was better than staying and all three of them being captured by the evil queen. As they ran out of the castle, she promised herself that they would return for the prince and the knight, as soon as they knew that Lady Dana was safe.
Jeremy and Natalie changed into plain, common clothes and set off. They rode at a steady pace, not daring to ride too fast lest they attract the queen's attention, and reach her castle a few hours before sunset.
Natalie wanted to storm the castle immediately, but Jeremy convinced her to wait, pointing out the palace guards stationed around the main gate. Natalie recalled that the Lady Dana had mentioned a huge tree that grew just beyond the castle walls, so they took their horses around the back of the castle to find this tree.
It wasn't hard to find. The tree had been growing for over a hundred years and its trunk was as wide as a horse was tall. It grew outside the castle walls, but it's big, broad, branches stretched all the way over the castle courtyards.
They tethered their horses to the base of the tree and decided to climb. Jeremy started first and then tried to hold a hand out to his fair love. She refused his help and hitched up her skirts instead. Remembering a childhood of climbing trees and play with the boys of her village, Natalie pulled herself up and quickly surpassed Jeremy and sat on a strong branch, waiting for him.
Jeremy climbed up to meet her and then led them cautiously along the branch. It was the lowest branch to breach the castle walls but it still rose high above the low rooftops of the outer buildings. They would have to jump down. Jeremy reached the end first and tried to steel himself to jump. Now, this young man was not a coward, but he had always been afraid of heights. The distance he had to jump was less than the height of two men, but to him it seemed the height of a mountain. He was frozen in terror, too afraid to jump down and too embarrassed to turn back, when he heard an ominous creak behind him. Looking back at the frightened face of Natalie, he realised that the branch was breaking under their combined weight.
Grabbing Natalie’s hand, he yelled at her to jump, and they leapt off the branch together. They landed with a muffled groan, hurt but not wounded, and lay on the tiled roof as they heard the cracks grow louder. Sitting up, they watched as the might branch went crashing into the empty courtyard below.
Suddenly, guards came rushing into the courtyard, running from every direction and making sure no one was hurt. Jeremy saw their chance and together, they quickly climbed down the opposite wall. Out of sight of the courtyard, they shimmied through an open window and ran downstairs, heading to where Lady Dana had told them the dungeons were.
Reaching the dungeons, they found the guards’ place empty. Jeremy started looking for the keys as Natalie walked down the corridor searching for the cell that held their friends. By the time Jeremy found the keys, Natalie was up to the last cell. Looking inside, Natalie saw bare walls and two makeshift beds of straw. On one of these harsh beds, Lady Dana lay fast asleep. Jeremy fumbled with the keys and unlocked the heavy bolt, freeing their lady.
However, when they went to wake her, she wouldn’t stir. She simply lay there, gently snoring. It didn’t matter how hard they shook her or how loud they yelled, she remained asleep.
Realising that the Witch Queen must have cast some kind of spell or curse on Lady Dana, her loyal servants pulled her out of bed and carried her out of the cell. They placed her in the guards chair as they carefully checked the other cells, thinking that Sir Dan may have been hiding as part of some clever plan. They called out for Sir Dan as they searched, but all of the other cells were empty. Sir Dan was not there.
Hoping that Sir Dan had already escaped, they quickly made their way to Prince Charlie’s rooms. Luckily, most of the guards were still busy clearing the courtyard, so they managed to carry Lady Dana there without being caught. As they approached, they heard a child’s laughter. Following the sound they were delighted at the sight that met them. Prince Charlie, the exact image of his father at that age, was playing in the centre of the room, laughing with Sir Dan.
They ran into the room, trying to explain about Lady Dana’s slumber. They were overjoyed to find the prince and the knight, but when they tried to leave, Sir Dan refused. He said that Prince Charlie was happy here and that this was his home. Natalie was speechless, but Jeremy begged his friend to come with them before the guards returned. Panicking at the thought of the guards returning, Jeremy grabbed the prince’s hand and was stopped by Sir Dan’s sword. Sir Dan pulled Prince Charlie behind him, physically sheltering him from his shocked friends, and said that he would protect the prince with his life. As they had been his friends, he would let them leave with Lady Dana, but Prince Charlie belonged here with his mother and with Sir Dan.
Natalie asked why he would want to stay here and Sir Dan looked confused, explaining carefully that he loved Queen Lisa, that he had loved her for years.
[Casey sat up quickly, looking worried. “He didn’t really love her, right? During their marriage, he wasn’t secretly in love with her, was he?”
“Casey, Casey, Casey,” Dan said gently, shaking his head. He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Casey’s cheek. “It’s just a story.”
“I know that, Dan,” Casey said and squinted at him, obviously annoyed by the patronising tone. Casey sounded irritated, but his eyes still held a shadow of that concerned look. “I hadn’t thought that Sir Dan as the type of guy who would lie to his best friend for years.”
“That’s harsh,” Dan said with mock hurt and settled down against Casey’s side.
Casey wrapped an arm around Dan’s shoulders. “So, was he in love with her? Really?”
“I think you should just wait and find out,” Dan replied smugly and Casey huffed in impatience.]
Seeing that Sir Dan was utterly serious, and knowing his skill with a sword, Jeremy and Natalie carried Lady Dana out the door. Although she didn’t want to leave, Natalie knew that it was better than staying and all three of them being captured by the evil queen. As they ran out of the castle, she promised herself that they would return for the prince and the knight, as soon as they knew that Lady Dana was safe.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-12-16 08:14 pm (UTC)*worries about Sir Dan*
no subject
Date: 2003-12-16 08:26 pm (UTC)On the other hand, I'm sure Sir Dan will be okay. He has good friends.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-16 09:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-16 09:30 pm (UTC)Dan: Casey, be quiet and let me tell my story.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-16 09:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-16 09:45 pm (UTC)