[Ficlet -- Chalion] Illumination

[shimotsuki]

There has been some discussion lately about how we could all do with a little more Chalion fanfic in the world. So here's a little ficlet -- no major spoilers, except for the ship itself, which you can see coming in the book from about chapter 3 anyway, hee.

• Illumination
  (541 words | PG-13 for intimate situations)
  The sum total of their time alone as husband and wife so far was all of maybe fifteen minutes. Still, they had made a striking amount of progress in that quarter of an hour.

Illumination
Cazaril finished a kiss and pulled away, just a little. Betriz looked up at him, flushed and beaming and slightly out of breath.

She had been Betriz dy Cazaril for six hours or so, he calculated. But after the wedding came feasting, and speeches, and eventually dancing. So the sum total of their time alone as husband and wife so far was all of maybe fifteen minutes.

Still, they had made a striking amount of progress in that quarter of an hour.

They were sitting very close together on the edge of the bed—their bed. Richly embroidered tunic and trousers and gown lay draped over a chest in the corner. Now Betriz was wearing nothing but a simple linen shift, dyed some lovely pale color that was impossible to identify by candlelight, and worked along the modest neckline with violets and snowdrops and other symbols of the Daughter. This shift was much finer than the plain white ones she had worn for swimming lessons a year ago, but it had much the same effect on him.

And that was about the only thing that could have stopped him kissing her. He wanted to look his fill while he still had the chance.

When Cazaril returned his hungry gaze to Betriz’s face, he saw that her smile had widened. At least she didn’t mind him looking. Now, in fact, she was doing some looking of her own. There probably wasn’t much that his own linen shirt and trews left to the imagination.

Not much—but something, withal.

And so, when her deft hands found the laces of his shirt and began to untie them, he felt his smile turn slightly wry against her lips. “Let’s blow out the candles,” he murmured.

“No,” said Betriz placidly, “let’s not.”

He swallowed. That wasn’t in the scene he had painted in his head for this night.

She was eyeing him rather shrewdly, but then her dimple flashed. “I can’t believe you’re tired of looking at me already!”

“No—of course not—”

Her hand settled on his thigh. He drew a sharp breath.

“Well, I’m not, either. Tired of looking at you, that is.” She leaned in and found his lips with hers, and her fingers continued their nimble dance down his chest until his shirt hung open.

Her warm hands slipped under the smooth cloth to rest on his shoulders.

He stiffened. He couldn’t help himself.

Betriz went very still, but she didn’t take her hands away. “Caz. I love you—all of you.” She leaned up and brushed her lips along one eyebrow. “There’s no shame in anything you’ve done.” Her voice grew stronger. “You know that better than I do.”

Cazaril opened his mouth to speak, but his mind failed to supply him with any useful words.

“Besides—” the dimple returned—“you can’t possibly imagine I won’t want to be doing this again in the morning!”

The impish glint in her eye provoked an answering grin from him before he knew it. How was it that his imagination had never carried him past this one night?

He kissed her again, softly.

And then, quite deliberately, he shrugged his shoulders, letting the shirt slide down his back to pool on the bed behind him.

. * fin * .
[ To Chalion/Vorkosigan story index ]

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Comments

[katyhasclogs.livejournal.com]

You wrote fic! Was I distracting you from it last night?

Anyway, I love this. It stands to reason that Caz would get a bit silly at this point, and Betriz would know how to sooth him. I also find it totally adorable that he hasn't thought beyond that first night.

So yeah, this is lovely, and I'm so glad you're writing Chalion. Long may it continue.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Was I distracting you from it last night?

Hee! No, I didn't start until after supper...but our conversation definitely inspired this attempt. :)

Thanks for the kind words. I was afraid I didn't know Betriz well enough to be able to write her, but she asserted herself very cooperatively.

[katyscarlett76.livejournal.com]

Oh that was lovely : )

I just finished Chalion yesterday, so you posted this with perfect timing for me!

It was perfectly Caz and Betriz. I loved how you linked back to their swimming lessons with his thought of how she looked in the shift and also his uncertainty about his own body. And Betriz is just adorable. I loved Chalion for how both her and Iselle were strong females whilst still being in synch with their more male-focused world (does that make sense??) Anyway, you strike that balance perfectly here.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I haven't written much outside HP, so I'm glad you thought these characters worked.

I loved Chalion for how both her and Iselle were strong females whilst still being in synch with their more male-focused world (does that make sense??)

That makes total sense, and I completely agree with you. It's one of the things I like about the series. (Bujold has set up a similar society in the futuristic world of her SF series, too.)

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

How nice to see Chalion fic! I'm glad the characters prompted you to do this. :D
And this seems a very likely scenario, too. Cazaril isn't really as bright as everyone seems to think - good thing he has Betriz to show him the light. (no pun intended on the title of your piece ;))

I just finished Paladin of Souls (well almost - there are 6 pages left, but I really had to leave for work and couldn't read them). And I loved it! Even more than Curse of Chalion, actually... Ista is such a lovely grumpy reluctant centre-piece in the story.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm glad you thought the scenario was likely; I've been wondering for a while how Cazaril would react to getting this close to Betriz, heh.

I really liked Paladin of Souls too, especially Ista, who is just fantastic. But I can't say which of the two books I liked best. Maybe I should read them again and check. ;)

[gilpin25.livejournal.com]

Am glad to see the Order plan obviously had a slight and very welcome deviation! ;)

I very much enjoyed the echoes of the swimming scene and how shifts are apparently the fashion item of choice for modesty (only not necessarily;)), and Cazaril's understandable embarrassment about revealing the scars to Betriz once more. The way she reassures him - that it's pointless being in the dark, anyway, as she's looking forward to a repeat in the morning - is very her. Being mischievous, clever and exactly what a man on his wedding night must want to hear!

I do like the way he's working out the mathematics of how much time they've spent together and how much they've achieved. LOL. That's very him!

I think you've captured them perfectly and hope you'll do so again. The world definitely needs a little more Chalion from you.:D

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Am glad to see the Order plan obviously had a slight and very welcome deviation! ;)

*snort* I have no self-discipline, and Order needs some serious thought. Anyway, it's been a while since I'd posted fic, so I thought a little ficlet to get the wheels moving might be a good idea. Or that's my excuse. ;)

shifts are apparently the fashion item of choice for modesty

Hee! I was assuming that a shift was just standard female underwear, although I don't know much about medieval/Renaissance clothing. (So a special embroidered one would be the equivalent of modern lacy bridal lingerie?)

Thanks for the kind words. It was fun writing these two, and Chalion in general, so who knows...

ETA: Now that I can actually edit these things, I'm getting awfully careless! :(

[mrstater.livejournal.com]

Oh, what a treat to wake up to! I thought you'd write Caz perfectly, and you've proved me right. This is just spot-on from Caz working out just how long they've been married vs. how long they've been alone together, to his OMG! moment about Betriz seeing his scars. And your Betriz is just right, too, not letting him get away with his insecurity, knowing just the right thing to say to him, with that hint of mischief and naughtiness that is so her.

Loved this: How was it that his imagination had never carried him past this one night?

LOL, poor Caz...I can just see him fretting about the scar thing and thinking if he can just put the light out before they get naked, he'll be safe. LOL

Oh, and can I just say, that Chalion clothes make the story even more suggestive? Unlacing shirts? Yum. ;)

On another note, you might consider linking this at bujold_fic and lmbujold. When I posted there I found a lot of Chalion fans and had a great response. And maybe it'll help encourage more Chalion fic!

Lovely job, m'dear. I do hope you'll do some more...

*bemoans lack of Chalion icons*

[gilpin25.livejournal.com]

*bemoans lack of Chalion icons*

I did find a couple on the second site someone had done, but they were quotes from the books. The Paladin one was actually a great one about praying for help to the Bastard, but I thought how much chaos could I cause using that if you hadn't read the book? ;)

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the kind comments!

I'm glad you thought the "OMG! moment" was okay, because I know the situation is more complicated than this -- they both know that Betriz has seen his scars before, and she'd be able to feel them in the dark, anyway. But I didn't want to turn the dialogue into some giant expositional exercise, so I kept it kind of minimal.

Unlacing shirts? Yum. ;)

Hee hee. I wondered about the logistics of the linen undershirt for a while, and finally decided that they probably wouldn't waste buttons -- which would have had to have been hand-carved -- on underwear. ;)

On another note, you might consider linking this at bujold_fic and lmbujold.

Thanks for the suggestion. I had wondered about the first one (didn't know about the second one!). Maybe I will... although I have been trying not to look too hard at any Bujold communities, because I'm only two thirds of the way through the Vorkosigan series and don't want to end up accidentally spoiling myself by chancing upon the wrong fic summary, heh. (I've already seen a reference to a dismaying character death, but at least it wasn't clear if it was canon or fic-specific.)

[tigerkat24.livejournal.com]

Oh, Caz. This is so in-character for them! Betriz is the one who knows her own mind and Caz is sort of trailing along behind, going, "Er, ah, all right then, this is fun." Very well done!

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm happy to hear you thought these two were in character.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

I found this story through your link at bujold_fic. Lovely. The details of the clothing and the candlelight nicely signal the world of Chalion, and Betriz's treatment of Cazaril's body issues is great.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the comments. This is my first attempt at a Chalion story, so I appreciate your reassuring feedback about the setting and the characters.

[zia-montrose.livejournal.com]

What a beautiful piece of writing--and I don't even know these characters! That didn't seem to stop me from enjoying it... There was a universalness to it despite my want for backstory (I spied a comment telling of scars).

Perhaps I'll have to check the books out--I see you've give someone a quick rec on where to start.

I love your phrasing throughout: her fingers continued their nimble dance down his chest until his shirt hung open--so much nicer than focusing on the mechanics of lacings or buttons or whatever. I also liked the 'pooling' of the shirt.

Glad I got to read.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Oh, goodness, I really appreciate the kind words. I'm especially glad to know it was fun to read even without the backstory. (That's right about the scars -- I ruminated over how much canon detail to bring up here, in case people did read this without knowing the book, but I'm afraid in the end I decided the piece wanted a more subtle approach...)

I see you've give someone a quick rec on where to start.

Although I may have been reccing a different series by the same author, heh. This story is a missing moment from (well, after) the book The Curse of Chalion, by Lois McMaster Bujold. Cazaril is the point-of-view character, and he's a new favorite of mine.

[nishatalitha.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is lovely and makes me happy! I adore Caz and he's delightfully awkward here, and I'm really glad Betriz is there for him. Thank you!

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the lovely comments! If you're a Caz fan, I'm happy to know you liked him here. (I'm glad he's got Betriz, too.)

[sahiya.livejournal.com]

This is so awesome! I love the loving, open relationship you've created between the two of them - exactly how I imagine their marriage! Cazaril's shyness is spot on. Brilliantly done.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you! I think Betriz's directness is good for Cazaril...

[wombathouse.livejournal.com]

oooh! Excellent. Thank you!

This is beautifully compact and packs a wonderful punch.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the kind words! I'm very glad you thought the story packs a punch.

[bookish-brownie.livejournal.com]

Aw, I really liked this. I can easily imagine Caz being self-conscious about his scars. I loved how Betriz reassured him.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading, and for the comment. (I didn't know you were a Bujold fan!) I mostly write Lupin/Tonks, and I may be in the minority here but I actually don't see Lupin as having body-image issues in particular (there isn't room, with all his other issues, lol) -- so it was fun to address a different kind of relationship dynamic with this pair.

[drumher.livejournal.com]

And this is why I have to stop pussyfooting around and friend you. To think that this lovely Caz/Betriz piece has been waiting here for a whole 9 days! What else have I missed, I wonder?

A very nice slice of Chalion here. I think everybody needs to be wearing linen shifts in fanfic. It's so sexy!

Looking forward to more!

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Heh! I've been thinking for a while that I ought to friend you.

Thanks for the kind words, and I think you're right about the shifts. ;) There's something about clothes that cover-while-revealing, isn't there!