Nations: Mistress
October 22nd, 2008 05:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skerenTitle: Mistress
Arc: Nations
Fandom: FF7
Characters: Sephiroth
Words: 900
Rating: G
Warning: The AUness!
Arc summary: It's an alternate universe where Sephiroth is a king, while Zack, Cloud, Vincent, and Rufus are his harem slaves, who he has renamed as gems.
Note: Follow the tags to get to previous parts, which are in order. Comments appreciated!
He should have expected this. A loophole. Or rather, a political nightmare.
The marriage was official, he had his queen for his kingdom, he had a woman to bear his heir and be a settling piece over how the lineage would be carried through.
The council, however, seemed to disagree. They declared her unfit because her father was her grandmother's child, not her mother. It was a small detail, one Wutai had overlooked for the simple fact that lineage, there, traveled through the sons, and while daughters were at times prized, and might even rule if no other options were present, they were not ultimately important. Here, in Galetha, that was not so. He had right to rule because his father was a queen's only child, and thus, the magic passed leadership through him to his only child. He took after his mother in looks, a lady of the royal line who had been found to keep it from deviating too far from where it ought to be.
He had been expected to do as his father had, to find a wife of the line for the sake of genes, even though the magic would work through him as it had his father. And now, he was being told he still hadn't completed that task. The line was broken at his wife's father, and thus, it rendered her unsuitable. They had only decided this once the marriage was finalized, of course.
In all, the news was... unpleasant. He would not, honestly could not, back out on the marriage now. Not only had the people seen, accepted, even rejoiced at the wedding, but the gods had looked on that ceremony, and the gods took those who turned on their gifts very poorly. It had been a long time since any gifts had been given, and he wouldn't be the one to cause the gods to once again turn a blind eye to them all.
Thus, a quandary.
How was he to get an heir that might be accepted by law and not have his wife ousted?
A mistress.
The very idea, unfortunately, displeased him. In a way it even offended him. He had his Gems. He had his wife. His wife, by necessity, lay before the Gems in the hierarchy, only unable to oust them because they were not hers. A mistress would be a nebulous middle ground, a person who wasn't fully controlled, yet recognized as something more powerful than bed slaves.
Thus, he paced. He walked his room, for once alone, even Amethyst tucked out of his sight while he tried to work through this new problem. Think through his second cousins and further for anyone that might be suitable. Anyone who would not cause more upset in his household than the marriage itself had already done.
He came up with nothing.
He wanted to ask his Gems, Diamond in particular, but with his own mixed feelings, that would be unwise. He was their king, not their equal, and he had to keep up such appearances, no matter how it at times pained him or them.
No, in this instance, he had to speak to Tifa. His wife.
She already knew some of the issue, though not the fact he was already being forced to bend her position as the only female in his household. That he would unfortunately have to tell her when he spoke to her.
Among other things, such as why he was finding this such an onerous chore. After all, why should a king protest more women in his bed when it had long since been made more than obvious to his queen that what they had was nothing at all like love?
He could not point and say he had enough people to satisfy, as, while not a lie, it was not acceptable. The Gems were discounted. If they were deemed to interfere, they would be set aside until he had time for them again, no more no less.
He could not say that he was devoted to Tifa alone, as she would know it was a lie, just as he would. He did not touch her more than he had to, and she would resent even this in light of her child not taking the throne.
No, he had to admit his disfavor towards women. They were not to his taste, and while only the Gems, not even all of them, were thus far aware... his wife had to be informed.
Else, she would never accept that he had to find another woman to clutter his household.
Closing his eyes, he sighed deeply. If only this once, the matter could be resolved simply, he would thank the gods in a most fitting way.
Nodding slightly at that silent vow, he gathered his dignity, chasing his troubles from his expression as he moved to leave his rooms. The king, after all, did not fret, and the mantle had to be worn to that certain view.
That did not, however, mean he could not be surprised.
Standing in front of the door was the priestess, and she looked, well, as if she had gotten unwelcome news.
"I apologize for coming to disturb you unannounced My King... but I have a few things I must discuss with you. They're about the ceremony."
That simply, the matter of a mistress was put on hold.
For the moment.
Arc: Nations
Fandom: FF7
Characters: Sephiroth
Words: 900
Rating: G
Warning: The AUness!
Arc summary: It's an alternate universe where Sephiroth is a king, while Zack, Cloud, Vincent, and Rufus are his harem slaves, who he has renamed as gems.
Note: Follow the tags to get to previous parts, which are in order. Comments appreciated!
He should have expected this. A loophole. Or rather, a political nightmare.
The marriage was official, he had his queen for his kingdom, he had a woman to bear his heir and be a settling piece over how the lineage would be carried through.
The council, however, seemed to disagree. They declared her unfit because her father was her grandmother's child, not her mother. It was a small detail, one Wutai had overlooked for the simple fact that lineage, there, traveled through the sons, and while daughters were at times prized, and might even rule if no other options were present, they were not ultimately important. Here, in Galetha, that was not so. He had right to rule because his father was a queen's only child, and thus, the magic passed leadership through him to his only child. He took after his mother in looks, a lady of the royal line who had been found to keep it from deviating too far from where it ought to be.
He had been expected to do as his father had, to find a wife of the line for the sake of genes, even though the magic would work through him as it had his father. And now, he was being told he still hadn't completed that task. The line was broken at his wife's father, and thus, it rendered her unsuitable. They had only decided this once the marriage was finalized, of course.
In all, the news was... unpleasant. He would not, honestly could not, back out on the marriage now. Not only had the people seen, accepted, even rejoiced at the wedding, but the gods had looked on that ceremony, and the gods took those who turned on their gifts very poorly. It had been a long time since any gifts had been given, and he wouldn't be the one to cause the gods to once again turn a blind eye to them all.
Thus, a quandary.
How was he to get an heir that might be accepted by law and not have his wife ousted?
A mistress.
The very idea, unfortunately, displeased him. In a way it even offended him. He had his Gems. He had his wife. His wife, by necessity, lay before the Gems in the hierarchy, only unable to oust them because they were not hers. A mistress would be a nebulous middle ground, a person who wasn't fully controlled, yet recognized as something more powerful than bed slaves.
Thus, he paced. He walked his room, for once alone, even Amethyst tucked out of his sight while he tried to work through this new problem. Think through his second cousins and further for anyone that might be suitable. Anyone who would not cause more upset in his household than the marriage itself had already done.
He came up with nothing.
He wanted to ask his Gems, Diamond in particular, but with his own mixed feelings, that would be unwise. He was their king, not their equal, and he had to keep up such appearances, no matter how it at times pained him or them.
No, in this instance, he had to speak to Tifa. His wife.
She already knew some of the issue, though not the fact he was already being forced to bend her position as the only female in his household. That he would unfortunately have to tell her when he spoke to her.
Among other things, such as why he was finding this such an onerous chore. After all, why should a king protest more women in his bed when it had long since been made more than obvious to his queen that what they had was nothing at all like love?
He could not point and say he had enough people to satisfy, as, while not a lie, it was not acceptable. The Gems were discounted. If they were deemed to interfere, they would be set aside until he had time for them again, no more no less.
He could not say that he was devoted to Tifa alone, as she would know it was a lie, just as he would. He did not touch her more than he had to, and she would resent even this in light of her child not taking the throne.
No, he had to admit his disfavor towards women. They were not to his taste, and while only the Gems, not even all of them, were thus far aware... his wife had to be informed.
Else, she would never accept that he had to find another woman to clutter his household.
Closing his eyes, he sighed deeply. If only this once, the matter could be resolved simply, he would thank the gods in a most fitting way.
Nodding slightly at that silent vow, he gathered his dignity, chasing his troubles from his expression as he moved to leave his rooms. The king, after all, did not fret, and the mantle had to be worn to that certain view.
That did not, however, mean he could not be surprised.
Standing in front of the door was the priestess, and she looked, well, as if she had gotten unwelcome news.
"I apologize for coming to disturb you unannounced My King... but I have a few things I must discuss with you. They're about the ceremony."
That simply, the matter of a mistress was put on hold.
For the moment.
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