[closed/complete] Characters: Sigyn (sigyny) & Ryujin (dragongod) Date/Time: Pre-game, June Location: Ryugu-jo, gardens Rating: PG-13 Warnings: Some allusions to violence and torture. Summary: Ryujin and Sigyn bond before the arrival of Heimdall.
Over the centuries, Ryugu-jo had allowed foreigners in to negotiate and handle limited import matters. During his father's time, such things had expanded to some degree but Ryujin, favouring the time of his grandfather more, had controlled it more heavily without provoking the outsiders who saw some of their goods enter his country. It was something of pride and firm belief that Ryugunese goods were the best and that outsider good, even if of equal quality, should not be encouraged greatly. The local products had to be better to keep the production high. This, accompanied by a sense of honour and, once more, pride, meant very few Ryugunese would cut corners. No one wants to lose to a foreign company.
And when it came to ambassadors and other dignitaries, he allowed them in with the understanding they would not overstay. They would be invited to witness how well Ryugu-jo was doing, to speak and then leave. When he had heard about the Camelotian who was to come to handle some affairs between his region and their own, Ryujin began to prepare himself in dealing with the man. He wasn't even an ambassador (something that irked Ryujin but he silently let it go in favour saving his protests for bigger things) so surely the man would be out quickly.
With all that on his mind, however, he was clearly distract, the tip of his little finger tracing up along the curve of his tea cup handle, eyes locked on some distant tree in the gardens. A mild breeze came now and then to blow back his loose hair and it was only when a few strands opted to get caught near his mouth that he stirred and pushed them back with his thumb. "Feh."
When she discovered her father sitting in the gardens, Sigyn didn't even think twice about joining him, a smile on her face. She tried to not run and continued being dignified, despite the excitement she felt at catching her father alone. He was a busy man, and she cherished whatever little moments they could have. And he had delicious tea.
Sigyn stopped, bowed and waited for his acknowledgement before moving to sit by him.
The colourful flutter of his daughter's clothing had him look up and he acknowledged with a slight tilt of his head followed by a gesture of his hand. He knew that soon she would be the wife to his chancellor and that would mean less time to see her. Not only would her current duties increase as Hippolytus' wife but then the two would have to think about when to start a family. And when the grandchildren began to show up, she would be well-occupied at home.
It didn't make him sad but pleased him to know his bloodline would go on in the right way. She'd found a good man, of a good family who would respect her. In time, affections would deepen and cement as they had between himself and his wife. All would be well. With her married, he only had to concern himself with the other children, particularly his eldest son and heir who needed more time to settle before marriage could be a topic brought up.
"You appear to be free for the afternoon. You don't have any duties for the rest of the day?"
If asked Sigyn would reply that she was not ready for children, first she had to come to terms with being a wife - becoming good at her new duties before children even came into the picture. She was pretty sure Hippolytus would feel the same on that because... well, what they had wasn't love. They were fond of each other, she was devoted to him and just a little bit awkward. Sex? Oh dear Maker, that was not in the plans, they were just not that type of couple. Sex was going to be part of their duties, not for fun. At least not first, maybe one day they would grow to enjoy it - but again, that was something that would not come to pass, thanks to the stranger from Camelot.
Sigyn dipped her head a little and nodded, "I am, I finished everything early." Because Sigyn would not slack on her duties. "I'm glad to see you, father." Her legs were neatly tucked beneath and she sat up straight, she turned the tea pot in her hand carefully, first she refilled her father's cup and then a second one was poured for her.
Asking was something certainly not on Ryujin's mind. He had only hoped that her mother, who had passed away about five years earlier, had found the time to speak to Sigyn about...everything to do with children. And if she hadn't then perhaps one of Sigyn's maids or companions. He was certainly not sending his concubine to do that job. God above knew what that sugar-addict would even say. Best not to go there at all.
"As I'm glad to see you." Current projects and meetings had kept him even from having dinner with his children for the past two weeks. For him to be sitting there comfortably and not with any papers or advisors nearby suggested that matters were calming slowly, returning to a more normal pace. "Have you and Hippolytus settled on a date yet or are you both still feeling things out?"
There would be no pressure on his part even if his desire was to see her wed soon. A wedding always made the region more productive and cheerful but his children were his treasures, pieces of a wife gone for so long. If Sigyn said she wanted to wait a year long, Ryujin would consent. If Sigyn wanted to change her mind entirely and enter a more religious career, he would agree to her path of choice as it would still serve the region. She was not the heir but his eldest daughter and the pressures her younger brother faced were not necessarily her own. He could allow her leniency and know that she would still do the right thing.
Oh Sigyn had some ideas, not really that many because it had never come up and she and Hippolytus...really weren't that kind of couple. They... were... well. Cordial, getting along well, but they weren't... it wasn't passionate. So thankfully... it was how they both felt, "I... we..." Sigyn flushed a little, "We haven't really discussed it, I think... we're just waiting things out. He is a very good man, father, I like him very much." That was all she would say on the matter, expressing some sort of emotion but not too much. It was all proper, but she was letting her father know that her mind had not changed. She would happily marry Hippolytus.
Soon. When they were both ready, right now? They weren't there just yet.
Sigyn took a sip of the tea, warm enough and just perfect. "You've been very busy, is everything going well?" There was concern for his well-being but not wanting to pry into his business.
"Take your time," he advised, lifting his tea cup. "Liking him is a start. Hippolytus will never lead you astray." Though it might have made him sound older than he was but Ryujin recalled in his day marrying without seeming as hesitant as Sigyn. Maybe it was the expectation of an heir. No, it was certainly that but he had never really asked his wife if she had experienced the worries and hesitation. Granted, being empress did make a difference.
"As well as to be expected. I've to make an appearance at the end of the week where the new barracks are being built. Then there's an honours ceremony after that and an early morning meeting with some of my advisors the next day since they can't seem to agree about a tax situation. But, firstly, we need to finish preparing for that Camelotian who is coming soon. It shouldn't take long but..." A flicker of annoyance crossed his face and he allowed himself the mildest of shrugs (this was his daughter). "He'll be gone soon enough and that is my focus. To have him settle whatever matters Camelot would like to discuss with us and go."
Sigyn fiddled with the end of her sleeve at his words, she was content, she didn't need more than to like Hippolytus - it was just how things were supposed to be. Love and passion weren't really in Sigyn's mind (perhaps they ought to have been, because when she met Heimdall she hadn't been prepared for any of that). "Everything will go smoothly." Sigyn added, just because it was natural for her to show support. Of course it would obviously be fine, this was her father after all, but still. "I'm surprise a Camelotian is coming." A little shrug, "They don't seem to appear around here much, do they?"
Well, no foreigners did really, but Sigyn couldn't recall having ever met someone from Camelot before.
He waited for her to finish speaking before reaching out to tap her fiddly fingers, silently informing her to leave her sleeve be. Though his children could relax in front of him to some extent, he couldn't help but want to be sure they would never let him or the country down. Besides, it was a pretty outfit and there was no need to worry that poor sleeve.
"I'm not surprised. We're detached from the world so much that I'm sure they much either be worrying we are plotting away or want to improve on relations to make sure we never plot. Perhaps it's even an issue of expanding what they'd like to import here. As long as they do not step in and try to influence our ways, I'll allow them their visits."
His tea was then paid attention to, just long enough to see it drain down a quarter of the way before he pondered on what else she had said. Rising to his feet, he beckoned her to follow him. "It's not necessary but you can meet him to satisfy any curiosity you might have." A slight smirk appeared. "Just don't poke him with a stick. I'm sure he's as normal as the rest of us."
The moment he tapped her fingers, Sigyn stopped and left the sleeve alone. There were still fidgety habits she had, and thankfully Hippolytus didn't seem to mind them at all, but in front of her father? Sigyn wanted to make him proud. Everything she had done after meeting Heimdall.... it had been selfish and thoughtless, but Sigyn never wanted things to go that far... but. Well.
Careful attention was paid at his words, making a mental note of why a Camelotian would come here. "We really don't have need of them." Sigyn replied, dismissing the thought of them even needing anything they had to import, "Of course you know what is best." So if Ryujin said they were allowed to visit, then that was that.
The offer to meet Heimdall had her perking up, "That would be-" The words went when he adviced her not to poke him with a stick, and Sigyn laughed softly. "I promise, father, that I will not poke him with a stick if you allow me to meet him." The reply was mock-solemn, and Sigyn couldn't help but laugh again.
He nodded along to what she had been saying, hands clasped behind his back and moving along the tree lined path near the painstakingly structured gardens and ponds. He knew every day there were a team of gardeners out here, trimming, watering and removing anything unsightly.
"I don't need a promise from you, Sigyn. You wouldn't dream of disappointing me," he finally said, pausing before one particular body of water. Around it were flowering small trees, what would have been known as Oyama Magnolia in the real world. Stepping through the trees, he reached out to finger one of the white magnolias. It was ridiculous for these flowers to be here but, then again, maybe they served less as a symbol of what had happened and more as a warning to all to remember their place in the world as well as themselves. "Did your mother tell you who lies at the bottom of this lake?"
Sigyn beamed at his words, of course she would never think of disappointing him (again something that perhaps she ought to have considered). They came to a stop and she shuffled to the side, staring down at the white magnolias. Their symbolism escaped Sigyn's memory, she only thought they were beautiful, delicate - white and perfect. "No, she did not."
Sigyn's memory of her mother was like an old photograph, faded, watered down and stained. Only fragments remained and even those were not often taken into great consideration. You had to live looking forward, not backwards. "Who lies here?"
Magnolias symbolized a few things including a nobility and beauty but perseverance and dignity were what mattered. "Many centuries ago, there was a princess. She was the youngest, unlike yourself, and things were a little different then. There was more restriction and pressure on young women of the family. It was worse when there weren't heirs born." Something he would not have allowed for his wife even if she had pressured herself until their son was born.
"She knew what was expected of her. She knew she had to marry a man of a respectable home and, in the case the heir and his wife did not produce a son, her sons could step up. Bloodline was everything these, just as it is now. The man she was set to marry came from a noble, good home and he was fortunately near her own age.
"On the day of her wedding, she couldn't be found. The empress was particularly frantic because this was her youngest daughter and they had shared a special bond. When she could not be found, the empress suffered a terribly breakdown that she did not recover well from. It was the heir who soon found a note, telling all that the little princess had fled from her intended and family with a foreigner who had come to Ryugu-jo in order to handle his new business. You can't imagine the fury that rose after that was grasped by the emperor, especially after seeing how his wife had fallen ill." The magnolia was broken from the branch and brought closer for inspection. "A long story short, they found the runaways, just on the border between Ryugu-jo and what is Niflheim. And when brought before the emperor, he damned them both without trial or ceremony. The man was condemned to die by slow slicing, right before the princess' eyes. His remains were then scattered outside of the country so none of him would ever be where the princess would be."
Facing his daughter, he reached out to tuck the noble bloom into her hair. It wasn't so artfully done but it was the gesture that mattered, he supposed. "I'm sure you can guess now who rests in the lake, Sigyn. It's said she was brought here and tortured until her white kimono was red with blood. Then she weighed down before being thrown in. No proper rites were offered her for the shame she caused them all. She was only remembered for the humiliation and suffering she brought to her family for her selfishness. None of her good deeds, if she had any, are even recorded. Her existence would have been denied if it hadn't been for an advisor who urged this act by her be a lesson passed down as a warning." One of his hands cupped the side of her face, affection he gladly gave his child. "So I need no promise from you. You are not like her. You are good."
The story made a shiver run down her spine, goosebumps crawling along her arm. There was no reason for it, but the tale touched her deeply and she wanted, lord - she wanted no more than to live up to her father's expectations that moment. To make him proud, and yet for all her good intentions she couldn't- wouldn't be able to shake off Heimdall's influence it was set. It was just how things unfolded, maybe if Lilith had not seen them, then maybe Sigyn wouldn't have felt forced to flee in the way she had.
The flower was neatly tucked behind her ear and Sigyn looked up to give her father a bright smile. "That is a sad tale." Not only sad, but tragic and... she felt for the princess. Surely she had never meant for things to be so bad, right? But those were thoughts that she didn't bring up, instead choosing to agree with her father by nodding her head.
She opened her mouth to say something but the moment was interrupted by the arrival of a messenger. The slight man bowed and waited, "I'm sorry, my Emperor, I was told to inform you the moment the man from Camelot arrived."
Ryujin had always believed the story to be a sign of how their blood needed to be protected from such weak influences. Like a treasured, old tree, pruned of branches that were worthless.
Any trace of paternal softness vanished when the messenger arrived, his posture taking on the composed authority that he knew himself to be. The news was not a welcome but he swallowed his annoyance and offered a nod. "I'll be inside within a moment. The princess will be accompanying me and see to it that he is made as comfortable as possible." That was the dismissal for the messenger and with his departure he turned to Sigyn.
"You'll be meeting him sooner than later." His fingers quite casually tweaked her cheek before offering his arm. "Come now. You'll make the best of impression on him."
Another bow and the man was gone quickly, efficient and silent in carrying out his tasks. As a servant should be, everything would be quickly set in place for when Ryujin set foot inside with his daughter.
Sigyn took his arm, giving it a little squeeze, "I'm not sure about that, what if I poke him with a stick?" she asked, allowing herself a few more moments of informality before they had to be Emperor and princess once more. In a way, Sigyn resented that the Camelotian had arrived so early, interrupting the moment with her father.
The walk back was really short, and her grip tightened unconsciously on her father's arm as she set eyes on the stranger. It shouldn't have mattered, but it did. The first sign that something had changed with that foreign arrival.
"Discreetly if you must," he murmured back to her when they still had time.
His opinion of Heimdall had barely formed when something else influenced him entirely. The moment Sigyn's grip on him changed was when all Ryujin could think of was that he would murder the man if he so much made his daughter tremble. This visit was going to be shorter than planned, it seemed.