Challenge 2 Fill: "The Courtly Dance"

[starbrowsings.livejournal.com]

Rating:K

A/N: This fic owes a huge debt to both pencildragon11 for the idea of the English Country Dances taking place in Archenland, and to Regency England itself. That was the only way 3000 words of worldbuilding were going to pop out of my head in less than 10 hours. My apologies if I botched any of the dancing bits - I will handwave it with the assumption that Archen Country Dances may differ in exact form! Thanks also to rthstewart for help in forming Aravis's character here; it was invaluable!

***The Courtly Dance
In the bright flurry of the well-lighted dancing hall, Aravis was an island apart from the rest, standing wordless and self-contained as she watched the lords and ladies whirl before her.

( Dancing... )

Camouflage

[rthstewart.livejournal.com]

camouflage
Double Drabble
200 words
K+


Once caught, the Gryphon never had a chance. She was vulnerable on the ground and, at the Queen’s order, the faithless Trees hemmed the Gryphon in and wove a net of branches from which she could not escape.

The dead tree Minerva hid in could not betray her. She kept her traitorous eyes shut, tilted her head, and listened to the Witch’s accusations and the Gryphon’s haughty retorts.

Minerva heard the wand cutting through cold air and the crackle of flesh and feathers turning to stone. She remained as frozen on the branch as the Gryphon now was on the ground below.

“We’ll leave her,” the Queen said. “She can crumble to dust here.”

The Dwarf’s whip cracked and the reindeer pulled the Queen’s sledge away.

Minerva did not open her eyes until she felt the creeping chill of lengthening shadows. She saw the stone Gryphon under her branch, defiant, beak open in challenge. Minerva wanted to say farewell, but would not risk revealing herself to a listening Tree. And the Gryphon could not hear her, or anything else.

She launched from the concealing branch and flew off to warn the Free Narnians that their leader, their General, had fallen.


source
An American Eastern Screech Owl