Kiryu Kazuma (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lone_horse) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
agoodyarn2021-12-14 11:57 pm
lone_horse) wrote in agoodyarn2021-12-14 11:57 pm
an arrangement (for jon)
There is an arrangement between the people of this land.
No one knows how long the arrangement has been going and no one knows when it will end. There've been leaders who said that it was archaic, ridiculous, that more than likely, there isn't even a dragon at all; those who are left out as sacrifices either die or leave to another place that still wants them. But in the end, the arrangement is always honored and the price is always paid.
The crops are healthy.
The kingdom is peaceful.
The people live long, fulfilling lives.
It's never been a problem, of course, because there's always a princess. Always. There are some who think that the lineage has just adjusted that way, to the magic, because it's always been simply done: the first born is a girl and the second a boy. The firstborn is offered and disappears and the second rules. This is how it goes.
Except this time, Prince Jon is born a year or two before Prince Timothy. And the question becomes what to do. And how to do it. And whether this will honor the agreement. Which is silly, really, because the agreement had never actually said anything specific about a princess. It hadn't been specified.
All the same, as the date had approached, there'd been increased scholarship but mostly to no avail. There's only one option for this, so says that is how Prince Jon ends up tied to a stake in the middle of nowhere, supposedly for the dragon.
No one knows how long the arrangement has been going and no one knows when it will end. There've been leaders who said that it was archaic, ridiculous, that more than likely, there isn't even a dragon at all; those who are left out as sacrifices either die or leave to another place that still wants them. But in the end, the arrangement is always honored and the price is always paid.
The crops are healthy.
The kingdom is peaceful.
The people live long, fulfilling lives.
It's never been a problem, of course, because there's always a princess. Always. There are some who think that the lineage has just adjusted that way, to the magic, because it's always been simply done: the first born is a girl and the second a boy. The firstborn is offered and disappears and the second rules. This is how it goes.
Except this time, Prince Jon is born a year or two before Prince Timothy. And the question becomes what to do. And how to do it. And whether this will honor the agreement. Which is silly, really, because the agreement had never actually said anything specific about a princess. It hadn't been specified.
All the same, as the date had approached, there'd been increased scholarship but mostly to no avail. There's only one option for this, so says that is how Prince Jon ends up tied to a stake in the middle of nowhere, supposedly for the dragon.