an arranged marriage for ceaselesslabor

[entirelymyown]

Carcosa was thought to be lost.

There were all manner of myths, all manner of stories; some said that someone with the gift of earthquakes sunk the land into the oceans. Others said that it was lost far earlier, that the city itself slowly died as the continents shifted and the fabled Lake Hali dried up, the country lost to the dunes of the great deserts and unsuited to such an environment. Still others said it was entirely a story, made up, the kind of thing used by ancient travelers to spice up their tales and historical accounts to cover up for the deeds or misdeeds that politics would not allow them to speak of honestly. That last one was the most accepted of the stories, or it was until the headline came out in the Times.

Carcosa is Real! Envoy Arrives at UN!

It was, it turned out, an island nation located in the center of the Atlantic Ocean, far from any of the standard ocean routes and difficult to navigate to given the strangeness of the weather patterns in the area which meddled with magnetic reckoning. As the use of a magnetic compass had risen throughout the world (instead of relying on those with Directional gifts), the island had been 'missed' more and more until it was forgotten, only encountered by the occasional lost ship that by the same misfortune would never be able to find them again. They had become, by no surprise, incredibly isolationist and it was speculated by scientists that the natural energies that caused the anomaly might in fact be the reason why Carcosa was said to have singularly powerful magical gifts in its people and especially in its royal line. Others thought it might be a matter of natural selection or even careful breeding: cut off from the rest of the world and the advancements brought by crossing cultures, Carcosans had only been able to rely on themselves and their gifts, making those with stronger and more useful gifts much more likely to prosper and procreate given the relatively small population. Nevertheless, it turned out that that part of the 'myths' was true: there were a few more articles, later in the paper, discussing the gifts of the Envoy and his crew, all of which were the sort of thing deemed miraculous and even mythical these days. Technology had just made such things more trouble than they were worth, unstable and unreliable and reliant on a single individual; a machine could work for anyone, and science had no favorites.

It was the sort of thing that made magic feel more magical again, really.

And brought on a rush to exploit the island, it's people, and what resources they had which, as it turned out, were extensive. This led to the King closing the port and strictly limiting the interaction between the foreigners and his people. And, of course, to a second arrival in New York City.

King Hastur II himself, younger than anyone expected, unmarried and childless, walking into the UN himself and politely requesting a chair.

...how Daniel Saltzman, a lumber magnate, true, but no one with a title, not a Rockefeller or a Carnegie, managed to get his attention during that visit is anyone's guess. Some of the gossip rags decided it must have been a connection made over a shared tendency towards religion, while others were much more cynical and claimed it was about the money and nothing but the money, that Saltzman was an old traditionalist willing to invest in Carcosa more than the others who'd put their money into steam and electric and gas. No one can agree what it is, but what is evident is that Saltzman offered a husband for the mysterious young king and that said king had accepted.

How his adopted son, Arthur, took the news, well...

Comments

[ceaselesslabor]

He sits up finally and takes the flower to tuck it behind his ear again.

"Uh. Yeah, thank you. Charles always had it for me."

He takes a bite of the toast first. "Where's Jahn?" he wonders. "Is there some morning Carcosian ritual I missed?"

[entirelymyown]

"Getting some air," he provides helpfully, but he says nothing more about it. Because when he says 'getting some air', what he means is 'flying around outside handling his emotions' and he's not quite sure that Arthur has been briefed on the many and myriad ways that Jahn uses his skills.

"And there is no such ritual, master." Wry. "Generally, on the morning after their wedding, no one is particularly interested in getting up to do anything."

[ceaselesslabor]

He looks over with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, well, most people aren't meeting their partner at the alter. And if they are, then it's because they asked for it and knew about it more than three weeks in advance."

He does look out the windows, out to the city. "I really fucked up."

[entirelymyown]

"No, this is true. In general, even in an arranged marriage, the marriage partners meet one another beforehand. Curious that it was handled as such this time, given the momentousness of the occasion."

He's just neatening the suite. Making idle chatter. Definitely isn't throwing any mild shade about dipshits who run away for three weeks where they could have at least met their husband to be and made some judgements about him...

Who would do that?

[ceaselesslabor]

Arthur narrows his eyes at him over his coffee. "Well, maybe it would have made more sense if this hadn't come out of the blue," he huffs. "I wasn't aware this had anything to do with me."

[entirelymyown]

"Curious," he says, clearly unbothered by the narrowed eyes, "that they would keep such information from you. Both Mr. Saltzman and my king seem up front and earnest individuals. A shame that they kept this information from you, since of course you asked such questions when it came so suddenly 'out of the blue'."

Neatening.

[ceaselesslabor]

Arthur huffs, choosing instead to switch subjects.

"How long is the trip?" he wonders. He's asking questions now, at least.

[entirelymyown]

Yeah, that's what he thought.

"The trip to Carcosa?" He shrugs. "That depends upon whether you wish to take the boat or to allow my king to transport you. It is roughly a week by boat."

[ceaselesslabor]

Arthur enjoys his eggs, digesting thag information.

"What do you mean? Allow him to transport me? What's that like?" His magic didn't seem to work like that, but, admittedly, Arthur had done a lot of assuming.

He reaches up, touching the flower by his ear, thinking it might be nice to braid it. It got long once when he was busy with a project. Bella made a tiny sprig of a braid in his hair and they both laughed about it in the mirror. He cut it the next day, but - it was gentle, for a while.

[entirelymyown]

"Ah."

Now he turns to look at Arthur.

"I forget, master, that you think of magic as they do here. As a convenience or a talent, not as we do."

He folds his hands.

"Should my king wish to be here, in this moment, he could be here. Should my king wish to be on Carcosa, right now, he would be there. We took the boat here so that we might bring the jewelry and other non-organic items with us to New York to perform the ceremony, and not to scare your American government, but they were hardly necessary." A dip of his head. "When he told you that he controls all organic matter, that is in every sense. Including its location. What shape it might be in. What it does or can do. How it behaves." Beat. "Must I go on?"

[ceaselesslabor]

A hard swallow.

"No," he says. "I - understand." At least, he understands better now.

"How - old is Jahn?" he wonders, suddenly realizing how that woukd impact lifespan.

[entirelymyown]

That takes Uric a moment to consider. It's obvious he's doing some math in his head.

"He will be 4,543 come... June, master," he says with a dip of his head. Then with a small smile. "He was born on the third of June."

[ceaselesslabor]

The chewing slowly stops as he stares at Ulric with absolute shock.

"How - " His voice comes out in a squeak, so he clears his throat and tries again. "How is that possible?"

[entirelymyown]

"...I assume because his parents chose to have sex in September, master."

The fact that he keeps a straight face is really something.

[ceaselesslabor]

"Wh - what?"

He immrdiately recoils, pressed back against the headboard. "No! What? That isn't what I meant!"

[entirelymyown]

Peeeeer.

"Did you mean to ask how he is so old, master?"

He shrugs.

"He is the product of our people's greatest feat of engineering.

"Before him, there was a council and that council worked for centuries, guiding bloodlines and making matches to produce children with stronger and stronger magical gifts. Once his power was known, once it was realized that they had accomplished their goal, he was crowned king, the first and only, and he has been king ever since."

He looks to Arthur.

"It is said that the King is Carcosa and Carcosa is the King. So has it been since that day. He is our people's guardian and ruler and to many on our island, a god."

[ceaselesslabor]

And that makes Arthur his consort. What the fuck is he supposed to do about that?

He leans forward, picking up the toast so he can eat it and get dressed. He opens one of his bags, searching out something suitable.

"How many times has he uh...been married?"

Wait. "Does he have any children?"

[entirelymyown]

"He had children of course, master," he says easily enough, "His firstborn: Dnia'Tyng, Ihhysat Sec'd, and L'nymehk Lryuc, formed from his own body as mother and father both, were celebrated as proof that Carcosa might never be truly destroyed. Dnia and Ihhysat have both passed away, but Lryuc remains, his gift being that of immortality. Before they passed, both Dnia and Ihhysat bore children and their line continues on, and Lryuc..." beat "has certainly had many children over the years."

He pauses.

"But he has never been married, master, nor has he made children with another. He thought that a marriage would split his allegiance between his people and one person." His tone softens somewhat. "And after Ihhysat passed, he decided he would have no more. That he could not bear the pain of watching his children pass."

[ceaselesslabor]

Arthur stares into the clothes in his hands. "I can't imagine."

Which is why he chose Arthur, he assumes. Or why he was alright with Arthur. He stands, disappearing into the bathroom to change.

"Must have been hard for you, too."
Ulric knew him as a child, after all. He must have grown attached to his children in turn.

[entirelymyown]

Here, Uric pauses, watching Arthur for a long moment.

"Before my king, I was simply an attendant, my gift for surveillance well suited to watching children. I knew that he was one of those deemed most likely to be our king, and I was pleased by this, given his disposition." He steps just a little closer. "His power revealed itself in saving my life, defying death to keep me among the living. Since that day, I have been the only one he has preserved such beyond himself."

[ceaselesslabor]

He's quiet, meeting his gaze before closing the bathroom door to change. He takes the razor to his face in the mirror, careful to not nick his skin.

Ulric doesn't mention the children, which tells Arthur all he needs to know.

"Is that something you want?" Then, softer: "If he could save your life, why didn't he save his children?"

[entirelymyown]

"I would not leave my king to face the centuries alone."

Which is all he's going to say on that matter.

"And he did not save his children because then, where would it end? Would he doom his children to the same fate? His grandchildren? And what about their grandchildren?" He turns his hand. "He is not just life, master, he is also death. The balance of the two lives ever in his mind, heart, and soul."

[ceaselesslabor]

Arthur nods. He has so many other questions, but he needs them from Jahn. Still, he's starting to understand better. The pieces are put into place, one at a time.

He threads his fingers through his hair, slicking it back from his face, though he ensures the flower never strays.

"Well. He never did ask me how I felt about that. If I wanted children."

That isn't a question. He's just - blowing off steam.

"When will he return?" he wonders.

[entirelymyown]

"I believe that your desires would bear significantly in his feelings on the matter, master," he says diplomatically. And he'll take the plate from the table.

"As for my king, I would guess that he should be returning shortly. He rarely flies longer than an hour or two."

He dips his head in a minute bow.

"Do you need anything before then, master?"

[ceaselesslabor]

Flies.

Don't think he missed that one. He opens the door and comes out in a clean and comfortable suit, shooting Ulric a glare.

"No. You're been - very helpful."
Despite it all.