7Title: Like the Night (#1: Uniform)
Author: Lady Blackmour
Fandom: Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
Pairing: Edmond (le Comte)/Haydee
Rating: G
Warnings: SOOOOOOO FLUFFY…. Oo Some spoilers.
Disclaimer: The Count of Monte Cristo belongs originally to Alexandre Dumas. The universe of Gankustuou belongs to Mahiro Maeda. I am gaining nothing from this besides a little satisfaction.
Author's note/Dedication: Again, we are slightly alternate universe. Although in the first snog I kept Gankutsuou, in this one I am sending him away. (The end of the anime, but without the death. Boo, death!) I took the prompt, "uniform" to mean "sameness" rather than a set of clothing, and went from there. Reviews are always appreciated, constructive criticism as well. But not flames. Flame me, and Edmond Dantes will stab you in the eye. XD
Dedicated once again to Jamieson Price, without whom I would not care half so much as I do. And to Jim Caviezel, because just a bit of his Edmond is inserted here.
"He walks in beauty, like the night."
I know that poem was written for a woman, but I've always felt it described him so perfectly. It was written long ago, and at a time when darkness was generally considered undesirable. And yet, this poet found it beautiful, beautiful in a way that most would have found odd.
Edmond is like that. Beautiful, but not in the usual way. Beautiful, but dark.
Since separating from Gankutsuou, he has become much more normal in appearance. He no longer draw stares simply by entering the room. And yet, people are still drawn to him. He is not like these other humans, no matter than he now resembles them so much more. They are all so alike, worried only with power, and prosperity, and who is marrying who. But he sees differently.
Like the night.
He has seen darkness, and walked in it, and he has emerged from it, but it has not left him. It has painted him in an exotic shade that none other can ever achieve. It was this shade that shined through even when his heart was nothing but crystal. It was this shade that defeated the being of blackness. It was this shade that brought him to me in the first place.
It was not his wealth, or his fine clothing that made me trust him as a tiny child, but rather the colour of his eyes. No, the colour behind his eyes, for it is still there, even when the pigment has changed.
A warm colour; ironic, but so kind. I remember that first night on his magnificent ship, he kissed me on the forehead, and sat with me until I slept, for I was afraid, and plagued by nightmares of my mother's death.
The irony is still there, that touch of cynicism, and it will always be there as the mark he wears for the betrayal he suffered, as permanent as the marks on his body. But…the kindness shows through more and more.
I am watching him now, captivating an audience of aristocrats in our home in London. It is somewhat distasteful for a Frenchman to be in England, yet we have settled for the time being, to rest. It is pleasant to have a place to call our own again.
I realize I have fallen asleep when he wakes me sometime later. The house is empty, but for ourselves and his most trusted men.
"Feeling all right, cherie?"
I nod. "Yes, just a little tired. I believe I have been doing too much recently."
He smiles crookedly. His canines are still rather pointed, reminiscent of another time, another face. "I shall have to learn to take better care of you two." His hand slips to press against my abdomen, just barely beginning to curve outward, as he leans down to kiss me gently. His kiss is the colour of his eyes, or at least the colour behind them. When we part, he slips his arms underneath me and lifts me to carry upstairs.
Perhaps I am different as well, as small and weak as I am, because in all his life, the Count of Monte Cristo has never served anyone, but he treats me as his queen.
Like the night, we are half a world away from the safe and common daylight. But I would not change anything.
What we have is unique. It belongs only to us.
Hum…this one is short as well. I wonder if any of these will be longer than this? Maybe, maybe not. Did I send you into a diabetic coma? Excellent, that's just what I was going for. XD
I changed the title a little it was kind if tacky to have the pairing in it, don't you think?
