open post: further up and further in

[magicianking]

Eliot hasn't been depressed, per se, because it's sort of impossible to be depressed in Fillory. There's too much to do, these days: rebuilding Castle Whitespire, helping Josh and Poppy with the baby, and generally trying to run a post-apocalyptic-but-now-pretty-much-fine magical kingdom. Being High King of Fillory is, not to be totally cliche, Eliot's calling, and he's found a peace that he never had before. But it still sucks absolute balls that both Quentin and Janet are gone.

When Janet had first disappeared, Eliot had devoted all of his kingly resources to trying to find her. None of their world-jumping buttons had been missing, so he'd promised a knighthood and a castle to anyone in Fillory who found the missing Queen Janet.

"She won't love being treated like a damsel in distress like this," Poppy had told him.

"Well, if you have a better idea," he'd snapped, and that had been that, until a letter had arrived in the gazing pool. It had been frustratingly contextless, but obviously from Janet.

"Where is she?" Josh asked at the next meeting of the monarchs.

"I don't know. She's trapped, but she seems more annoyed than in danger."

"So she's in another universe? Since she had to use your telegram thing?" Poppy asked.

"Seems likely."

All of them had lapsed into silence.

"Should we call off the Queen hunt? Some of them are getting a little Don Quixote out there," said Poppy.

"No," Eliot had decided. "Just in case." Damsel in distress, Janet was not; but hell if he would ever be the one to give up on finding her.

--

Eliot's on his way to check on the progress of Castle Whitespire, wandering up the path from the comfortable townhouse he's been staying in, when the ground changes abruptly beneath his feet. He stumbles, and when he looks up--Dorothy, he is not in magical Kansas any more. Not in Oz any more? Whatever. The energy of wherever he is is totally different. He doesn't think it's Earth, either, despite the fact that he's in front of a huge Earth-style mansion.

"What the fuck," he mutters, and opens the door.

Comments

[magicianking]

"Damn. No one's even a little gay?"

[futaille]

"I have no idea how you managed to jump from 'not all' to 'no one'."

[magicianking]

"Well, now that you say that, me neither," Eliot says, leaning forward with interest. "Who is it?"

[futaille]

"What, would you like a comprehensive list of the romantic exploits of all of my friends?"

[magicianking]

"I'd be more interested in hearing about you," Eliot says, smiling flirtatiously. "I have less of a scholarly interest than a personal one."

[futaille]

He laughs. "Oh, is that so? I'll admit I've heard worse attempts on a first meeting¹."

¹Claudius.

[magicianking]

"I'm famously very charming."

[futaille]

"A trait I opted not to cultivate in favor of obnoxiousness. How famous?"

[magicianking]

"Well, I'm a beloved king, so that's something, although it's a pretty small kingdom. Then I was also pretty popular at school, so..."

[futaille]

"Out of the two, which do you suppose was harder to come by?"

[magicianking]

"Definitely being popular at school. Most Fillorians fucking loved me immediately. Brakebills students are all self-absorbed misfits. Me included. So they take longer to win over than wide-eyed fantasy creatures."

[futaille]

"Oh good. I would have been surprised if it went the other way. In answer to your curiosity, no, I was not routinely sleeping with my friends in Paris. But with a few, occasionally, and in at least one notable case, it wasn't for lack of wishing. As for here... it's a remarkable place."

[magicianking]

"Good for you," Eliot says. "And yes, I hear it's a total Golden Gaytime. Sorry, that's an Australian joke. One of my best friends is Australian. They have an ice cream called that. Past your time, but hopefully that's still funny. Who was your crush?"

[futaille]

"I think that much made it into the book."

[magicianking]

"Oh, I see," Eliot says. Enjolras, then. He remembers showing Isabel, one of the Physical Kids in the year above him, the sections in question. They'd both giggled over them. "And the two of you are the only ones here. Must be awkward."

[futaille]

"It was at the start, I'll say. It's better now, though."

[magicianking]

"I've had crushes on straight guys before. It sucks," Eliot says sympathetically.

[futaille]

And that makes Grantaire blink. "... Please tell me Victor Hugo did not give at any point the impression that Enjolras has the least bit of romantic interest in women."

[magicianking]

Eliot blinks. "Oh, I mean, I guess he didn't, I just thought that was probably the reason he rejected you."

[futaille]

"I wouldn't say he rejected me, because there is no way I would have ever tried anything in Paris in the first place. ... Now, once we were here and subjected to a truth spell for a day..."

[magicianking]

"That's interesting. Keep going."

[futaille]

"That was awkward. I wanted to bury myself in the woods somewhere and never again emerge."

[magicianking]

"I would, too. Good lord. Thank god I'm a magician and could probably do a counter-spell."

[futaille]

"I'm not sure. This place's tricks don't seem to be easily thwarted, no matter what powers the people here have."

[magicianking]

"I'm definitely not moving here, then." A truth spell sounds like an absolute fucking nightmare. If he'd ever been under one around Quentin... best not to think about it. "You survived, though. You're a champion."