A Gryphon by the Tail Chapter 14

[Evie]

With those particular ladies, the best revenge Richenda could possibly take would be to marry the Duke of Corwyn.  So unless Alkari plans on doing an alternate universe re-write of the Morgan/Richenda love story, they'll definitely get their comeuppance.   

[Elkhound]

Not quite as satisfying as turning them all into frogs.

[Alkari]

Oh, I don't know.  I think this way would give Richenda much more enjoyment

Besides, she'd have an awful lot of explaining to do if she demonstrated her "turn you into frog" powers 

[AnnieUK]

Hard enough to shift your own shape, without shifting someone else's.  And human to frog would take a heck of a lot of energy.

[Alkari]

Let's see now, choice of revenge:-
1.  Turn "ladies" into frogs; or
2.  Marry Duke of Corwyn.

Hmmm - difficult 

[Evie]

Let's see now, choice of revenge:-
1.  Turn "ladies" into frogs; or
2.  Marry Duke of Corwyn.

Hmmm - difficult 

*dies*

I think Option B might have the better retirement plan. 

[kirienne (RIP)]

I agree, option B for revenge is far better. Those "ladies" will have to endure the fact Richenda is married to Alaric Morgan, for a very long time. The revenge will be fresh everytime she goes to Rhemuth. 

[Elkhound]

Lady Canina: [Deryni-bashing rant.]
Richenda: [Flashes handfire.] O, Canina, dear?
Canina: *gulp*
Richenda: You'd make a most attractive frog.  Wouldn't she, girls?
Canina: Y-y-you c-c-can d-d-do th-th-that?"
Richenda: You know, I've never actually tried.  Keep your spiteful little mouth off the subject of my Alaric particular and Deryni in general, and we'll have no need to find out, will we, then? (Turns to another lady.)  Now, Esmerelda, what's that new embroidery techique from Andelon you were telling me about?


And yes, "Canina" does mean what you think it means

[Evie]

Um, yeah, but given that it was precisely that "Let them hate, so long as they fear" attitude of some of the Deryni that got the entire race persecuted and burned on stakes for 200 years in the first place, why on Earth would Richenda want to go on perpetuating that impression of Deryni now that there's actually a glimmer of hope in sight for more peaceful human/Deryni relations under a new Haldane King?  Or, at the very least (since this is still early on in Kelson's reign) not worsened ones?

[Elkhound]

Um, yeah, but given that it was precisely that "Let them hate, so long as they fear" attitude of some of the Deryni that got the entire race persecuted and burned on stakes for 200 years in the first place, why on Earth would Richenda want to go on perpetuating that impression of Deryni now that there's actually a glimmer of hope in sight for more peaceful human/Deryni relations under a new Haldane King?  Or, at the very least (since this is still early on in Kelson's reign) not worsened ones?

Because it would feel so good.  And those ladies who know that Richenda would never actually do it--even if she could--probably don't like Lady Canina any more than Richenda does, and would so enjoy seeing her taking down a peg.  And the only really satisfactory alternative would be to take a very long, very sharp carving knife and to stick it into Lady Canina's belly a very many times, and that would probably get bloodstains impossible to clean up all over the nice Kheldish carpets.

[Evie]

OK, for one thing, IIRC this story happens right after Richenda first comes to Rhemuth, so the "ladies who know her' could probably be counted on the fingers of one hand.  We really only know of one--Kathryn--who knew Richenda at all prior to her arrival at Rhemuth.

But besides that, while a satisfying scene for the readers is one thing, it can't be one that goes wholly against the character as it's already been established in the KK canon (and Richenda is a MAJOR character in the novels, not one with minor walk-on bits like Jass MacArdry or completely made up by the fanfic writer, like my Sophie), or the scene won't ring true.  And I can't think of a single instance in the novels where Richenda returns spite for spite.  It's just not who she is--she's way above that level of pettiness.  The closest thing we ever see to her having a confrontation of that sort is when she blows up at Alaric, and even that loss of temper doesn't come until after years of provocation, and the intent isn't to one-up him, it's to point out a major problem in their relationship in need of correction.  Ultimately, even though she takes drastic measures with Alaric, it's in hopes of mending fences, not building up more walls.

So ultimately, for readers who want not only to see Lady Lyndall and her ilk get their comeuppance, but get it in a wholly plausible and Richenda-like way, it has to be done in a way consistent with how she's always acted in KK's books.  Otherwise, it would feel like a story about some other person who just happens to also be named Richenda and who is being courted by some dude who just happens to be named Alaric.  Not the real Richenda and Alaric.

[Elkhound]

Interesting to hear such a passionate defense of canon-consistency from someone who in another fic has taken some major liberties.

In our society if someone spouts anti-Native American rhetoric and someone in the audience points out that he is--despite his blond hair and blue eyes--about one fourth Cherokee, or someone hearing antisemitic rhetoric mentions that his grandmother's maiden name was Rothschild, or someone who throws out the N-word discovers that someone in earshot is what used to be called an 'octoroon', we don't think that the person proclaiming his minority ancestry in such a way as to make the thoughtless racist feel about two inches high is wrong.  We think it as an appropriate and necessary bit of education.  Giving the offender the choice between swords and pistols at dawn down by the river is no longer either socially or legally acceptable, after all.

Yes, Richenda would be treating what's-her-name with contempt.  Why not?  She's contemptable. 

[Evie]

Interesting to hear such a passionate defense of canon-consistency from someone who in another fic has taken some major liberties.

I'm guessing you must mean Anamchara, since in the other stories I hardly touch upon canonical characters (with the exception of Derry) except in brief cameo scenes as needed.  Most of the action centers around my ladies-in-waiting, otherwise.

As for Anamchara, the AU nature of the story is exactly why I prefaced it with an introduction to warn the reader of what departures from canon they might expect, what the underlying premise of the story is, etc., so the reader could decide from the outset if it was likely to be a story they could see being consistent with their own understanding of how KK's characters might act under those circumstances, or if it was not likely to meet up with those expectations and if they'd prefer to give it a pass.  Even so, I tried to keep my depictions of KK's characters as consistent as I could with how I understand them.  With Duncan, for instance, I tried to depict him as the good, honorable man he is in the books, yet still human, still capable of falling into occasional error, doing his best to find the proper balance in a difficult situation but not always succeeding. And in the end, despite moments of wavering, remaining true to his vocation.  That's how I read him in the KK books, so I tried to hold him true to that in mine, though the depiction may not have worked for you.  But in any case, that's a matter best discussed (if you wish to discuss it further) either via PM or in that story's thread, not here, since this thread is for Alkari's story.

In our society if someone spouts anti-Native American rhetoric and someone in the audience points out that he is--despite his blond hair and blue eyes--about one fourth Cherokee, or someone hearing antisemitic rhetoric mentions that his grandmother's maiden name was Rothschild, or someone who throws out the N-word discovers that someone in earshot is what used to be called an 'octoroon', we don't think that the person proclaiming his minority ancestry in such a way as to make the thoughtless racist feel about two inches high is wrong.  We think it as an appropriate and necessary bit of education.  Giving the offender the choice between swords and pistols at dawn down by the river is no longer either socially or legally acceptable, after all.

Yes, Richenda would be treating what's-her-name with contempt.  Why not?  She's contemptable.  

That's one way of dealing with such situations, certainly, but not the only way.  I have also been treated with contempt on occasion--sometimes due to my mixed-race heritage, sometimes due to my religious beliefs, sometimes (though this reason is extremely rare now, thank goodness!) simply for being female.  My own preferred way of dealing with such contempt is not by returning the contempt, but by trying to understand where it's coming from and then, if possible, educate.  If not possible, at least I do my best to conduct myself in such a way that hopefully the other person leaves the encounter with a better impression of people of mixed race / my beliefs / my gender than they had before.  Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail, and sometimes my temper does get the better of me, but when that happens, I count it as a personal failure, not as a triumph.

Now, I don't know if Richenda is like me or not like me, I simply know that I don't recall any scenes in the books that depict her in a way where she says things in public that would cast a bad light on Deryni.  Even when dealing with Jehana's hostility, she treats Jehana with grace and dignity.  Or at least if there's a time when she doesn't, I'm not remembering it, though feel free to point it out if there is a time she returns contempt for contempt.  My memory is fallible, and most of my books are in audio now rather than in print, so I could simply be misremembering.

[Alkari]

Elkhound, I appreciate your desire to see some people 'get what they deserve' in certain rather painful ways.  (We all have occasional delicious dreams in that regard, I'm sure!)

But alas, turning people into frogs is simply not part of KK's magical world.  At all.  OTOH, you could always wander over to the Harry Potter fandom (a frightening journey, LOL) and find yourself in a wand-waving world where people belch slugs, and annoying students are turned into bouncing ferrets ...

*contemplates a magical encounter between Archbishop Loris and Fred and George Weasley from HP ... *