fic: 'venia'
May. 4th, 2008 01:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hathycolFor ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
lgbtfest.
Title: Venia
Author: Hathor (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hathy_col)
Fandom: Robin Hood (new BBC version)
Pairing/characters: Much, Robin
Rating: G
Disclaimer: The BBC owns all the good things in this world. Robin Hood is one of them. I’m making no money off this. It is, however, my intellectual property. Please ask before distributing.
Prompt: Much. Much loves women, they're nice, kind and they cook, but none of them, not even Eve, as much as he loves Robin. What does that make him in late 12th Century England?
Summary: Much talks religion. It’s all a bit complicated for a Locksley village lad.
Author's Notes: Some historical gumph at the end. Spoilers for the end of season 2.
Much was taught that the Holy Land was… well, holy. His father’s tithes had gone towards the upkeep of the Christians there, and Much had been proud when he heard of the works done by the pilgrims who could see where Christ had died. When his father had died (and unlike Christ, never came back), Much had gone into the Locksley household permanently. He had watched the household’s chapel glitter with the gold of the crucifixes, gave the travelling friars bread out of the kitchen when he could, and tried to live a relatively blameless life.
Not that he was one of those, you know, religious types. Much was never going to become a monk, or a priest, or even one of those people that wrote all the books in Paris. You had to be able to read properly for that, and Much had heard that you couldn’t even eat properly in the monasteries, and he’d seen by the discreet itching how itchy those holy robes were. No, Much was happy enough living the life of the good family man. The only slight problem with that was that he was required to actually have a family for that. It wasn’t that he was against the idea, as such – it was a nice idea, being able to have your own home and work on the lands. He wasn’t even against the idea of children, like a lot of a local lads were. Having some of his own might even make his mother proud, up there in heaven.
It was just that, for the meantime, he was perfectly happy working in the Locksley household, and being the manservant to Robin. Wherever Robin went, he was happy to follow. And when the priest had come and preached about the pilgrimage to the holy land – about how the heathens were ripping it up, and how the new king needed their help – there was never any question of him not going. Robin, the new Robin with eyes filled with zeal and the will to fight for Christ, would lead him there, and that would be the end of that.
Or so Much had thought.
--
During the journey to the holy land – across Europe and across the sea - Much had got talking to the other men on their pilgrimage. The priests had preached about forgiveness for the taking of this trip, but Much was pretty sure he didn’t need it. Scrumping in the village hardly counted if you’d been twelve at the time, after all, and he thought that God would probably let him off. No, Much was using this war to store up some forgiveness with God, to give him the blessing to meet a beautiful woman and to have a brood of children. There weren’t any women in the village, not really; he’d kissed the daughter of the brewer once, but she didn’t feel quite right. Her beer was wonderful, though.
He heard some horror stories with the men who had come on the pilgrimage, though. Some were men who felt desperate shame and sorrow at an act they’d perpetrated in their youth; some, Much felt, didn’t feel quite bad enough about their acts. It wasn’t Much’s job to judge – well, it wasn’t Much’s job to judge after he’d been the victim of a few well-aimed punches and a talking to by Robin – but he had been sure that the reason for this journey had been holy. The idea of these men walking where Christ and the apostles had done made him uneasy. However, Robin treated them like brothers, and this brotherly feeling spread to Much. So he didn’t argue.
On the ship, Robin and him shared a bunk through lack of space. Much had complained to everyone he could at the horror of a noble being forced to share space on the cramped and creaking vessel, but Robin had touched him gently on the shoulder and explained that on a journey like this, all men were brothers.
So they shared a bunk. One night, during a fierce storm, Robin rolled over and held onto Much, who didn’t think about it until Robin called him Marian. Robin was asleep at the time, but Much felt the way Robin was holding him, and felt his heart constrict with the feeling that yes, this is the family I wanted and this stomach churn with the knowledge that Robin didn’t, not like this, not with Much, and suddenly realised this was how you were meant to feel about women if you wanted the family.
--
After five years in the Holy Land, Much didn’t know any more about forgiveness than he had previously. A priest he’d tried to confess to – in desperation – had reacted in horror, until Much told him that he’d never even tried to act on it. He wouldn’t even know how to, although he’d heard some terrible stories about what the Saracens got up to in their camps. That didn’t sound like the type of thing he wanted to do, not really.
The priest told him that it was all a trial sent by God, and he had to work through it. Much said his Pater Nosters, and didn’t feel any better. He tried to go with one of the camp followers, to see if that would cure him, but it just made Much feel sad. Robin and he still slept close, and Robin would sometimes roll to him in the night as the two slept. Much never moved to Robin, but he never moved away, either.
In the end, Much gave up and went back to England.
--
When Much came back from the Holy Land for the second time, he knew finally what he needed forgiveness for. A trial for God he could understand, but the brief flash of happiness he’d felt at Marian’s funeral… that was something he needed forgiveness for. He knew enough now that he just wanted to see Robin happy and somehow join in his new family, and he knew that he could never take the place of Marian. Much even liked Marian, or he tried to.
That flash of joy, though? That was wrong, and Much knew it. So when he went to confess to the priest back in England, he knew what he could work towards forgiveness for.
Notes:
1. ‘Pilgrim’ was the phrase a Crusader would have called themselves. The Crusades is not a contemporary term. I appreciate my love of historical accuracy is not, exactly, what the BBC is looking for in their core audience of Robin Hood.
2. Pater Noster – Our Father, in Latin. Standard knowledge for anyone in twelfth-century England.
lgbtfest.Title: Venia
Author: Hathor (
hathy_col)Fandom: Robin Hood (new BBC version)
Pairing/characters: Much, Robin
Rating: G
Disclaimer: The BBC owns all the good things in this world. Robin Hood is one of them. I’m making no money off this. It is, however, my intellectual property. Please ask before distributing.
Prompt: Much. Much loves women, they're nice, kind and they cook, but none of them, not even Eve, as much as he loves Robin. What does that make him in late 12th Century England?
Summary: Much talks religion. It’s all a bit complicated for a Locksley village lad.
Author's Notes: Some historical gumph at the end. Spoilers for the end of season 2.
Much was taught that the Holy Land was… well, holy. His father’s tithes had gone towards the upkeep of the Christians there, and Much had been proud when he heard of the works done by the pilgrims who could see where Christ had died. When his father had died (and unlike Christ, never came back), Much had gone into the Locksley household permanently. He had watched the household’s chapel glitter with the gold of the crucifixes, gave the travelling friars bread out of the kitchen when he could, and tried to live a relatively blameless life.
Not that he was one of those, you know, religious types. Much was never going to become a monk, or a priest, or even one of those people that wrote all the books in Paris. You had to be able to read properly for that, and Much had heard that you couldn’t even eat properly in the monasteries, and he’d seen by the discreet itching how itchy those holy robes were. No, Much was happy enough living the life of the good family man. The only slight problem with that was that he was required to actually have a family for that. It wasn’t that he was against the idea, as such – it was a nice idea, being able to have your own home and work on the lands. He wasn’t even against the idea of children, like a lot of a local lads were. Having some of his own might even make his mother proud, up there in heaven.
It was just that, for the meantime, he was perfectly happy working in the Locksley household, and being the manservant to Robin. Wherever Robin went, he was happy to follow. And when the priest had come and preached about the pilgrimage to the holy land – about how the heathens were ripping it up, and how the new king needed their help – there was never any question of him not going. Robin, the new Robin with eyes filled with zeal and the will to fight for Christ, would lead him there, and that would be the end of that.
Or so Much had thought.
--
During the journey to the holy land – across Europe and across the sea - Much had got talking to the other men on their pilgrimage. The priests had preached about forgiveness for the taking of this trip, but Much was pretty sure he didn’t need it. Scrumping in the village hardly counted if you’d been twelve at the time, after all, and he thought that God would probably let him off. No, Much was using this war to store up some forgiveness with God, to give him the blessing to meet a beautiful woman and to have a brood of children. There weren’t any women in the village, not really; he’d kissed the daughter of the brewer once, but she didn’t feel quite right. Her beer was wonderful, though.
He heard some horror stories with the men who had come on the pilgrimage, though. Some were men who felt desperate shame and sorrow at an act they’d perpetrated in their youth; some, Much felt, didn’t feel quite bad enough about their acts. It wasn’t Much’s job to judge – well, it wasn’t Much’s job to judge after he’d been the victim of a few well-aimed punches and a talking to by Robin – but he had been sure that the reason for this journey had been holy. The idea of these men walking where Christ and the apostles had done made him uneasy. However, Robin treated them like brothers, and this brotherly feeling spread to Much. So he didn’t argue.
On the ship, Robin and him shared a bunk through lack of space. Much had complained to everyone he could at the horror of a noble being forced to share space on the cramped and creaking vessel, but Robin had touched him gently on the shoulder and explained that on a journey like this, all men were brothers.
So they shared a bunk. One night, during a fierce storm, Robin rolled over and held onto Much, who didn’t think about it until Robin called him Marian. Robin was asleep at the time, but Much felt the way Robin was holding him, and felt his heart constrict with the feeling that yes, this is the family I wanted and this stomach churn with the knowledge that Robin didn’t, not like this, not with Much, and suddenly realised this was how you were meant to feel about women if you wanted the family.
--
After five years in the Holy Land, Much didn’t know any more about forgiveness than he had previously. A priest he’d tried to confess to – in desperation – had reacted in horror, until Much told him that he’d never even tried to act on it. He wouldn’t even know how to, although he’d heard some terrible stories about what the Saracens got up to in their camps. That didn’t sound like the type of thing he wanted to do, not really.
The priest told him that it was all a trial sent by God, and he had to work through it. Much said his Pater Nosters, and didn’t feel any better. He tried to go with one of the camp followers, to see if that would cure him, but it just made Much feel sad. Robin and he still slept close, and Robin would sometimes roll to him in the night as the two slept. Much never moved to Robin, but he never moved away, either.
In the end, Much gave up and went back to England.
--
When Much came back from the Holy Land for the second time, he knew finally what he needed forgiveness for. A trial for God he could understand, but the brief flash of happiness he’d felt at Marian’s funeral… that was something he needed forgiveness for. He knew enough now that he just wanted to see Robin happy and somehow join in his new family, and he knew that he could never take the place of Marian. Much even liked Marian, or he tried to.
That flash of joy, though? That was wrong, and Much knew it. So when he went to confess to the priest back in England, he knew what he could work towards forgiveness for.
Notes:
1. ‘Pilgrim’ was the phrase a Crusader would have called themselves. The Crusades is not a contemporary term. I appreciate my love of historical accuracy is not, exactly, what the BBC is looking for in their core audience of Robin Hood.
2. Pater Noster – Our Father, in Latin. Standard knowledge for anyone in twelfth-century England.
