A/N – I couldn't sleep the other night, and this popped into my head. I'm not really sure where it's going, or if it's even going anywhere. Please give me thoughts regarding whether it totally sucks or not.
AU – It's probably medieval. Um…I'm gonna try to give some background, but because I haven't really thought this through, if I continue the story, the background might change. Let's see…Rory lives with Emily and Richard, who are nobility of some sort; Lorelai is gone, presumed dead, and has been for several years. Richard and Emily have been attempting to arrange a marriage for Rory.
A GOLDEN CAGE
He studied the slim girl before him. She was not pretty, although she had the same attractive characteristics as her illustrious grandparents. Her sapphire eyes were the most obvious feature, though they were too wide for her face. They shone flatly at him, as though they had seen one too many dreams crushed. Her full lips were a dark red, contrasting with her pale skin. Her complexion was too sallow, the paleness indicating a lack of health, rather than a fondness for current fashion. Dark brown locks hung limply to her waist. All in all, she presented a sad appearance, as though she were a bird, held in a golden cage, when all she really wanted was to fly free.
She watched him studying her. She could hear his mental cataloguing of her shortcomings…she had heard them all too many times before. Her more (or less) fortunate friends had been married off rather quickly, to the suitors who had rejected her own hand. She knew that this one, too, would reject her. Hopefully, he would be the last, and she would finally be granted her freedom from this life.
At long last, he spoke. "Perhaps milady would care for a stroll in the gardens?"
She assented, knowing she really had no alternative. He proffered his arm, which she accepted, skillfully hiding her reluctance to touch him.
He felt the chill of her hand against his forearm. Her touch was light and gentle, and he found himself wondering what it was that she was thinking, behind the icy blue orbs that gazed at him emotionlessly.
The two had wandered the manicured paths in silence for some time when he stopped near a cascading waterfall, the water sounding a perfect melody. He turned and gazed at her. "Milady…" he began.
"Milord?" She responded in a perfectly cultured tone.
"Milady, may I be forward?"
His request caught her off guard, and she could not help but quirk an eyebrow at him.
Taking this motion to mean permission granted, he continued. "I doubt that I assume too much when I say that our betrothal is not entirely in accordance with our own wishes."
His forthrightness in admitting his lack of desire for her intrigued the young woman. "That may yet be the understatement of the season." She replied, smiling in spite of herself.
He was nearly dumbstruck by the sudden appearance of her smile. The graceful curve of her lips caused her eyes to sparkle momentarily, and he found himself thinking her almost attractive. He mentally shook himself, and spoke again, taking great care with his choice of words. "It is my understanding that neither of us may naysay this arrangement."
She laughed coldly. "Not without risk of disownment, and banishment."
"I take it the thought of banishment sits well with milady?"
"Better than the thought of a loveless marriage. Is it not so with you, as well?"
"I have no desire for a loveless marriage, but neither have I the desire to leave my home and family."
"A home and family that will force you to marry someone you have an obvious distaste for?"
"Milady, I have no such distaste for you."
The warmth that had begun to pervade her manner was abruptly replaced with her more normal iciness. "You would have done better with your honesty, milord."
"Milady, I speak the truth. I have no distaste for you. Nor do I have any particular love for you."
"I see…blind indifference."
He sighed, and turned his face towards the sky, as though asking for assistance from a higher power. "Milady, I have a proposal that might make the entire situation more palatable to both of us."
"And what might that be, Milord?" She mocked him.
"We marry, and produce an heir. Once our families are forever united, through our child, the pressures on you and I will dissipate, and we will be able to live our lives as we please. You may stay, or leave, at your whim. If you choose to flee, I will assist you in any way you wish."
She laughed once more. "Your proposal is nothing more than delaying my inevitable banishment. Yet, you would go further, and demand I leave behind a child, as well."
"I said that you could stay. At the very least, were we to marry, you would be the lady of your own manor, and be able to rule it in your own right, rather than have to constantly capitulate to the Lady Emily. Your gilded cage would be somewhat larger."
"Large or small, it is still a cage. Why marry you at all, when I can fly free at any moment?"
"Milady, if you could actually fly free at any moment, you would have done so long before now. They guard you closely, fearful that you will follow the same path as your fated mother."
Anger flashed through her eyes, and she slapped him. "Never speak of my mother."
He smirked slightly, knowing that he had finally broken through her façade. "Milady, no one has more respect for the late Lady Lorelai than I. You know my words to be true. You will never be able to escape this prison, only exchange it for another. I am offering you a chance for true freedom."
She remained silent, contemplating what he had said. A heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that, once again, she had no real choice. "Alright. I will marry you, and produce an heir…on one condition."
"And what condition might that be, milady?" His words were gentle.
"I leave one year from the wedding, with or without having produced an heir. If I am with child at that time, I will remain until it is born, and then you will let it be known that I died giving birth."
He nodded his agreement. "Perhaps we should return to the keep, milady, to announce our arrangement?" He again offered her his arm, and she once again accepted it, though somewhat less reluctantly.
A/N – okay, so does it completely suck? Feel free to say yes, my feelings won't be hurt at all. If it doesn't, who should 'Milord' be? Considering this is AU, if I choose to continue it, he can be anyone.