AN: For Lizzy for GGE 2018 (because I could have sworn you had DaphneSusan on your list but apparently not. Oh well), and lowkey for Ami too bc I know you love the pairing :3
Thanks to Emily for betaing :)
know your name
Daphne holds her breath as she waits. It should be any second now, so she starts to do a countdown in her head.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
As midnight strikes to signal the beginning of Daphne's twenty-first birthday, the words appear in black writing against her pale white skin. The two names fate has decided will have an impact in her life.
Marcus. Susan.
She feels her stomach sink as she reads the names over and over again. A part of her had been hoping for a mystery. For both names to be unfamiliar.
But she knows Marcus.
Marcus is the son of Lord Flint, the man in charge of the kingdom's treasury. Marcus is the boy she's been best friends with since she was old enough to talk. Marcus is the boy that has always been by her side. Marcus is the one who's destined to be her soulmate.
Which means whoever this Susan is is her enemy, and that's going to be a problem.
Unknowns are always a problem for their family. For all royalty, really, but as the King's blood and heir to the throne, Daphne has it worse than the lords and dukes filling the palace. There are hundreds of people who disagree with the monarchy, and narrowing that down to one girl will be near impossible.
The last time an Unknown was on a family member's wrist had been her great-grandfather, and that had almost resulted in an overthrow of the monarchy. Before that, his grandmother had had two Unknowns and executed them both, marrying for duty rather than love.
There's only one solution she can think of to solve the Unknown situation, and talking to her soulmate about it is the first step.
"Hap—"
"I got my names," Daphne says, cutting Marcus off before he can finish speaking. "I got my names and I need you to tell me my idea isn't crazy."
Then Daphne explains. She tells him her names — Marcus doesn't bat an eyelid when she says his name is there; he's older and has his names already — and how she knows he would never do anything to hurt her. She tells him how 'Susan' must be her enemy, and how she needs to deal with the threat of the Unknown.
"Father will expect me to have thought up a plan," she says. "Of course, I wouldn't dream of going to him before I'd thought of one. When we marry, I shall be Queen, and I need to prove myself capable of thinking independently."
"And have you?" Marcus asks.
Daphne scoffs — something that would horrify her mother should she ever hear her daughter behave in such an unladylike manner.
"Obviously. That's why I came to find you; so you could tell me if I'm insane or not."
"I can tell you that without hearing your plan," Marcus teases.
Daphne rolls her eyes. "I want to round up all the Susans in the country. There's no way of knowing which one of them has my name on her wrist, so the only solution is to detain them all so they can't do any harm."
Marcus is silent for a minute. Daphne has to hold back a laugh at the pained expression on Marcus' face — it always amuses her when Marcus thinks things over because he looks like somebody's just broken his arm.
"It's definitely insane," he says, "but I think it might work."
Susan doesn't hear the crash of the front door being kicked in. All Susan is aware of is that one minute she's staring daggers at the name on her left wrist, the next she's being dragged out of the house by a man wearing the silver and emerald green of the royal family. She tries to cry out, to ask what is happening to her, but before she can she's shoved into the back of a dark carriage.
"Let me guess," a woman says from behind her. "Susan?"
Susan flinches a little. "How did you—"
"We're all Susan," the woman — Susan, apparently — says, cutting her off. It's only then that Susan notices the other women sitting against the walls. "I'm Susan Davies, this is Susan Williams, Susan Clarke, and Susan Thompson." Susan Davies points at each woman individually.
"Susan Bones," Susan says automatically, but she isn't really paying attention. Instead, her eyes are exploring the inside of the carriage and the women in front of her in the limited light that pours through the small window.
Susan Davies is middle aged — she looks about the same age as Susan's aunt Amelia — with slightly greying brown hair cut into a long bob that ends just above her shoulders. There's a slight twang to her accent that betrays a more northern upbringing, but it's diluted by her time spent in the south of England. She looks like she's used to being the boss, and it's easy to see why she's taken some sort of control here.
Susan Williams and Susan Thompson are both much older; the youngest Susan would guess either of them is would be late seventies. Both have grey hair and look as though sitting on the hard carriage floor is causing them pain.
Susan Clarke looks to be around Susan's own age. She could be a couple of years older, but Susan wouldn't say she was over twenty-five. She has blonde hair and is visibly shaken, sitting with her knees pressed close to her chest and taking breaths deep enough that Susan can hear them over the rattle of the carriage wheels against the road.
Susan settles in next to Susan Clarke and leans her head back against the wall. Her head bangs against it slightly, but at least it's a distraction from the situation they're in. Susan just wishes she knew exactly what that situation is.
"We overheard one of the guards talking before they got you," Susan Clarke says after a while. "Apparently, when Princess Daphne got her names, one of them was Susan."
Susan gulps. She had wondered about the name on her wrist, about the name that was shared by the heir to the throne, but she never suspected they'd be the same person. Plenty of people name their children after members of the royal family, and Susan had always thought the name on her wrist would be one of them. But now she's being kidnapped because of it, she can't help but wonder if they might be the same after all.
Shaking her head to clear the thought, she sighs. "So what, they're rounding us all up to find out who it is? Why not just invite us to a ball so she can court us all there?"
"Haven't you heard?" Susan Clarke says, her voice full of disbelief. "Princess Daphne is set to marry Lord Marcus two months from now. Whichever one of us is on her wrist, we're her enemy."
Susan relaxes ever so slightly. This proves it; the Daphne on her wrist is not the princess. The Daphne on her wrist has to be her soulmate because the other is the name of the man who had her parents killed. Surely this means she'll get to go home.
Time stops making sense to Susan after a few days. She and the rest of the Susans, gathered from all over the country, are locked up in Azkaban, the royal family's private prison. It's usually reserved for the higher-ups — lords who attempt to rebel, ladies who refuse to produce children — and therefore it's nice compared to other prisons around the country, but that doesn't mean Susan enjoys is. They're served three meals a day in the cafeteria. That's the only interaction any of them get with another human that doesn't share the name Susan.
They trade stories of their lives, of the names on their wrists, of when they were taken by the guards. Susan Clarke had been caught in the middle of an intimate moment with her girlfriend, which explained why she had looked more rattled than the others in their carriage. Susan Williams had been cooking and hadn't been allowed to turn her stove off. She still worries about what happened to her home, whether it was still standing or had burnt down because of a shepherd's pie.
Susan Thompson has the most interesting stories, though. Her soulmate had been one of the men responsible for the last attempted rebellion against the monarchy. She had gone with him to rallies and snuck into fancy balls to gather intel. Susan isn't sure how true her stories are — they're very dramatic and most likely exaggerated — but there are children here and the stories keep them entertained as much as they do the adults.
They aren't allowed outside, and that's the thing that drives Susan crazy the most. She loves the outdoors, taking pride in her garden at home, but she hasn't tasted fresh air in days, if not weeks.
There's a lot of talk of the royal wedding. A few girls still keep track of the days, and if they're to be believed, it's only ten days away. One of the younger Susans is gushing about the wedding, wondering if they'll be able to see the dress Princess Daphne is wearing, when a guard enters the room.
"Susan Bones?" he asks.
"Yes?" Susan asks, her voice much quieter and much more timid than she had wanted it to be. She gets shakily to her feet, the blanket she had wrapped around her legs falling to the floor.
"I'm sorry to tell you, but your aunt has passed away. You have her listed as your guardian, so you will be allowed out to attend the funeral. I will make arrangements with her brother and inform you of the proceedings."
Susan's world stops spinning and time seems to freeze. She doesn't know how to deal with the information. She should cry, shouldn't she? Her only real family that remains has gone. But she only feels numb.
"How did it happen?" Susan asks before the guard can leave.
"We are unsure. The county guards for West Sussex are looking into possible foul play."
"Tom," Susan mutters. Then, louder, she says, "Tom Riddle, sir. He's the man who had my parents killed, the man my wrist declares my enemy. Please, look into his whereabouts; I suspect he had something to do with it if it was foul play."
"Thank you for the information, Miss Bones. I shall see that the matter is looked into."
The guard leaves without another word, and Susan feels her legs give out and she crashes to the ground, her entire world falling with her.
Daphne looks herself up and down in the mirror that occupies the entire back wall of her dressing room. She doesn't look any different than she did two months ago, but so much has changed within such a short space of time. She has turned twenty-one, received her names, arranged a wedding, and in just a week's time is set to take over from her mother as Queen. So why doesn't she feel like any of it is happening?
The cream pantsuit she wears shows off her womanly curves, the light colour highlighting her summer tan and making it glow. The only issue is that she can never decide which shoes to wear with it. She looks down at her feet as though that will help and is startled by a voice speaking behind her.
"Knock, knock."
Daphne's eyes flick upwards to see the reflection of her mother standing in the doorway behind her.
"May I come in?" her mother asks.
"Of course."
"You look delightful, darling." Her mother moves to the sofa in the centre of the room before sitting and patting the cushion next to her. "Have a seat. We need to discuss your wedding."
Daphne sets down the pair of boots she was holding and moves to sit next to her mother.
"Is everything okay, Mother?" she asks. "Is there anything you need me to help with?"
"Everything is fine. I just wanted to double check that you're certain Marcus is your soulmate."
Daphne rolls her eyes and her mother scowls at the gesture. "Yes, Mother. He's been my best friend since childhood, and he's never done anything to hurt me. I don't think he'd be likely to change that now."
"Very well," she says. "There's something I'd like to give you." She pulls a box out from underneath the sofa. Daphne wonders how long the box had been hidden there without her noticing. "This belonged to your great, great, great grandmother and has been passed down from mother to daughter on their wedding day. Since this will be so high profile, I wanted to give it to you now while we have a moment of peace." She hands Daphne the box and kisses her on the top of the head.
Daphne hesitates for a moment, unsure whether to open it or not, but curiosity quickly gets the better of her and she lifts the lid. Inside, resting on orange silk, lies a gorgeous silver tiara embedded with emeralds. Daphne's mouth drops open in shock as she takes in the meaning of the item that usually sits atop her mother's head. She can't believe she didn't notice that her mother isn't wearing it now.
"Close your mouth, please, Daphne. You are not a codfish."
Daphne's mouth snaps shut at her mother's words and she holds back a sigh. She hates that her mother expects her to be perfect all the time, even when they're alone together. It's part of the reason she's so happy that Marcus' name was on her wrist — he's one of the few people she can truly be herself around.
"Thank you," Daphne says. She means it, too. She had known she was going to be a queen after she was married, but she hadn't thought about what that meant for her parents, and her mother giving Daphne the queen's tiara puts it all into perspective for her.
"You may be the queen now, but that doesn't mean I won't be here to offer you guidance," her mother says. "I know how scary it is to elevate yourself to this position, but it is something you must do, and you must do it with grace and dignity, otherwise no lord will take you seriously."
"What do the lords have to do with anything, Mother?"
Her mother rolls her eyes, and Daphne has to bite her tongue to keep from making a comment about double standards. "They're men, darling. Their egos are fragile and they hate to think a woman could be in charge. You need to let them think they control you, and then whisper suggestions in a way that makes them think that they came up with it."
Daphne blinks. She had always thought that when she was queen, she would be the one to make all the decisions. Now, she's being told she's going to be undermined by the very lords that claim to serve the throne. No wonder the public think the monarchy is corrupt.
"I shall keep that in mind, Mother. Thank you."
"Are you sure you want us to be married so quickly, my love?" Marcus asks, his arms wrapped around Daphne's waist as they wait for their photo to be taken.
Daphne rolls her eyes. "Why does everyone keep questioning me on this? Of course, I do. You've been in my life for as long as I can remember; it's not like we've only just met and are rushing into this."
"And smile, please," the photographer says, and Daphne sends her most dazzling smile towards the lens of the camera.
"Are we done here, Jerome?" Daphne asks as the photographer lowers his camera. "All this preparation has me rushed off my feet and I'd appreciate a lie down before my gown fitting this afternoon."
"Yes, Your Highness," Jerome says.
Daphne turns in Marcus' arms, plants a kiss on his cheek, and then pulls herself free to return to their shared bedchamber. She had only partly been telling the truth when speaking to Jerome — she did want to go back to her room for a break from it all, but she wasn't planning on having a lie-down — but as she strides through the halls, exhaustion washes over her. By the time she reaches her room, she feels as though she's about to collapse.
The dress Daphne wears is a navy blue that compliments her light hair and fastened by buttons down the back of the bodice, making it near impossible to remove herself. She's about to call for her maid, Pansy, when a sheet of paper on the bookshelf catches her eye.
She picks it up and begins to read.
My love,
As the wedding draws ever closer, the longing for it to be you by my side grows. I fear I may not be able to keep up this charade for as long as necessary, as my every waking thought is consumed with the desperate need to see you again.
I have spoken to the lords and they don't seem to speak favourably about our queen-to-be. I reckon a few of them may even help in our journey to end the Greengrasses reign.
While I understand that the deed cannot be carried out before the six-month mark to secure my position afterwards, I do wish we could act sooner.
My heart aches every time I am to pretend she is mine, and I long to spend the rest of my days with you, my true soulmate.
Yours,
Marcus.
Daphne's stomach does a catapult. The exhaustion she was feeling mere moments ago disappears as she sees red. She searches the room for more. For more of what, she isn't actually sure, but she needs something to explain the note Marcus has written.
The room gets turned almost completely upside down, and just when Daphne is about to give up, she finds some more paper stashed under Marcus' side of the mattress. Rifling through, she skims them all until she finds one that contains both a name and an explanation.
Marcus
My darling, you need to think this through more. Timing is essential; if something were to happen to the Queen mere days after you two are wed, the people would not accept you as their king. She must be removed from the picture, yes, but it has to be at a later date.
I am, of course, in the perfect position to slip her a poison. As her maid, I am responsible for her health and wellbeing, including fetching meals when she does not wish to dine with the rest of the family. It would be simple enough to slip something into her morning tea if you were to provide me with it.
Seeing the two of you together is painful, but I understand why it must happen this way. Just know I will be waiting for you when all this is over.
Forever yours,
Pansy.
The world seems to spin as Daphne crashes to the floor. She briefly wonders why Marcus would want to kill her, but she doesn't get very far before everything fades to black.
A hand shakes Susan awake. She blinks her eyes a few times to try and wake herself up as she looks up into the face of Susan Clarke.
"What…?"
"They're letting us go," Susan Clarke says. "Susan Williams says it's because they found Princess Daphne's true enemy and they don't need us anymore. I can't imagine how she knows that but—"
Susan tunes out whatever the other girl is saying. They're finally free from this place, finally able to go home. But Susan doesn't have a home anymore. Her only living family is dead — well, the only living family she speaks to. She doesn't know how to start a life on her own, and she isn't sure she wants to, either.
"How are we going to get home?" someone asks, and it's only then that she notices the guard stood in the doorway.
"You will all be assigned to a carriage to be taken home over the next few days. We will be taking you in groups based on location and you will be subject to some questioning first. Will those from the areas in the South East including Hampshire, Sussex, Oxfordshire, Essex, and London itself please come with me."
Susan slowly gets to her feet, along with several other women, and crosses the room to gather behind the guard. Once everyone has joined them, he sets off at a brisk pace down the corridor and Susan has to quicken her walk to keep up.
"In," he says when they get to a room just off the entrance hall. "You will wait here until your name is called. When it is, you will join me in the room opposite for questioning." He glances down at a sheet of paper in his hand. "I will start with Susan Williams."
The woman she had met in the carriage here moves through the crowd and Susan shoots her a warm smile as she passes. She wonders what the questioning will be about and how Susan Williams will react — from the time spent here Susan has learnt that the older woman doesn't particularly like authority figures.
Time seems to stretch on forever as Susan waits for her name to be called. The guard seems to be calling them out in reverse alphabetical order, meaning Susan is one of the last to be called. When she is, she jumps to her feet, mostly happy to escape the worried faces of the few women left in the room.
"Take a seat," the guard says when Susan enters. She does. "Don't be scared; think of this as a check-up. How are you feeling?"
"Scared," Susan says dryly. The guard smirks a little at her joke and Susan decides she can be a little more open. "Worried, actually. My aunt died while I was here and, well, I'm not sure I have a home to go back to anymore."
"But physically everything is fine?"
"Yes."
"Excellent. I am sorry about your aunt, but I want to get this over with just as much as you do." The guard pauses, Susan wonders if it's for dramatic effect or if he's thinking of how to phrase his next question. "Let's talk about the names on your wrists. You said one name — your enemy — is Tom. How do you know he's your enemy?"
Susan swallows, her throat suddenly dry. "My aunt told me about my parents' death," she says. "I don't remember it myself, but she said the person who killed them worked for a man named Tom Riddle. I hated him — I still do — and when the name Tom appeared on my wrist, I couldn't think of anyone else it could be."
The guard makes a note in the book on his desk. Susan wonders what it's for, but before she can ask, the guard is speaking again.
"And the other name?" he prompts. "The one telling you the name of your soulmate."
Susan's eyes flick between the guard's face and her hands. She isn't sure where to look. She isn't even sure what she's going to say. Does she tell the truth and risk this all being an elaborate ruse to find out who Daphne's enemy is, or does she lie and say it's a boy from back home?
After taking one last deep breath, she quietly says, "Daphne. My other wrist says Daphne."
Everything moves so quickly that Daphne can hardly believe it's real. It feels like one minute Daphne is showing the letters to her father, and the next she's sitting on the throne above the execution block.
She hadn't wanted this to happen. Daphne had pleaded with her father to have Marcus and Pansy locked up, but both he and her mother agreed that the best way to deal with the traitorous actions of the pair would be to have a public execution. After all, what better way is there to prove that Daphne means business.
It certainly isn't an easy thing for Daphne to watch, but she's in public so she watches with her head held high as her ex-lover is dragged out onto the stage. He's pleading for his life as the guard forces his head down onto the block. It's the most pathetic thing Daphne has ever seen, and her heart still breaks to see him in front of her.
As the executioner takes the stage, Daphne focuses her eyes on a spot just above his head so she doesn't have to see the full extent of Marcus' head being severed from his body.
Susan struggles to keep still as she waits for whoever is coming. She bites her lip, she rubs her hands together, she fiddles with strands of her hair, she shifts in her seat. She does everything she can to keep busy except get out of the chair and physically move. Her stomach is tying itself in knots and Susan doesn't think moving will help that at all.
When the door opens and Susan sees a flash of blonde hair, she wishes she had been standing. Quick as a flash, Susan is on her feet and dropping into a poor imitation of a curtsey.
"Your Highness," she says in surprise.
"Susan Bones?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Have a seat, Susan."
Susan sits and finally brings her gaze upwards to look at Princess Daphne's face. She's beautiful — much prettier in real life than in photographs — but there's a haunted look on her face that Susan instantly wants to make disappear.
"Please excuse me if I don't seem to thrilled to be here," she says. "I've just seen my ex-fiancé executed for crimes against the royal family. It hasn't put me in the brightest of spirits."
"I can't imagine it has. May I ask what the crime was, Your Highness?" The words are out of Susan's mouth before she even has a chance to think about them. She mentally curses herself at being so curious, but thankfully she remembered to address Daphne correctly.
"He conspired with my maid to trick me into believing he was my soulmate with plans to murder me and rule the kingdom themselves." She sighs. "And yet…"
"And yet you still love him," Susan finishes. "My aunt used to compare heartbreak to a paper bag — it's useful for a moment, but after that moment has passed, you crush it." Susan laughs gently. "It's a load of rubbish — it certainly hasn't been of any use to me — but I can't help but appreciate the advice anyway."
Daphne smiles. "We're not so different, you and I. My mother once told me that I should let the Lords think they're the ones in charge of the country instead of myself. It's useful to know and I appreciate the advice, but ultimately a 'load of rubbish', as you so eloquently put it."
There's a moment of silence as they both think about the words exchanged. It isn't as awkward as Susan would have expected. Instead, it feels comfortable.
"I'm going to get straight to the point," Daphne says after a moment. "I'm exhausted from today's events and wish to retire to my room as quickly as possible. As Lord Marcus turned out to be conspiring against me with his true soulmate, it has caused me to reevaluate the names on my wrist. I believe you may be my soulmate, Miss Bones, as you were the only woman who claimed to have my name on her wrist. Of course, there's no way to verify this since you are the only one who can see your names, but I would like to invite you to stay at the palace. You will be under constant surveillance, and it will take some time for me to grieve the loss of a man I thought I loved, but I would like to see where things go. What do you say?"
"As long as I'm allowed outside, it would be my honour," Susan says.
Daphne laughs, and Susan thinks it's the most wonderful sound she's ever heard.
She smiles. She may not have a home anymore, but maybe the palace will become that for her soon.
Word Count: 4,754.
This is for:
Hogwarts;
Assignment Two – Geography;Task 5 – Write a royalty!au
Insane House Challenge; 544. (plot point) a misunderstanding about someone's identity
365 Prompts; 33. Royalty!au
Seasonal – Colour Prompts; Cream
Seasonal – Flowers; Black-Eyed Susan – (character) Susan Bones
Seasonal – Fire Element; Daphne/Susan
Seasonal – Shay's Musical Challenge; The King and I – Write a royalty!au
Writing Club – Disney; Q3 – "Close your mouth, please, [name]. You are not a codfish."
Writing Club – Cookie's Crafty Corner; Blanket Squares – Write about an object that has been passed down the generations
Writing Club – Book Club; Moira – (trait) independent, (dialogue) "Let them think they control you.", (colour) orange
Writing Club – Showtime; 5. (dialogue) "Crush it."
Writing Club – Amber's Attic; T4 – Write about someone receiving advice
Writing Club – Count Your Buttons; C1 – Susan Bones, W4 – Awkward
Writing Club – Ami's Audio Admirations; 4. Write about something rare (rare pair: Daphne/Susan)
Writing Club – Sophie's Shelf; 13. Daphne/Susan
Writing Club – Em's Emporium; 8. Ami – Daphne/Susan
Romance Awareness;Day 5 – You have your soulmate's name on one wrist and your mortal enemy's name on the other
Auction; (character) Susan Bones
Gobstones; Copper Stone – Corruption, A – (word) heir, P – (colour) emerald, T – (item) mirror
Amazing Women; 3. (clothing) pantsuit – (bonus for femslash)
Chocolate Frog Cards; (bronze) Daphne Greengrass – Write about Daphne Greengrass
Camp Potter;
Friendship Bracelet Making Station;(word) royal, (colour) silver, (pairing) Daphne/Susan
Tie Dye Station; (word count) 2,000 or more, (word) essential, (object) blanket, (dialogue) "And yet, you still love him/her."
Ice Cream Making Station; Chopped Nuts – (colour) silver
HPFC;
Pairing Diversity Bootcamp;Daphne/Susan, explain
Character Diversity Bootcamp;Daphne, compare
Favourite House Bootcamp;easy
Build a Zoo; Elephant Little Girl – Susan Bones
GGE;
Lizzy;DaphneSusan, Soulmate!au