Silent Lily Universe

Fanfiction
Title:	Silent Lily Universe
Author(s):	Susan Douglass (Nina Boal)
Date(s):	1989 - ?
Length:
Genre(s):	Historical AU
Fandom(s):
Relationship(s):	Bodie/Doyle
External Links:
The Silent Lily, Part II (1990)
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

The Silent Lily Universe is a series of fannish The Professionals short stories by Susan Douglass.

They are set in an somewhat indeterminate Historical AU where Doyle appears as Raimond, a traumatized slave who has been branded with a lily and whose tongue has been cut out. Bodie is Guillaume, a soldier who falls in love with him.

Fics

(publishing and reading order do not always match)

• The Silent Lily, Part I appeared in Other Times and Places #3 (1992)
• The Silent Lily, Part II was published in Other Times and Places #1 (1990)
• The Dark Beside the Sea is a vignette set after the events of Silent Lily, Part II; it was published in Other Times and Places #2 (1991)
• The Lily and the Rose was published in Chalk and Cheese #4 (1989)
• Over Sea and Land appeared in Chalk and Cheese #6 (1990)
• Beltaine was featured in The Hols of CI5 (1991)
• Home-coming was published in Beguiled (1991)

Fanworks

The Silent Lily Universe has inspired several fanworks:

• Silence, a poem by Barbara Jones (1991)

Art

• 

  the artist is TACS, cover of "Other Times and Places" #1 (1990)

• 

  art for The Silent Lily by Adrian Morgan, printed in Other Times and Places #1 (1990)

Excerpt from "Home-Coming"

I pressed Raimond's reed-like body against my own. My father's harsh judgement always filled me with fury every time I thought of it. Raimond had been captured, taken to the Eastern Kingdoms. As the "Silent Lily," he had been forced to whore, wholly against his will. Even if his captors had left him the power of speech, there are same horrors which cannot be explained.

My hand still rested underneath his shirt. It travelled with a will of its own. It trailed along the fuzz on his chest -- pausing to caress a rising nipple.

He wriggled. A soft smile spread across his face. His own hand darted along my thigh; even through the loose breeches I was wearing, I winced at the exquisite tickling. My arms swept out of his shirt, freeing him. I held them aloft. "All right," I said meekly. "You win."

Laughing wordlessly, he reached his painter's hands towards my face. Gently, he brushed my cheeks, then smoothed my hair back from my forehead. I could only stand, stock-still and trembling, beneath his ministrations.

Suddenly he seized me in an embrace, clinging to me, wrapping tight arms around me. He leaned his curly head against the curve of my shoulders as a familiar wetness exploded from his eyes. I swallowed hard against my own tears while my arms encircled him. For now, at least, I could protect and guard him from the outside world -- a world which had ravaged him far too often in the past.

Author's Comments

1990

"The Lily and the Rose" was only the second Pros story I had ever written and I'm sure it is full of technical faults. The vagueness of the background and particular settings (i.e. what country?) was correctly pointed out. I hope I have cleared up some of this in subsequent stories in the series... But I have never claimed that the characters in the 'Silent Lily' series were actually Bodie and Doyle. They are characters inspired by the series and based (perhaps rather loosely) on Bodie and Doyle. I gather from some of the comments that some fans object to the printing of such A/U stories as "The Lily and the Rose" because they "aren't really Professionals stories." My response is the following: fans who don't like A/U stories as a matter of principle don't have to read them. I, myself, enjoy the imaginative wanderings of a well-written A/U story. As a fantasy/SF writer and reader, I always enjoy the concept of "What If?" and I like Bodie-and-Doyle-based characters in varied settings. Mysti, I am grateful that you are willing to print all types of Pros stories....

I must admit that I would go batty if EVERY story I read ONLY the pair dealt ONLY with prejudice and homophobia. I certainly like stories with other plots, which deal with other issues and happenings. Once in a while I like to fantasize that homophobia doesn't exist, that the gender of your love partner is no important than the color of hair. My "Silent Lily" universe has many grim issues to deal with. But I didn't: make homophobia, per se, one of them. Same-sex liaisons are legally recognized, and only arranged, political marriages can supersede them in importance.

...a K/S editor told me that she had been criticized for making Kirk and Spock bisexual. "They're not bisexual," the critics said. "They're straight men who love each other; they don't love other men." Then I was harangued by a man at my dealers' table because I was selling Kathy Resch's zines, T'HY'LA, and the cover featured two men in an embrace — plus a female fan harangued me because she had read THE SILENT LILY and was offended by it. Criticism of my stories, I welcome; I'm sure they have many faults. And I'm sure they are not to everyone's tastes. But haranguing and personal attacks, I can do without.

On positive notes, I had a lovely dinner with some far more open-minded K/S fans, who let me cry on their shoulders (so to speak) after the bouts of homophobia I had witnessed at the party [at Shore Leave]. Yes, IDIC is still alive, thank the ghods. And the next day, a different PROS fan complimented me on THE SILENT LILY. So it all evened out.

1991

I'm a writer, and my slash writing career began in Trek with Kirk/Spock, branching out to other Trek pairs (Kirk/Sulu, Uhura/Saavik, Kirk/Spock/McCoy - yeah, I like to experiment!). So when I got roped into Bodie/Doyle, I just had to start writing. I found myself loving the imaginative fantasy A/U’s of such works as ’The Hunting', and so I began my own A/U series, 'The Silent Lily’ stories which have been printed in 'Chalk & Cheese', 'Beguiled' (due out this Spring) and my own zine, 'Other Times and Places'. I’ve been in some arguments which declare that such characters as Raven, Guillaume, Raimond, etc. "aren't really Bodie and Doyle". I thoroughly agree! I see Bodie and Doyle as a stepping off place for all sorts of writers' imaginations. I've always said that Raimond is Ray Doyle's 13th cousin, 20 times removed.

1996

Kathy Resch once told me that my set of stories based on a A/U Bodie/Doyle universe. The Silent Lily series caused a huge argument at a West Coast slash party. She said that there was a wide variance on peoples' opinions of these stories; some people love 'em and other hate 'em. Which I think is cool. :-) Apparently some of the controversy lies in the fact that I have a character who is permanently maimed in this series. I was rather naive when I began writing these stories, and didn't know that I was apparently violating a sort of taboo. Since then, I've found that many people have no problem with a character being injured, blinded, crippled, made mute, etc. - as long as the character is restored to wellness, sight, able-bodiedness, etc.

This taboo is not limited to slash. In soap operas, a stock plot device is to have one of the main characters get blinded or wind up in a wheelchair unable to walk. But invariably and inevitably, the character is restored to "normality." It's like it violates some sort of "rule" in soap opera tradition to have a permanently disabled character.

Maybe I'm being Politically Correct, or Politically Incorrect or something. But to me, to always have to restore a character to able-bodiedness cheapens the theme of trauma, injury and/or disability. Because most people in real life who are traumatized, blinded, crippled, etc. do not get magically restored to "normal." So why must soap opera and/or slash characters always be "cured" of their disability? Why is it such a threat to some people to have a character with a permanent disability?

Fan Comments

Unknown Date

"Over Sea and Land" by Susan Douglass: Part IV in the Silent Lily universe. You know, the AU one where Doyle is Raimond, the mute and traumatized former whore in love with his childhood sweetheart the soldier of fortune (or misfortune) Guillaume. So...this week Guillaume (for a refreshing change of pace) is the one abducted and abused, and Raimond must come (ahem) to the rescue.

"Hold me. Just hold me."

Ugh. Shut up. Just shut up.

1990

"Over Sea and Land"--I haven't read any of the other 'Silent Lily' stories, so I really appreciated the "What has gone before" piece, yet I know you can't have flashbacks in every story. The sense of equality in this one was a bit distracting. I never really believed that Guillaume was in jeopardy... Rather, I knew that Raimond would show up in the nick of tine to save him. I'm not sure Katrin should have backed off the way she did. It's kind of like in Die Hard 2: Bruce Willis couldn't save the first plane. We had to see other people die to believe that a real danger existed. Well, I never saw the people die in "Over Sea and Land."

I'm glad Susan Douglass let Raimond rescue Guillaume in this installment of 'Silent Lily.' Also, it was nice to see that they've worked out several ways for them to communicate--or for Raimond to communicate.

1991

THE SILENT LILY, part 2 — I'm starting to really love these two guys. Throughout I kept thinking that Raimond was being much too hard on himself—nothing that happened to him was his fault!! Yet, I wanted to slap Guillaume the first part of the story, too. He searches for years for his love... finally finds him...seems to understand that nothing that happened to Raimond was his fault. Then, after they finally get back home, Guillaume can't understand why Raimond is so depressed and withdrawn and fearful...and then, the worst betrayal of all, Guillaume thinking that Raimond should've resisted, or died fighting, before letting himself be enslaved...and his accusal of Raimond was too much. I only started liking Guillaume again after he told his father he was disowning HIM, after the things the Comte said about Raimond! I felt so sorry for Raimond, trying to make "a new life" for himself, only to become convinced he only had "one skill", and immediately falling back into it. As far as Antoine goes, at first I wanted to feel sorry for him and his loneliness, even to like him for what he was doing for Raimond, but he showed his true colors soon enough, too, even before the final, big confrontation. "Good" to Raimond in a lot of ways, but Raimond was only a possession to him, and Antoine was always brutal to him in bed. And yet, Raimond stayed...probably out of fear of the unknown. He didn't know what else to do, or where to go. after all. Anyway, of course I loved his reunion and reconciliation with Guillaume, but what I loved even more was Raimond's final growing up, which began with his protecting his wounded lover from Antoine, even threatening "Antoine's life to save Guillaume, No more passivity or shy timidity! This process was continued in the beautiful love scene which ended the story, with Raimond actually taking Guillaume instead of the other way around. They have to be equals, after all, don't they? I loved the idea of Guillaume of being a "sword for hire", and Raimond becoming a talented artist. At least now, he'll be keeping all the money he earns from his paintings, as it should be! I can't wait to see these two again. I didn't mean to slight the poem by not mentioning it earlier. It was lovely and seemed to set the mood for the entire zine. I wouldn't mind seeing this zine become a regular event.

I thought that "Silent Lily" was an extremely powerful story. It was very real and very painful.

Hi! Just a note to let you know how much I loved "Other Times and Places". The red Raimond/Guillaume cover is exquisite. So compelling was it. in fact, that I bought it without caring what was inside! but I was not disappointed when I started reading.

The "Silent Lily" universe is believable and lovely. Hope Susan Douglass keeps it going.

The Silent Lily was a new universe to me as I have not read Pt. 1. While it was well written, it really isn't my type of story, therefore I'm not too objective.

"The Silent Lily, Part II"—My, Raimond certainly suffers well! Antoine deserves what he gets, and then some, Nice to see Raimond protecting Guillaume for a change. Glad to see that Raimond will continue with his art. See you all later!

The Silent Lily, part II' combines all the elements of so many lust-and-angst ridden historical romance best-sellers, but it's so much better because instead of a hysterical female protagonist vs. a know-it-all male antagonist in another bodice-ripper, we are treated to our two most favorite men! They 're in another universe, true, and acting as anyone would in that other time and place, but they are still fundamentally our guys. Their relationship, after all, is what is transferred to another universe. and that (so perfect) love (with a good helping of healthy lust!) does come through in the end -- just as it does in those afore-mentioned but seriously lacking historical novels. I liked "The Silent Lily. " and hope to see many more pieces written in that universe.

"Sympathetic Magic" was a gorgeous piece, very sweet and sentimental and I loved it. And the story by Susan Douglass from the Silent Lily Universe was beautiful. The pain and frustration that both Raimond and Guillaume feel in not being able to relieve memories for each other is so gorgeous and believable and always, very moving.

I was disappointed that the "Silent Lily" story was not longer, that is one of the most interesting alternative universes that has been created in a long time and I would like to see/read some more really long stories in that reality.

THE DARK BY THE SEA was short and sweet, very nice, a fitting epilogue to THE SILENT LILY. I enjoyed this a lot — how nice to have a totally, romantic interlude! Very nicely done!

1992

As far as favorite stories go, my list constantly changes. But to give a fair shake, there are hardly any I dislike intensely, except for mutilation stories. Can't seem to get past that. Such as the series where Doyle is missing his tongue.

1994

...not only is 'Raimonde' abducted from his medieval home to an Arabic brothel, he's branded with a lily and his tongue is cut out. After only a few years of durance vile, big brave butch 'Guillaume' rescues him, and it gets worse from there, because after all he's been through, poor Raimonde knows he's not good enough for Guilllaume (well, maybe he's right...) and tends to droop and wilt a lot...not to mention weeping all the time... (can you tell this didn't exactly hit my kink?)