Despite the mild hiccup of falling asleep on Lou’s chest, Alana had a wonderful afternoon. Kierra returned and, with a touch to her brow, cured her hangover before she could really experience it. As promised, Alana received a tour of the garden. A novel experience. Victory was not known for its greenery and upon leaving it, she never had cause to admire flowers. The elf cultivated unique spec...
2022-10-19 23:13:07 +0000 UTC View Post“Tell me a story about you.”
“Hm? That’s abrupt.” Lou stretched out on the couch and propped up her head with a hand. “What kind of story do you want to hear? I have to say, my life hasn’t been very exciting.”
“I find that hard to believe.” Someone like Lou wasn’t made from ordinary circumstances. “It doesn’t matter. I…want to know more about you.”
<... 2022-10-19 23:13:05 +0000 UTC View PostThe ride ended far too fast. Alana wiped her sweaty palms on the leg of her pants as the carriage slowly rode up the small dirt road that led to the estate. The thrall brought them to a stop in front of the door. “I won’t be accompanying you inside immediately. Bell will handle your luggage.”
“Thanks for the ride.” Birds fluttered in her stomach as she hopped off the driver’s ...
2022-10-17 23:57:23 +0000 UTC View PostThe next morning, Alana was a ball of nerves as she awaited the first day of her sleepover. Her morning training was a joke with her lack of focus and she didn’t taste a bite of her breakfast. The rest of the morning was spent grappling with her turbulent emotions.
The knock on the door was both a relief and panic-inducing. Alana smoothed down the front of her shirt, a small part of her...
2022-10-17 23:57:20 +0000 UTC View PostCompared to the letter from her…Alana didn’t quite know how to describe what Lou was to her, the second letter was quite bland. She couldn’t think of anyone who would bother to send her a letter. Her loving family hadn’t sent anything since she started at the Hall. They hardly talked when she was still at Victory.
She opened it with far less enthusiasm but quickly found herself si...
2022-10-17 23:57:18 +0000 UTC View PostAlana stared at the clothes spread over her bed with a pensive frown. At the start of the qualifiers, she made a bet with Lourianne Tome, her best friend and possibly much more. In hindsight, it was a ridiculous bet. She didn’t need the money Lou had put up for the wager and the noblewoman had proved many times that she was not to be underestimated. If asked, she could only say that her judgm...
2022-10-17 23:57:16 +0000 UTC View PostThe two approached the hutch, crouching to peer at the visible inhabitant. The small golden fluff paused in her meal, turning to watch them in turn with big green eyes.
“Does she have a name?” Cloud asked over Anna’s shoulder.
“Mm. Quill.”
“I see. You know, our brethren do not have names as we know them. They recognize each other through more reliable means. But, a...
2022-10-12 20:06:17 +0000 UTC View Post“Funny name,” Anna said carefully. She’d been told the name of her temporary teacher was Cloud, but it wasn’t enough to make her drop her guard.
“Strange ways don’t preclude understanding.” Cloud slowly took a seat, grabbing her crossed ankles. “I think this kingdom’s tradition of naming their children anything that strikes their fancy in a moment is much stranger than m...
2022-10-10 23:18:36 +0000 UTC View PostAnna used to think a good night’s sleep was a rare gift.
She had few memories, faint impressions mainly, of the time her family was whole. What she did remember was waking in the middle of a cold night after a body had left their single bed, exposing her to the cold. Along with the biting sensation of the cold breeze penetrating their ramshackle house, she could also recall a large warm...
2022-10-10 23:18:32 +0000 UTC View Post“May I make a request?” Talia asked once Dunwayne and the irate knight left.
“You may always ask, lily.”
“Please do not disturb the peace of the Hall.”
“Oh? Would it upset you?”
“I support its mission. The orphanage that raised me was a net to secure talented disciples to be raised for the benefit of the kingdom. The Hall seeks to improve all. As long a...
2022-10-08 01:33:56 +0000 UTC View Post“Talk about a surprising appearance. I thought I would take all the attention with my flower on my arm but who could steal the room from the grandmaster himself when he decides to grace us.”
Talia had bowed her head the moment she recognized the voice of Dunwayne and straightened up as Kierra finished her greeting. “Good evening, grandmaster.”
“Umphrieltalia,” the Harves...
2022-10-08 01:33:55 +0000 UTC View Post“May I?” Talia asked, hearing they had arrived.
“Hmm. Alright,” Kierra said, a trace of warning in her tone. “Be careful. I would hate to damage one of your petals for being naughty.”
The dorm mother nodded in acquiescence. Beneath her closed lids, her eyes glowed as she worked a spell and activated it. Her mana escaped from her palm as she placed a hand on the elf’s c...
2022-10-06 01:07:52 +0000 UTC View Post“My duties ran late and I have no plans to change,” Talia said, following the voice to her visitor, Kierra helping her the last few steps with an outstretched hand. She was pulled into a warm hug that still felt overly familiar despite the elf’s attempts to make her more comfortable with contact.
The mannerisms in the capital were stiff, especially amongst those in power who were ov...
2022-10-04 01:50:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe mind, the sacred dominion of the individual. The key to their rise or fall. Within, they sheltered their vulnerable hopes and the secrets that could bring them to their knees. Naturally, they trusted their minds, and expected safety within them. Which made any attacks against it all the more devastating.
An intruder in someone’s home was a violation, an inconvenience. Objects could ...
2022-10-04 01:50:10 +0000 UTC View PostArthur's final chapter! After this, we drop in with Miss Talia and Anna. I was going to give Anna and Earl their own miniarc but it won't be long enough for that
“Oi. Oi, dog. Stop drooling on my floor and wake up.”
Arthur blinked open his eyes, feeling a thick layer of crust resisting his efforts. He wiped his face with his palm, his limbs clumsy and h...
2022-10-01 01:26:27 +0000 UTC View PostContent Warning! Nothing graphic but Geneva isn't nice, and allusions to sexual violence are made. I don't know if it's enough to need a trigger warning, but the warning is here. For anyone who doesn't want to read, you can skip to the last couple chapters and understand enough to not be lost in the next chapter.
The air was thick with sweet smelling incense whic...
2022-10-01 01:26:25 +0000 UTC View PostArthur pushed back his chair as the thrall walked in front of him, tail swinging and smiling softly. Her white dress and cute features gave her the appearance of an innocent girl but her usual demure demeanor had been replaced by an otherworldly temptress. A change that suited him fine.
His hands reached for her thin waist but were slapped aside her tail. “Too hasty. We have allll the t...
2022-09-27 04:08:32 +0000 UTC View Post“Hey, Lou. Lou~”
Arthur looked up from forcing William to chug another glass of watered down Herbanacle to an interesting sight. After a delicious dinner, the liquor was brought out, as per usual.
His friends didn’t make the most interesting drinkers. Marthe became somber and quiet once she got drunk, slouching in her chair as she sipped from her glass. He wasn’t brave enoug...
2022-09-27 04:08:30 +0000 UTC View PostArthur had an afternoon to fill before dinner and he did so with errands that he’d put off during the week.
The first thing he did after returning to his room was clean. Not an activity he enjoyed in the least and a skill he didn’t advertise, as it wouldn’t do much for his reputation. Anybody who advertised their skill with a rag and mop usually ended up using them all over the ship...
2022-09-23 20:10:45 +0000 UTC View PostThankfully, Arthur’s overnight guest had vacated his room by the time he returned from washing up. He quickly dressed before heading to the dining room.
Unlike earlier in the year, the expansive room was packed. The end of the initiate year meant no more structured lessons. The lack of scheduling left the younger members of the initiates at a loss for what to do. Some had taken it upon ...
2022-09-16 22:27:52 +0000 UTC View PostArthur opened his eyes only to shut them immediately after. Faint light entered his room through the wooden shutters covering the single window beside his bed but it was still painful, worsening the beast of a headache pounding between his temples.
He twisted in his covers with a groan. A sigh answered him. Arthur furrowed his brow as he looked over his shoulder, taking in the stranger sh...
2022-09-07 22:23:17 +0000 UTC View PostIt took all of one second for Maxine to realize the meeting was going to be particularly unpleasant. Her visitor did not wait near the door, ready to greet her with a hug like loving family. Nor did they have a smile and firm handshake prepared, as they would for a respected business partner.
Instead, an older woman sat behind the desk, her desk, with the store’s ledger in hand...
2022-09-05 23:19:31 +0000 UTC View PostA merchant’s day greatly depended on their level of success. If they were successful, they could spend their days leisurely while their minions did their bidding, tamed by gold and ambition.
Marquis Guiness, the richest man in the kingdom, did little managing of his empire anymore. That, he left to his children desperate for his favor while he gallivanted about the kingdom and beyond in...
2022-09-05 23:19:28 +0000 UTC View PostNomad finished his patrol of the garden. And, as always, once he stepped through the front door, Geneva waited for him, standing in the middle of the welcoming room with her arms crossed behind her back and her tail swinging. She smiled at him, flashing dainty but sharp canines.
“The time has come for your lessons.”
Nomad inclined his head. Truthfully, he would rather not give t...
2022-09-03 23:53:07 +0000 UTC View PostNomad roamed the manor, a silent witness as its residents retired. Bedtime meant something different for everyone. For Gajin, it meant willfully falling into the embrace of nature under the effect of dubious “medicine”.
For Earl, it meant a final sweep of the house before returning to his room. For Anna, the young girl would originally curl up under her covers but, for all the progres...
2022-09-03 23:53:04 +0000 UTC View PostNomad woke as his room began to darken with the fading light of sunset. As always, he didn’t rise immediately. His dreams, dizzying marathons of distorted images and garbled sounds, left him unsettled and often confused. It took several minutes of quiet contemplation to remember where, and sometimes even who, he was.
He was no longer a bandit stalking the King’s Road alongsid...
2022-08-31 23:21:10 +0000 UTC View PostOnce Kierra departed, Gajin attended to the rest of his chores, finishing early in the afternoon. He stopped for a late lunch, snatching berries and edible leaves from the plants in the garden. When he was full, he took a seat beneath a sun fan, the flowers that grew so tall they could more accurately be described as little trees, and closed his eyes, simply enjoying being surrounded by nature....
2022-08-29 23:27:36 +0000 UTC View PostDays started early for Gajin.
The mistress of the house was an enthusiastic gardener. He had no idea where the woman got the strange plants populating her garden or what she used them for. Such wasn’t his concerns as a simple servant. As her student, it was still beyond his concerns. He was in the first stage of his instruction, which consisted of learning of the plants and how to care ...
2022-08-29 23:27:31 +0000 UTC View Post“…grow up?” the youngest prince asked hesitantly.
“Yes, Bastian. You are a Harvest prince. Certainly, you didn’t think I’d allow you to thoughtlessly flaunt our wealth amongst the dregs of society forever. It is time you found an occupation worthy of your station. If you do not wish to learn martial arts or study magic like your brothers, so be it, but I will have you do s...
2022-08-26 22:03:04 +0000 UTC View PostSebastian surveyed the room like a lord overlooking the fields where the peasants under his governance worked. A comparison that was not too dissimilar, to Angelleen’s chagrin. Theirs was not a happy home but a family built on the foundations of necessity and duty.
As was usual of late, her husband showed signs of exhaustion. Nothing overt, as he was prickly about his image, but to the ...
2022-08-26 22:03:02 +0000 UTC View Post