I have a very great fear of tornadoes. It's not something I think about daily, but when tornado watches start to come up, my whole body shakes and quakes.
I've been sitting outside, watching the skies. And the trees. They are swaying so much I'm afraid they will snap and fall on the house!
I hate tornadoes, but I have been lucky enough to have never experienced one. Let's hope it stays that way! I live in a trailer! Where would I hide if one hit? I guess the best place is under the table.
I'm scared! I want my boyfriend to come home very very soon!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Friends with knives in their hands always end up stabbing you
In high school, there is always that one friend you adore more than life itself. Where they are, you are. If they accomplish something, you are proud for them. Their family is your family, and your family is their family. You have tons of inside jokes, and everyone knows about how close you two are. You have sleepovers almost every weekend, and their number is so engraved in your head, you could never forget it. Well, I had a friend like that.
I had a close knit group of friends, but I only had one very very close friend. I loved her so much that I didn't have room to be close to anyone else, and I hate her for that.
As high school progressed, that friend slowly starts to pry your grip off of them. At least, that's what my best friend did. She started to meet cool, new people, and I was an old, worn out toy she was sick of. these cool, older people, were more talented than me, they were funnier, and they were hip and fresh. And she slowly stopped coming over for sleepovers. She stopped calling me, and she stopped hanging out with the same group of friends we've always hung out with before the school bell rang, choosing to hang out with her new friends instead.
There came a day in my senior year where I invited her to go out and go shopping. We had stopped hanging out because she always made excuses, but I was too stupid to see it, so I continued to ask her to do things together and then get my heart broken all over again when she declined. This time, however, she said yes, she would go with me. And she did sound excited to go.
A day before our shopping/sleepover excursion, she called me and told me she couldn't make it, because one of her new friends was having a party, and she got invited that day. We had made plans together, and she had chosen to go to a party she had found out about that day.
After that, I stopped calling her. It broke me apart. Without her, I didn't have that special person you could tell all your secrets to. I had my other friends, but I had never hung out with them outside of school or birthday parties. I was empty, but heart attached forever to the girl that stabbed me.
It's two years after my senior year, and I still hate her. And i know now that I'm worth ten of her, and she lost something great when she chose new friends.
And before, I was so upset what she did to me, but I realize that she abandoned alot of people. She used to be close to all of the girls in out little group. And now, with relish, I can hate her for doing that to them as well. I truly hate her.
And I hate it. I don't like holding grudges. But I can't stop. She was my whole world. And she destroyed my self esteem when she left me.
I had a close knit group of friends, but I only had one very very close friend. I loved her so much that I didn't have room to be close to anyone else, and I hate her for that.
As high school progressed, that friend slowly starts to pry your grip off of them. At least, that's what my best friend did. She started to meet cool, new people, and I was an old, worn out toy she was sick of. these cool, older people, were more talented than me, they were funnier, and they were hip and fresh. And she slowly stopped coming over for sleepovers. She stopped calling me, and she stopped hanging out with the same group of friends we've always hung out with before the school bell rang, choosing to hang out with her new friends instead.
There came a day in my senior year where I invited her to go out and go shopping. We had stopped hanging out because she always made excuses, but I was too stupid to see it, so I continued to ask her to do things together and then get my heart broken all over again when she declined. This time, however, she said yes, she would go with me. And she did sound excited to go.
A day before our shopping/sleepover excursion, she called me and told me she couldn't make it, because one of her new friends was having a party, and she got invited that day. We had made plans together, and she had chosen to go to a party she had found out about that day.
After that, I stopped calling her. It broke me apart. Without her, I didn't have that special person you could tell all your secrets to. I had my other friends, but I had never hung out with them outside of school or birthday parties. I was empty, but heart attached forever to the girl that stabbed me.
It's two years after my senior year, and I still hate her. And i know now that I'm worth ten of her, and she lost something great when she chose new friends.
And before, I was so upset what she did to me, but I realize that she abandoned alot of people. She used to be close to all of the girls in out little group. And now, with relish, I can hate her for doing that to them as well. I truly hate her.
And I hate it. I don't like holding grudges. But I can't stop. She was my whole world. And she destroyed my self esteem when she left me.
Would you rather be rich or famous?
Rich. Why bring in all the stress of being famous. And if I were famous, I would be rich, and vice versa, right?
What's the longest you've ever gone without a bath or shower?
A whole week. The hot water broke, so I washed my hair in freezing cold water in the sink, and that was it. Worst week of my life
Who was your first crush?
I was five, and it was on my cousin. That was the only boy I ever saw on a regular basis! don't judge me... :)
Would you rather be a vampire or a werewolf?
A vampire, and not because of the stupid Twilight craze. Werewolves don't even remember being a werewolf in traditional legends. Where's the fun in that?
If you were stranded on a desert island, which one person would you bring with you?
That isn't a tough one for me. I would bring my boyfriend, chris.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Short story; tell me what you think!
Edolie
By me(the reader)
“Don’t! Don’t!” cried the struggling girl as she wrestled with her dream. Her hands grasped the covers at her neck, and her limbs began to twitch. Her breath came in short bursts, and tears were leaking down her pale face. A light appeared in the pitch black room, eerily illuminating the worn trestle bedside table, the painting of the rose leaping out of the paper as if it were alive. The shadows on the rough stone walls looked as if hands clutched out at the light, eager to snuff it out.
“Edolie, wake up!” a voice called to her desperately.
“No!” she screamed, bolting upright, her panicked eyes scanning the room for demons that were not there.
“It’s alright, you’re fine now,” soothed the voice. A hand came out of the darkness, and Edolie flinched back, but it merely stroked her forehead with a damp cloth.
“Who…” she trailed off when her sister Lydia’s tired face came into focus in the candle’s flickering weak light.
“Are you alright now?” her younger sister questioned her. Her blue eyes scanned her older sister’s face, searching for a sign that she was injured. Edolie knew her search was futile, for she was damaged mentally, not physically.
“I’ll be fine, now that I am awake,” Edolie muttered. She sat up further in bed and put her head in her hands wearily. Her body might by tired, but her mind was racing, awake and pulsing with the images her dream had given her. She saw again the terrible black cloud consume the young maiden’s bodies. Their screams echoed through her head. Her shoulders shook. When she felt a hand on her back, she jumped, and Lydia withdrew the limb quickly.
“Sorry," she muttered, looking down at the thin bedspread wrapped around her legs. She swung her feet out of bed, turning her back to her sister she shared a bed with in their tiny room.
“Lydie, I just want to go back to sleep. I’m tired,” Edolie said shortly, turning her back to hide the small rivers cascading down her face.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news..." Lydia said, standing up. She went to the window, ripping the grungy curtain aside. Weak daylight flooded the room. Dawn was barely a half hour away, and the morning bell would sound shortly for the servants to awake and attend to the morning chores.
The tired girl groaned, swinging her legs out of bed. The chill air hit her bare legs, and she shivered slightly.
Lydia sat on the edge of the bed, a pair of thin stockings in her feet. Edolie watched her pull them up and over her delicate knees. When she was done, she pulled her over-dress on over her shift, tying the strings tightly. It was a lovely yellow, and it contrasted well with her pale skin and black hair. Her hands began to comb through those raven locks, picking put the snarls. She noticed me watching and smiled, reaching under the small wooden chair in the corner and pulling out her shoes. She sat and laced them onto her feet.
"Are you going to watch me get dressed, or are you going to get up and get moving?" she asked me impatiently, tapping her foot against the uneven stone floor.
Edolie grinned and hopped out of bed, wincing at the cold floor. She grabbed her over dress that was draped over the wooden chair, hurriedly pulling her arms through the holes and lacing up the front. Her dress was a light pink, but the same style as her sister's. All women servants wore the same style of dress.
Lydia crossed her arms, waiting for her to finish lacing her shoes.
"How is my hair, Lydia?" her sister asked, her hands resting on her head. Rolling her eyes, Lydia helped her smooth her long black hair down.
"Now, if you are done wasting out time, I want to eat breakfast!" Lydia said, opening the door quietly.
They tiptoed down the deserted hallway, quietly slipping into the kitchen. the smell of baking bread made Edolie's mouth water, and they sat down at the servants table. The cook, a cheerful man named Gustavo, paid them no mind, pulling out another loaf of bread.
Edolie swallowed her last mouthful of bread and stood. Lydia stood as well. Edolie waved at the baker before slipping out of the door that led to the dirt yard. The servants quarters consisted of three one story buildings. One was for the women, the second for the men, and the third was used for the offices of the Queen's Army. Inside the Women's Quarters was a large common room where families could eat together, as well as where the servants had parties during the holidays on their days off. There was also a small wash room where the laundry was folded and stored. Next to the Army offices was the stables, and besides that was the dog kennels. The whole complex was hidden behind the castle, tucked into the Royal forest. The trees had been cleared away, but there was a thin line of trees hiding it from view.
The servant bell began to ring loudly. Edolie saw the Head house keeper tugging on the rope connected to the large bell, her arms bulging with muscle. No one messed around with Miss Iona. She was tough as nails, and she did not tolerate disobedience or laziness.
"I guess I'm off to fetch the laundry," Lydia told her sister, and she hugged and kissed Edolie goodbye, heading back to the Women's Quarters.
Edolie set off towards the Kennels, arms crossed to keep warm in the early morning air. A flash of white and brown fur was her only warning before she was attacked by a wet tongue.
“Down Trina,” she said gleefully, pushing the sleek dog off. The excited dog bounced and raced around her, her sleek body coiled with energy. Edolie shook her heads. Whippets are just way too hyper.
You smell so gooooooodddd. Yum. Like.. pause bread and hay! Her tongue tried to swipe at her face as she bounded into the air, and the girl laughed, fending her off with her arms.
“I don’t have time. I want to see Cordelia before Master Marin hitches her to the Queen’s carriage.”
Ooooo Trina whined.
“Bye,” she called over her shoulder. Trina whined, ready to follow her, but her attention was distracted when she spotted the cat, Calliope. She took pursuit, barking and wagging her tail.
Edolie smiled. “Dogs,” she said ruefully.
The stables was a short walk, so she reached it in record time. She didn't much time before the Kennel director, Miles, would start to look for her. When she entered the stables, several drowsy hellos were thrown her way.
Hello helllllloooo called the plough horse Jock.
“Hello everyone,” she called.
Edolie! exclaimed a pretty white mare. Her coat shone in the light thrown by the early sun rays peeking through the stall window.
“Hello and good morning, dear one,” she murmured, scratching the splotch of black above her left ear. Cordelia pushed her forehead into Edolie's chest, and her arms came around the horse's neck, hugging her and whispering endearments to the mare.
“Edolie?” a human voice called out.
“Coming.” She regretfully stepped away from her favorite and most dear to her heart horse.
She walked towards the voice and spotted Master Marin’s back bent over something in his lap. His graying hair was tangled, and he looked like he had just awoken, based on the fact that he still wore his night shirt. She craned her neck further and identified a halter that's strap was broken.
“I need you to take the horses out for a jog. Probably five of them, including Cordelia.” He did not look up from his task. Edolie laughed loudly and hugged him around his middle, a large grin on her face. Once a month, Master Marin allowed her and her sisters to ride five horses to the Queen’s meadow, where the Queen's precious wildflowers grew. They took a month to wilt, and Marin knew how much she loved the horses, so he let her and her younger sister's collect the flowers for the Queen.
“Now, now,” he said gruffly, patting her head.
“Thank you, Sir!” she squealed.
“Make sure you take your sisters with you!” he called to her retreating form. He chucked and returned to his mending.
The ecstatic girl ran through the Woman's Quarters. She ran to the laundry room, curtseying to the Laundry Mistress. The huge woman went back to looking over a young girl's shoulder, instructing her how to sew a straight and even stitch in the dress she was sewing. Edolie looked around the cramped room full of women servants, trying to spot her sisters.
Bridget looked up from the shirt she was mending. She saw Edolie in the door, and she nudged the girl next to her. She was her identical twin sister, Eleanor. Eleanor looked at her questionably, and she nodded to the door. Eleanor's face turned white, for she knew what day it must be, but Bridget was thrilled. She placed her mending down and spoke to the Laundry Mistress, murmuring quietly. The lady waved her off with a hand, and Bridget skipped back to Eleanor, a huge grin on her face. Bridget nudged Lydia with her foot as she passed her. She saw Edolie twitching in the doorway, grinning hugely. After packing up their things, the sisters exited the room, closing the door softly behind them.
"Come on!" Edolie said, dragging on Eleanor's arm, who was looking at the door they just closed longingly. Eleanor hated horses.
"We'll meet you at the stables, Edolie," Lydia said, grinning at the pouting Eleanor. "You go get Ariel. Lana told me before going to the children's room that she was crying in a corner by herself.
Edolie frowned to herself, her sister's voices growing dimmer as she moved towards the children's room. Ariel was a very shy little girl, and all the sisters worried about her now that she slept with the other children.
She strode down the hall, stopping at the last door on the right. She knocked, and a rush a sounds hit her ears as she opened it. Children's screams and squeals resounded about the large bright room as Edolie searched it for her youngest sister, Ariel. She found her sitting on the ground playing with a ragged doll. Her back was turned away from the rest of the children, her shoulders hunched. Edolie felt a pang at seeing her like that. She wished she could have her with her all the time, but working with the horses and dogs could be dangerous, and she would get in the way.
Edolie snuck up behind her. She waited, and then swooped down, tickling her ribs, causing the little girl to squeal loudly. She scooped her off the floor, showering her face with kisses.
"Eddy!" Ariel cried happily, kissing her on the cheek. Edolie walked out the room with her, waving at the two women that were on child watch duty that day.
"Where we going?" Ariel asked her sister, putting her head on her shoulder.
"We're going for a horse ride," Edolie told her, and the little girl let out a whoop, wiggling. Edolie set her on her feet and took her hand. The child began to laugh and skip as they stepped outside. She was relieved her youngest sister was not sad anymore, although she was always happy when she was with her sisters.
"Horsie, horsie, horsie, horsie, horsie!" the happy girl chanted, clapping her hands. Edolie felt a warmth seeping her heart listening to her. And she couldn't help but feel the excitement tingle in her veins about their upcoming afternoon ride.
It had taken her years to gain Master Marin's approval of her knowledge of horses. Only after she knew everything, from saddles and reigns, to health issues and remedies, did he allow her to ride a horse. It had taken several weeks, but she had mastered it, and she had begged the stable master to teach her sisters as well. Now, all of them were exceptional riders, although Eleanor loathed it.
The girls were very privileged. Not many servants had ever touched a horse, let alone ridden one.
Five minutes later, all of the sisters were in the stables, ready for the ride to the meadow. In the time it took her sisters to saddle the horses, Edolie handed off Ariel to Lydia and began to ready Cordelia. She made sure all the saddles were properly harnessed, and each saddle bag held a sack for the flowers.
As the eldest, and most practiced with the horses, the other girls asked her for help as they brought their horses out of their stalls. Edolie was eighteen years old, and many of the older servants were griping at her to get married, although she had no interest in any of the men servants. Her hair was midnight black, and her skin was white as snow. She had very odd green eyes that seemed to glow. She was a sturdy five foot seven.
Lydia was the second oldest, and the most beautiful. All the girls were stunning in their own ways, but Lydia was the most striking. She had the perfect figure every girl dreamed of, and at seventeen, she had rounded out in all the right areas for a lady. Her hair was the a shade lighter than Kay’s, and her eyes were a soft blue, like the sky after a rain storm. She had dainty hands, dainty feet, and her face was so soft that any man’s heart melted when he saw that vulnerable face. She walked over to her favorite mount, Chester.
“Hello, good sir,” she said gaily, sweeping into an elaborate bow.
“He says hello back,” Edolie told her.
Lydia kissed him on the nose, rubbing him between his ears.
"Eddy, think fast!” Bridget screeched, hurtling a large bundle of hay at her face. Kay caught the hay bomb and lodged it back.
Bridget was the eldest of the thirteen year old twins. They both had dark brown hair, but Bridget’s was curly, while Eleanor’s was straight. Bridget enjoyed fencing, dueling, and making up bawdy jokes while Eleanor was timid and shy, prone to quiet fits of tears when she was teased, and often times hiding for ages. Even though they were exact opposites, they were inseparable. They were never apart, and when Eleanor ran off, Bridget would always be able to find her and coax her back into a good mood.
“I don’t want to ride. I would much rather stay here and…. bake with Gustav," she said, her hands shaking as she finished saddling her mount.
“Oh Eleanor, lighten up. The horses wont bite. Edolie taught them manners,” Rosaline said, striding into the stables. "Gustav said you were all going for a ride."
Rosaline was the second to last of the sisters, ten years old. She also had midnight black hair, but she had wild curls. Her silver eyes were a bit unnerving, but she also had a very large secret. She had the art of Healing, which was a very rare gift. While Edolie had the art of Speech with animals, Rosaline specialized in healing people from scrapes, burns, and several other things. She only practiced on the sisters though, because magic was something that was considered dark and evil.
The youngest of the sisters was the five year old Ariel. She was very quiet, and she almost never talked to anyone but her sisters. All the other servants called her ‘Mute Girl’ because they had never heard her speak. Her hair was a very dark red, the same shade of their deceased mother, but her hair was bushy. She had freckles, and her eyes were a stormy green quite like Edolie’s eyes.
“Ok, mount up,” Edolie ordered. She placed her foot in the stirrup, hauling herself on the horse side-saddled.
Lydia passed Ariel up to her, and the little girl could barely contain her excitement. She laughed when Cordelia snorted.
“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,” Eleanor muttered under her breath. She was mounted on Cordelia’s brother Fate. The black stallion pranced, and Edolie cursed under her breath for letting Eleanor choose that mount.
Edolie reached for his mind, gripping it with her power to talk to him through her thoughts.
Behave she murmured to the fidgety stallion. He stopped, blowing air out of his nostrils impatiently.
But I want to RUN! I want to feel the dirt under my hoofs, the wind in my mane! Hurry! he squealed, starting to fidget a bit.
“Ah,” Eleanor exclaimed when Fate snorted and pawed his hoof into the dirt, eager to be off, expressing his obvious impatience.
“Scardey cat!” Rosaline told her, laughing atop a sand colored mare.
“Let’s go!" Bridget exclaimed, leading her horse out of the stables. Master Marin waved at them as they headed out.
“I am not a scardey cat!” Eleanor yelled at her sister's back. I pulled up beside her, holding onto Fate's reigns to keep him from launching himself down the forest path.
“Woo,” Edolie let out a gleeful laugh as she urged Cordelia faster. Eleanor clung to Fate's mane, glaring reproachfully at her sister.
They galloped down the dirt path leading to the Queen’s meadow, streaking past women carrying buckets of water and dripping wet laundry.
“Race ‘ya,” Bridget called to Lydia.
“You’re on!” Lydia retorted back, urging her mount, Sunshine, on.
They disappeared in a plume of dust.
“Beautiful day,” Rosaline said calmly, enjoying the fresh air and warm wind upon her face.
"You're doing great, Ell," Edolie murmured to the silent girl, who shot her a weak smile before returning her eyes back to the ground.
The path they were on went further into the Royal Forest. The morning sun filtered through the trees.
When they arrived at the Queen’s meadow, Kay dismounted gracefully and placed Ariel gently on her feet. Lydia was crouched to the ground, picking flowers and placing them in her bag, while Bridget had a stick in her hand, sword fighting with an imaginary enemy. The other girls dismounted, letting their mounts wander in the meadow. The horses were perfectly content to graze around the clearing.
Edolie pulled off the bags meant to collect the flowers and sent Cordelia on her way. She sat down, surrounded by beautiful flowers, breathing deeply. She watched as Ariel sat down beside her, plucking up flowers and placing them in my bag.
Edolie treasured these days when she could simply sit and enjoy the scenery and being with her sisters. They didn't get to do that often enough these days. Spring time was always the busiest time for chores in the castle.
The day was clear, and the birds were sweetly singing their spring melodies. She heard the gurgle of a nearby stream, and if she listened carefully, she could detect a light buzzing coming from a bee. Five feet to her left, Cordelia was contentedly grazing. Edolie let all her flustered thoughts escape out of her mind. She placed the bag for collecting the Queen's flowers by her side. Her eye lids grew heavy, and she lay down on her back, looking up at the clouds. Ariel watched her before pillowing her head on Edolie's stomach, falling fast asleep. Her hand came up to stroke her red hair softly. Her eyelids fluttered. She finally gave in, closing her eyes.
Edolie hummed to herself as she sadly watched the other women talk and socialize among themselves, completely ignoring her. She had just finished wringing out a shirt when a dark cloud settled in the sky. It began to rain, and the numerous girls assigned to washing began to clean up, dragging clothes out of the water and placing them into the waterproof baskets. Two girls, Flora and Nerissa continued to wring out their clothing, hurrying to finish up and help pack up.
A loud boom of thunder split the quiet clearing, and several girls shrieked and began to walk towards the dirt path leading to the castle, baskets of wash in their hands.. Suddenly, a large shape started to descend from the sky. Edolie shaded her hand uselessly to see the shape better. The writhing mass above her twisted and coiled, and then it began to take shape. A large black hand began to form and large claws extended as if to snatch the very life from the air. Edolie dropped her basket of laundry, her eyes wide with horror. The other women had noticed as well, and several girls stood still, dumbstruck at the black cloud above their heads.
“Run!” shrieked Berta, a girl that she barely talked to.. The other girls snapped their heads back to the ground, and they bolted for the path leading to the castle. Edolie ran with them, the basket of laundry forgotten.. Her legs pumped and her lungs wheezed. She dared to glance back, and what she saw left her horrified.
The hand had lowered so it hovered just above the path. Its dark form cackled with lightening, and it snatched anything in its path, which happened to be the fleeing women. Flora, who had fallen behind, let out a blood curdling scream as it grabbed her legs and tossed her about like a cat playing with a dead mouse. The hand then squeezed her, and Flora's screams were cut off with a sickening crunch.
The other women began to scream, but it didn’t cover the sound of crunching bones. Dark red liquid poured on them as they all fled, the hand staying over them like a menacing cloud. When a severed hand hit Kay in the back of the head, tears began to pour, her legs pumping to catch up with the other girls.
The hand began to snatch more girls. The air was rich with red blood and severed body parts. When the castle came into view, Kay looked back and saw the bloody grass and torsos from the unlucky girls. One girl was left besides Kay, and Kay reached the kitchen door just as the hand snatched the girl up. Her scream vibrated in her skull as she huddled in the doorway and watched the black hand crush the girl’s skull, her body hanging limply. Kay pounded on the doorway, her shoulders heaving.
"Let me in! Please," she cried desperately. She dared not turn around, for she heard the sound of the poor girl's mangled body hit the ground.
Edolie suddenly heard a large sucking sound. On instinct, she turned with tears streaming down her face, cradling her aching hands where she had pounded on the door. The hand was convulsing, black mists swirling as it turned into the shape of a man. It had a long black cloak on, and its eyes were spots of red. The rain flew away from him, as if it were afraid to touch the evilness of him. Kay sensed his malevolence rolling off him with a sickening stench. Her stomach clenched when she saw him crush Nerissa’s skull under the heel of his boot.
“Edolie,,” it croaked softly. It began to walk towards her, a long black sword materializing from thin air, resting in his hands.
“Stay away!" she said weakly, looking for a weapon. She found none.
“Edolie…” it groaned. “Come meet your destiny…”
The sword arched in the air, taunting her as it swung ever so slowly towards her shivering form. She closed her eyes, awaiting the cut of the sword upon her head.
“EDOLIE!”
Edolie jolted awake. She looked up and saw Cordelia’s head above her own.
Are you alright?
“Bad dream.” She sat up and looked around her. Her sisters were still frolicking around, and Ariel was still asleep on her.
Well, if you’re sure, the horse said hesitantly. I don’t want to bother you, she continued but I don’t like the quiet. The birds have stopped singing, and I cant hear any voices from the path. Something is wrong. Her ears were flattened to her skull.
Edolie frowned. She tried to sense some form of animal life, but they were all hiding in their burrows and trees, too afraid to respond to her probing.
“Odd,” she said, standing up. Ariel murmured to herself, sitting up and rubbing her eyes sleepily. Edolie frowned when again she called to the nearest animal, a Palmeesian Squirrel. She caught his surface thoughts, rather alarmed.
Hide hide hide the squirrel chanted to itself, burrowing into a tighter ball in its tree.
She scanned the surrounding forest, her senses on high alert. She suddenly felt very vulnerable, and her heart began to pound.
Several things happened at once. She heard a large crash from the underbrush, followed very quickly by several screams from her sisters. Edolie jumped to her feet, pushing Ariel behind her.
Edolie turned sharply in the direction of the noise, and she spotted something. Standing in the clearing a little ways from the forest was a very large man. He was at least eight feet tall, and his upper body was bare. He had a long ponytail and he had studded, leather boots on his large feet. In his hands was a weird, long bow and poking from behind his back were homemade fletched arrows. She also detected a knife crease on his thigh, just like some soldiers carried, and there was a vicious looking blade on his hip. His trousers were a dark color, too worn to really have a distinct color, that was held up by a piece of rope. Edolie’s heart tripled its beating rhythm, her palms sweaty. She strained her eyes and she glimpsed a glistening scar running across his chest, right over his heart. Her feet told her to move, but something moving below the monster paralyzed her with dread and fear when her eyes landed on it.
At his feet, cowering in fear, was Eleanor. She had her hands over her face, and even from thirty feet away, Edolie could tell she was weeping. She felt like screaming, but her mouth and lungs seemed to have failed, shriveling like an old prune. Her instinct to protect her sister bit at her in the helpless situation. She could never get to her sister in time... and he was huge!
The giant leaned forward and grabbed Eleanor’s hair. Eleanor screamed in terror, lashing out viciously with her fists. Edolie looked around desperately. Lydia and Rosaline were holding Bridget’s arms, both of them straining to contain her. Rosaline hit Bridget sharply on the cheek. This shocked her enough to stop struggling, but her two sisters continued to hold her arms, probably for strength and support from each other. Ariel huddled behind me, crying in desperate sobs, her whole body shaking when I turned to check on her.
"Edolie!" Lydia shrieked, pointing behind herself.
Edolie looked and gasped. Coming out of the forest were green clad… things. They had the upper bodies of men, but their lower half was a stag. They each had a strung bow and arrow aimed at each girl in the clearing. Several regular men came out behind them, holding an assortment of bows and swords. One man even held a crossbow.
"Edolie!” Lydia cried out again, her face white. Bridget growled as she spotted the archers in the trees.
A high pitch scream issued from Eleanor. The man had leaned down to pick her up, his hands gripping her arms.
“Help! Help me, someone! Edolie!” Eleanor began to bite and kick the large man.
“Oh, no you don’t, you bastard!” Kay leaned down and picked up a rock the size of her fist, running forward. She flung it at the man, and it bounced off his knee harmlessly. She ran back to Ariel, picking her up. She ran to her sisters and dropped Ariel, picking up another stone.
She flung with all her might, and it struck him on his broad chest. The other sister began to hurl stones and sticks, anything they could get their hands on, screaming all the while. An arrow whizzed, standing straight up an inch from Edolie's feet. Lydia grabbed Ariel to her, whimpering. I dropped the rock in my hand, shaking.
“Ha, ha, ha, ha,” the man laughed, dropping Eleanor in a heap at his feet.
She tried to crawl away, but his foot came down on her stomach, holding her to the ground.
“Ahhrgg!” she screeched, beating his leg. When her fist came in contact with his boot, she cradled her hand and screamed, having connected with a metal stud.
Edolie was proud of her normally timid sister’s spirit. “Hold on, Ellie. I’ll save you!” Edolie fidgeted in frustration, her eyes looking around the clearing for a break in the men surrounding them. There was none. Her mind stretched out to the animals around them, but found only the same squirrel and a family of rabbits. All other larger animals had vanished. The squirrel wanted to help her, it told her, but what could a squirrel do?
What could a squirrel do, indeed, Edolie thought with a sigh.
“Ha, ha, ha, ha,” the man laughed again. “And how do you plan on saving your fellow servant. You are surrounded. One false move, and you die.” To someone waiting behind him in the woods, he said, "Get the rope and start to tie them up."
“Coward!” Edolie charged, waving her arms and baring her teeth, forgetting completely about the archers in her rage. She saw the man pick something up from the ground at his feet before a dark mass flew up to meet her, and she was struck, causing her to crumple to the ground. She whimpered, trying to lift the heavy woven material off of her. It was weighted with metal, and she was having problems getting air into her compressed lungs. She also had a hard time focusing, as something hard had struck her forehead. Her vision was sprinkled with stars, and she struggled staying conscious.
The giant strolled over to her, dragging Eleanor with him. Eleanor struggled in vain, finally ceasing her efforts when she began to tire. She was gasping for breath and her eyes were riveted on her older sister. She shrunk upon herself, and Edolie shook her head. It seemed to help with her dizziness.
“I caught a pretty little fishy,” he said with a casual drawl. Edolie shuttered at his velvety voice. The other men laughed, and they started to close in, pushing Lydia, Bridget, Rosaline and Ariel closer to the giant and Edolie. Cordelia whinnied loudly, staining against a rope they had flung around her neck.
Two men were fighting to keep Bridget under control until one of them punched her on the side of her head. She dropped like a stone, the half-men supporting her on both sides. Edolie viewed all of this through the holes in the net. She looked for animals for help yet again, but none were there. Her sister’s mounts must have fled to the palace.
Another six men struggled to hold Cordelia in place. One man took a whip out of his belt and struck her. A small stream slipped down the horse's neck.
Be still Cordelia Edolie pleaded. They will whip you even more!
Cordelia snorted in amusement. They, hurt me? I, who am from the most noble of bloodlines. I think not.
Please, I need you. An arrow through your heart will not help us escape.
I understand, Edolie. I will try to help you escape to the best of my ability. I will wait for your signal. Cordelia snorted and began to graze indifferently. The men holding her clung onto her reins as if she would rear again. She bared her teeth at him and he flinched back in terror. Imbecile Cordelia muttered, returning to the grass.
Edolie would have laughed in a different setting, but she remained quiet.
“Your name, girl?” the giant questioned. Kay realized he must be the leader of this pack of thieves. And he had addressed her.
“I am Edolie, a servant at Blackthorn Castle.”
“Are you now?” he drawled out, raising an eyebrow. He passed a shrieking Eleanor to one of his thugs, grinning down at her. Edolie’s anger built at the look on his face. She clenched her fists, the calluses on her hands stretching painfully. She struggled to a more dignified position, but subsided to a half crouch to spit her fury at him.
“That is correct. And I will let you know that Master Marin will hunt you down and cut your livers out, and then he will string you up and let you dry, you hideous brute! And everyone will see that you look like a pig because your mother mated with a pig! And that you have the intelligence of a rock! And that you smell of urine and excrement!" Edolie shrieked. And as an after thought, she added, "and your mother taught you manners of a pig!"
She huffed and puffed, her cheeks red with her emotion.
The man turned a dark red, fists clenching. Eleanor shrieked as a thug dragged her forward, throwing her down onto the ground at the giant's feet. He placed his foot on her throat, and Edolie's face drained of color.
“Should I punish her for your little outburst?,” he asked once he had gotten control of his anger. Kay went cold from fear. “I think the Queen can handle a loss of staff”
The other men laughed, and he pressed harder into Eleanor's throat, cutting off her scream. He let up the pressure.
"Edolie, don’t let him hurt me!” Eleanor screamed, her hands tied behind her back.
“No!” Edolie screamed, and Lydia began to scream at him as well.
“I think,” he said loudly over the sisters’ protests, “that you should learn some manners.”
“Please!” she begged, her eyes locked on her little sister.
“Say it," he told her. "Apologize for your rudeness."
"I am sorry I insulted you and your family. I beg your forgiveness!” she cried.
After a few tense moments, which felt like an hour to Edolie, but was merely thirty seconds, he kicked Eleanor away from him. She curled up into a ball, sobbing, and the same thug who brought her forward grabbed her arms and hauled her over his shoulder. “Manners are everything,” he told her.
Edolie swallowed, forcing her bile not to rise in her throat.
“Tie the other girls to the horse,” he said, nodding towards Cordelia. “I’ll bound this one myself,” he said nudging Edolie with his boot.
She flinched and drew away from his boot. She let her head finally droop down to the ground, her neck shaking from holding it up under the heavy net that was on top of her.
The man laughed with no humor in his face.
“My name is Dernhill, but you can call me Dern, darling.” Edolie didn’t even lift her head to acknowledge him. Guilt racked her body for putting her sister in danger. It clawed like a savage beast in her belly, making her vomit on the ground. She spat and whimpered.
Moving off a ways from her, he drew some men to him. “If any one of them are treated dishonorably, I will kill them personally,” he quietly said with a deadly look. They nodded quickly, then hurried away from him. Edolie didn't hear this little exchange.
He returned to her, smiling sickly at her. He bent down and removed the net. She remained impassive. Just before the monster touched her, Edolie leaped to her feet with a warrior cry she had heard the pages use in practice. She lashed out with all of her strength and punched Dern right in the nose. Edolie’s hand throbbed and clutching it to her breast, she pelted away from him, weaving in and among the half-men and regular men. She made a dash for Cordelia to free her sisters when she was tripped to the ground by an archer’s well placed foot. Before she could twist away, the soldier grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back.
“Tricky little wench,” Dernhill said, grabbing her roughly by the arm and hauling her to her feet. He nodded to the man who had tripped her. "Thank you, Cail." He tied her wrists together, and firmly attached the rope to his belt loop. “You really need to work on that left hook,” he said. He reached up and grabbed his nose, grinding it back into place with a sickening crunch. Edolie’s stomach started to revolt, but she swallowed it back. She turned away to hide her face from him, instead focusing on her bindings. They were tied so tight that she could feel her wrists began to chafe. She pulled stubbornly against her ties, crying out when her skin burned from the chafing. She swallowed her tears and held her hands awkwardly away from her so they couldn’t chafe again.
“Lets move out men!” he bellowed with authority. All of the men organized in columns. Two men began to tie Lydia, Eleanor, and Rosaline more firmly to Cordelia’s saddle horn. They were directly behind Cordelia. If she would bolt, she would crush them.
Then a man mounted her. Cordelia began to rear in anger. Edolie saw the danger to her sisters.
No she said to Cordelia. You must remain calm, or you will crush them.
Cordelia settled right away, snorting in anger.
Thank you, my friend.
Two men came up with a big water bag. One man hauled Bridget up while the other poured the water on her face. Bridget woke up, gasping from the cold. The half man unceremoniously threw her over Cordelia’s back, then looped a rope under Cordelia’s belly, tying her hands and feet together so she could not slip off. Bridget’s face looked furious, but she refrained from kicking out in frustration to avoid causing Cordelia pain.
Another man picked up Ariel. She was hoisted up on his broad shoulders and left there like a sack of potatoes. Ariel began to shriek, turning a dark purple. She beat her little fists on his broad back, beginning to gag with terror, but mostly from anger. When Ariel showed her temper, it was like a winter storm that never blew out.
“Evil man,” she ranted. “You can rot in hell!” She screamed all the profanities that she knew, pausing to breathe before she started to insult him in Laital and Samit, the languages they had learned from the stable hands. The men laughed at the unfortunate man holding the screaming girl. One of her ankles whipped out and struck him in the face. He cried out in pain and roughly shook Ariel. She was so surprised that she stopped cursing and began to weep loudly in sputtering gasps.
“Please,” Edolie said desperately to Dernhill. “May she walk with me. She is frightened easily.” Dernhill turned to her. He looked at her face and glanced at Ariel, who had started to wretch, causing her captor to curse and hold her away from him.
“Yes, she may. But only because she is being sick on my second-in-command. Owen, bring that wretch to me,” he called to the furious Faun, as Edolie came to learn they were called. Owen brought Ariel over, cursing as he tried to wipe the vomit from his clothing.
Dernhill roughly picked up the sobbing girl and passed her to Edolie. Awkwardly, she held Ariel against her breast. The bindings made it hard to hold her. Ariel found a comfortable spot on her shoulder and nestled closer, sobbing with exhaustion and anger. Her shoulder was instantly soaked with tears, saliva, and vomit. Dernhill grimaced in disgust and turned away while Edolie murmured comforting words to the child.
“Better go change,” Dernhill told Owen. Owen made a rude gesture toward Dernhill before moving off a ways. The other men laughed, patting him on the shoulder. Owen growled at them, but he grudgingly smiled, being a good sport.
“Alright men. Let’s get moving. It’s going to rain very heavily tonight.”
Edolie looked up at the sky, which did hold threatening clouds despite the sun shining brightly. It was going to be a miserable day. The sun was quickly heating up the air, and sweat was already beading on her upper lip. Since rain was so near as well, it turned muggy very quickly, and there was no comforting breeze. The calm before the storm. They set off quickly into the woods.
Her rope was tugged roughly every few minutes, almost causing her to fall. Edolie stumbled and tripped behind the large man, her arms aching from carrying her sister.
They had traveled deeper and deeper into the forest, and high noon had come and gone, Edolie was sure she would die from exhaustion. She had already dropped Ariel numerous times, and now the little girl was being carried under Dernhill's arm. When she had cried, he had shook her until she had ceased her crying. Now, she was fast asleep, her head bobbing up and down with the man's steps.
Their path was very direct. Dernhill did not attempt to hide their tracks. Edolie felt hope lift in her chest when she saw the crushed underbrush behind the party of men and their captives. From her position, she could just make out Cordelia, but not her sisters.
Not expecting a resting period, Edolie let her thoughts drift in misery, settling on her parents.
Her mother and Father had died in a plague that swept through the kingdom and died out within the week. Ariel was barely a babe when they both died days a day within each other.
Edolie had sat by her mother's side for hours, her father already dead. Edolie remembered her mother's voice, laced with death, as she talked to her throughout that long night. She had told her oldest daughter things about her father, memories of her childhood, and about her own parents and where she grew up.
Close to the time she died, she had whispered to Edolie, "Take care of your sisters. No matter what happens, protect them, my Edolie."
Her voice was fierce with emotion, and then her eyes, the exact shade of Edolie's eyes, closed. Her breath wheezed, and she died. The sickness, known as the Brown Sickness, infected people, and then a day later, they were dead. It was called the Brown Sickness because it turned skin a dusty color brown. The vessels in the eyes also ruptured, and it made the victim's hair fall out.
Edolie let despair fill her up. She had failed her mother. She could not protect them now.
Soon enough though, she was too tired to think. Her mind became a numbing blur, and her eyes stared straight forward, her feet unthinkingly moving her forward. She had no idea where they were going, and she eventually stopped caring. All she cared about was not tripping and the rope pulling painfully on her bloody skin.
The poor girl trudged on, and a stay stick made her trip, but this time she did not try to get up. The pain in her arms made her pass out, and Dernhill stopped his marching, looking down at her thin body in the underbrush. It was already turning dark because of the coming storm, and they only had another half hour to go.
"Cail," he yelled, and the Faun ran up to him.
"Yes, Sir?" he asked, looking down at the unconscious girl at his feet.
Dernhill jerked his thumb at her. "Carry her."
"Yes, Sir," Cail said, picking the girl up in his muscular arms. Fauns are very brawny men, the height of an average horse. He had no problem carry the slight girl.
Bridget too had passed out like her sister, all the blood rushing to her head from hanging upside down. Eleanor was being carried as well by a man, her head resting on his shoulder as she slept from exhaustion. Lydia had her arm around a sagging Rosaline, and they stumbled and tripped as the march through the dense wood continued.
Lydia whispered encouragement to her sister, and they made a game out of what plants they could identify to pass the time.
As the plants grew thinner, Lydia looked ahead and saw the end of the trees suddenly, and a wooden wall that she couldn't see over. The forest continued on around the wall, but there was a twenty foot gap between the wall and the trees. A Faun stood guard at a small gap in the wall, and they all squeezed through it.
Opening her eyes, Edolie gasped. She was laying on a cot in a tent. Canvas stretched over her head, and she could hear the pitter patter of rain drops as it struck the tent and the ground outside. Turning her head, she saw Eleanor's face. She was fast asleep.
With a groan, she sat up, her head spinning. Thankfully, her stomach was empty, and she did not throw up from the head rush.
The tent was rather large, and she saw her sisters sleeping on pallets. There was nothing else in the tent.
"Edolie?" Lydia asked, and she looked at the tent opening. She sat cross-legged, staring at her with concern. Around her ankle was a rope.
Edolie looked at her own ankle and discovered a rope as well.
"We are all connected with the same rope, and the end is tied to the tent poles. We would have to drag the tent and each other to escape, giving them plenty of time to catch us," Lydia explained to her, smiling sadly. "You've been out for awhile. We arrived here yesterday evening."
"That long?" Edolie asked, grimacing. Her hands rubbed her wrists, and she gasped. The skin was smooth. She lifted her dress, looking at her legs. They were smooth and free of the gashes and cuts she had received from tripping and stumbling through the woods. She was sure her muscles should be screaming with pain from the long trek, but there was no ache. She stretched her arms above her head, flexing the muscles in her shoulders. Nothing.
"Rosaline healed me?" she asked, and Lydia nodded. Edolie's stomach let out a huge grumble, and her hands went to the area automatically. She grimaced from the hunger pangs.
"Here," she said, pulling a huge chunk of bread out of her dress pocket. "I saved it for you."
Edolie snatched the bread from her, tearing into it. She hadn't eaten since the scanty breakfast she has consumed at the castle. It was gone too quickly, and she frowned as her stomach rumbled, wanting more.
"Where are we?" Edolie asked, eager to get her mind off her hunger. She was also curious what Lydia had learned while she was unconscious.
Lydia titled her head thoughtfully. "You could say it's a town, but it's very small, only big enough for one actual building. It's surrounded by a wooden wall, and men are stationed around it on guard. The only exit is a small gap that we came in through, and it's guarded night and day. There is also a small corral for their horses, sheep, and pigs. There is also no huts or sleeping quarters. Just tents."
"Who lives here?" Edolie asked her, peering out the opening of the tent. Twenty feet in front of their tent was another row of tents, but it was too dark to make out much.
"The men and Fauns, of course. And their..." She looked at her hands, tears pouring down her faces.
"Their what?" she asked her sister, anxious. She placed her hands on her cheeks, wiping away the tears.
"Wives would be too humane a word," Lydia said softly. She leaned forward, her eyes burning suddenly with hate. "I overheard some of the men talking. They were arguing about which girl they would get for their 'woman'." Edolie went to speak, but Lydia cut her off. "We are to be married to one of Dernhill's thugs by the end of spring. When the twins come of age, they will be married off too, as well as Rosaline and Ariel."
Edolie's eyes opened wider with horror. "No!" she exclaimed.
Lydia nodded, her eyes still angry. "I saw a woman when we entered the fort. She was...breathtaking. And a woman brought us food, and she had an unearthly beauty about her. I think they target beautiful women," she said, and she looked down, stifling a sob. Lydia had always hated her beauty. It had drawn unwanted attention to her from some bad men. One man had even tried to kidnap her and force her to marry him, but Master Marin had saved her and beaten the man to a bloody pulp. She had only been fourteen.
Edolie realized what her sister was thinking, and she gasped and grabbed her hands, shaking them. "Listen to me!" she said, making her sister look into her eyes. "This is not your fault. You had no control over this!"
They were interrupted by a throat clearing itself outside their tent. A Faun stood there, dripping wet. He pushed the flap aside and entered, settling down on his haunches. In his curly hair rooted a pair of small antlers. The tips just brushed the top of the tent.
The girls scrambled away from his, Edolie shielding Lydia from his view.
Their movements bumped Rosaline, and she sat bolt upright, gasping in fright. The whole tent was awake in moments, and Ariel began to cry and shriek. Eleanor was shaking at the very back of the tent, and Bridget protectively drew her into her arms, glaring at the Faun.
The Faun held up his hands in front of him, palms out. "Peace!" he said over Ariel's cries, holding out a bag. "Here is some blankets and shawls for the cold." He held up a another bag, stuffed full. "And there's some fresh bread and water bags in here as well." He placed the bag of blankets by the wall of the tent, but held out the bag of food, waiting. It was silent in the small space save the occasional sniffle from Ariel, who was on Edolie's lap.
Edolie tentatively reached for the bag, but he lifted it just out of your reach. "Names, please," he said good-naturedly. "Introductions are in order. I am Owen, Second in Command."
Edolie let her hand fall, studying him thoughtfully. She pointed at each sister as she said their name. "Lydia, Rosaline, Ariel, Bridget, and Eleanor. We are all sisters. I am the eldest, and my name is Edolie."
"Pleasure," Owen said, holding out the bag of food, which Lydia took, taking out bread and passing it around. Ariel threw her bread down on the ground, crying.
"No! No bread. I don't want no bread!" she said over and over, kicking. She glared at Owen hatefully, and walked up to him and promptly kicked his leg.
"Ariel!" Lydia cried incredulously. She picked up her screaming sister and carried her to the back of the tent, her back facing away from the others.
Owen chuckled, rubbing the spot she had kicked.
"She's got strength, that little one," he told Edolie, who was watching him fearfully. She let out the breath she was holding.
"At least she's allowed to speak her mind," Bridget muttered under her breath, and Owen looked at her, frowning.
"The leader, Dernhill, sent me to tell you something," he told us, and Lydia turned to look at him over her shoulder. Ariel had stopped screaming, her mouth full of the bread Lydia had shoved into her mouth. "He wanted to inform Lydia and Edolie that he will be picking a husband for you both in a few days. You will then move to your husband's tent."
He expected an uproar, but there was silence. Lydia looked away from him, and Edolie's face was blank. Her hands smoothed her dress over and over again. Eleanor's eyes were filled with horror, and Rosaline's mouth was hanging open. When she saw Owen looking at her, her jaw snapped closed with a click. Owen went to stand, wanting to leave them to talk as a family, but a fist hitting the ground made him pause.
Bridget struck the ground again. "You mean they will be slaves!" she yelled loudly, glaring at the Faun. The other girls began to yell as well except for the two oldest. They stared into each other's eyes, holding a silent conversation.
Owen tried to yell above the noise, but it was no use. He crossed his arms and waited, but he suddenly felt a very solid blow to his face. He spluttered, looking up at Bridget, who had leapt to her feet. Her fist was inches from his bloody nose. She pulled it back to hit him again, fury dancing from her eyes like lightening.
"Bridget, no!" Lydia said, lunging forward to hold her arm from striking the Faun again.
"Get off me!" she cried, trying to throw her off. "How can you let them do this to you?" she shrieked, crying miserably. She looked at the Faun edging out of the tent, and she screamed in fury, dragging Lydia with her as she lunged for him. The three fell out of the tent into the mud, yelling and screaming. The others girls gasped and huddled around the opening.
Bridget was furious, and she rained blows down upon the man below her. His hooves flailed about as he tried to stand, but the weight of both the girls was too much for him. They were all covered in mud, and Lydia kept slipping as she tried to get away, screaming at Bridget to stop.
Bridget had just swung her arm back again when a large hand plucked her off Owen. She writhed in the air, her fists trying to reach the person holding her, but he held her off.
Lydia gasped, trying to stand, but she slipped again. Owen had crawled off, so he was able to stand and hauled the muddy girl to her feet.
"What's going on here?" Dernhill roared, shaking Bridget. "You woke the whole camp with your screams!" No one spoke. Owen's pride was damaged from being beaten by a little girl, and both girls were too frightened to speak. "Well?" he roared, letting go of Bridget. She landed with a squishing noise in the mud on her bum. She stayed there, cowering.
"Edolie?" he yelled, and the woman in question jumped.
"Yes, sir?" she squeaked.
"What. Happened. Here." he said slowly, his voice quieter. Rain dripped down his face.
Edolie shook, but she told him what happened. "Owen brought us food. We talked with him, and then he said he had to tell us something. Bridget attacked Owen when he told us about...." she hesitated, tears threatening to spill. She cleared her throat, but no words came out. She flushed, looking down at her lap.
"What?" he snapped, looking at Owen.
"The marriage arrangements, Sir," Owen told him. His arm was still around Lydia, and he quickly dropped it.
Dernhill studied the two of them thoughtfully before turning his attention to the thirteen year old at his feet. She was covered head to toe in mud, and she shivered with cold. Lydia was shivering as well.
"You'll just have to deal with it," he said to Bridget, gripping the back of her dress and hoisting her to her feet. "Plenty of women and children live here, and they are perfectly content. They aren't treated dishonorably, and many are happy with their families and the spouse I chose for them."
"Many, but not all," Edolie said without thinking. Her eyes grew wide at her outburst.
ThaTS ALL i have right now. So, thoughts, critics? let me know your feedback!
By me(the reader)
“Don’t! Don’t!” cried the struggling girl as she wrestled with her dream. Her hands grasped the covers at her neck, and her limbs began to twitch. Her breath came in short bursts, and tears were leaking down her pale face. A light appeared in the pitch black room, eerily illuminating the worn trestle bedside table, the painting of the rose leaping out of the paper as if it were alive. The shadows on the rough stone walls looked as if hands clutched out at the light, eager to snuff it out.
“Edolie, wake up!” a voice called to her desperately.
“No!” she screamed, bolting upright, her panicked eyes scanning the room for demons that were not there.
“It’s alright, you’re fine now,” soothed the voice. A hand came out of the darkness, and Edolie flinched back, but it merely stroked her forehead with a damp cloth.
“Who…” she trailed off when her sister Lydia’s tired face came into focus in the candle’s flickering weak light.
“Are you alright now?” her younger sister questioned her. Her blue eyes scanned her older sister’s face, searching for a sign that she was injured. Edolie knew her search was futile, for she was damaged mentally, not physically.
“I’ll be fine, now that I am awake,” Edolie muttered. She sat up further in bed and put her head in her hands wearily. Her body might by tired, but her mind was racing, awake and pulsing with the images her dream had given her. She saw again the terrible black cloud consume the young maiden’s bodies. Their screams echoed through her head. Her shoulders shook. When she felt a hand on her back, she jumped, and Lydia withdrew the limb quickly.
“Sorry," she muttered, looking down at the thin bedspread wrapped around her legs. She swung her feet out of bed, turning her back to her sister she shared a bed with in their tiny room.
“Lydie, I just want to go back to sleep. I’m tired,” Edolie said shortly, turning her back to hide the small rivers cascading down her face.
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news..." Lydia said, standing up. She went to the window, ripping the grungy curtain aside. Weak daylight flooded the room. Dawn was barely a half hour away, and the morning bell would sound shortly for the servants to awake and attend to the morning chores.
The tired girl groaned, swinging her legs out of bed. The chill air hit her bare legs, and she shivered slightly.
Lydia sat on the edge of the bed, a pair of thin stockings in her feet. Edolie watched her pull them up and over her delicate knees. When she was done, she pulled her over-dress on over her shift, tying the strings tightly. It was a lovely yellow, and it contrasted well with her pale skin and black hair. Her hands began to comb through those raven locks, picking put the snarls. She noticed me watching and smiled, reaching under the small wooden chair in the corner and pulling out her shoes. She sat and laced them onto her feet.
"Are you going to watch me get dressed, or are you going to get up and get moving?" she asked me impatiently, tapping her foot against the uneven stone floor.
Edolie grinned and hopped out of bed, wincing at the cold floor. She grabbed her over dress that was draped over the wooden chair, hurriedly pulling her arms through the holes and lacing up the front. Her dress was a light pink, but the same style as her sister's. All women servants wore the same style of dress.
Lydia crossed her arms, waiting for her to finish lacing her shoes.
"How is my hair, Lydia?" her sister asked, her hands resting on her head. Rolling her eyes, Lydia helped her smooth her long black hair down.
"Now, if you are done wasting out time, I want to eat breakfast!" Lydia said, opening the door quietly.
They tiptoed down the deserted hallway, quietly slipping into the kitchen. the smell of baking bread made Edolie's mouth water, and they sat down at the servants table. The cook, a cheerful man named Gustavo, paid them no mind, pulling out another loaf of bread.
Edolie swallowed her last mouthful of bread and stood. Lydia stood as well. Edolie waved at the baker before slipping out of the door that led to the dirt yard. The servants quarters consisted of three one story buildings. One was for the women, the second for the men, and the third was used for the offices of the Queen's Army. Inside the Women's Quarters was a large common room where families could eat together, as well as where the servants had parties during the holidays on their days off. There was also a small wash room where the laundry was folded and stored. Next to the Army offices was the stables, and besides that was the dog kennels. The whole complex was hidden behind the castle, tucked into the Royal forest. The trees had been cleared away, but there was a thin line of trees hiding it from view.
The servant bell began to ring loudly. Edolie saw the Head house keeper tugging on the rope connected to the large bell, her arms bulging with muscle. No one messed around with Miss Iona. She was tough as nails, and she did not tolerate disobedience or laziness.
"I guess I'm off to fetch the laundry," Lydia told her sister, and she hugged and kissed Edolie goodbye, heading back to the Women's Quarters.
Edolie set off towards the Kennels, arms crossed to keep warm in the early morning air. A flash of white and brown fur was her only warning before she was attacked by a wet tongue.
“Down Trina,” she said gleefully, pushing the sleek dog off. The excited dog bounced and raced around her, her sleek body coiled with energy. Edolie shook her heads. Whippets are just way too hyper.
You smell so gooooooodddd. Yum. Like.. pause bread and hay! Her tongue tried to swipe at her face as she bounded into the air, and the girl laughed, fending her off with her arms.
“I don’t have time. I want to see Cordelia before Master Marin hitches her to the Queen’s carriage.”
Ooooo Trina whined.
“Bye,” she called over her shoulder. Trina whined, ready to follow her, but her attention was distracted when she spotted the cat, Calliope. She took pursuit, barking and wagging her tail.
Edolie smiled. “Dogs,” she said ruefully.
The stables was a short walk, so she reached it in record time. She didn't much time before the Kennel director, Miles, would start to look for her. When she entered the stables, several drowsy hellos were thrown her way.
Hello helllllloooo called the plough horse Jock.
“Hello everyone,” she called.
Edolie! exclaimed a pretty white mare. Her coat shone in the light thrown by the early sun rays peeking through the stall window.
“Hello and good morning, dear one,” she murmured, scratching the splotch of black above her left ear. Cordelia pushed her forehead into Edolie's chest, and her arms came around the horse's neck, hugging her and whispering endearments to the mare.
“Edolie?” a human voice called out.
“Coming.” She regretfully stepped away from her favorite and most dear to her heart horse.
She walked towards the voice and spotted Master Marin’s back bent over something in his lap. His graying hair was tangled, and he looked like he had just awoken, based on the fact that he still wore his night shirt. She craned her neck further and identified a halter that's strap was broken.
“I need you to take the horses out for a jog. Probably five of them, including Cordelia.” He did not look up from his task. Edolie laughed loudly and hugged him around his middle, a large grin on her face. Once a month, Master Marin allowed her and her sisters to ride five horses to the Queen’s meadow, where the Queen's precious wildflowers grew. They took a month to wilt, and Marin knew how much she loved the horses, so he let her and her younger sister's collect the flowers for the Queen.
“Now, now,” he said gruffly, patting her head.
“Thank you, Sir!” she squealed.
“Make sure you take your sisters with you!” he called to her retreating form. He chucked and returned to his mending.
The ecstatic girl ran through the Woman's Quarters. She ran to the laundry room, curtseying to the Laundry Mistress. The huge woman went back to looking over a young girl's shoulder, instructing her how to sew a straight and even stitch in the dress she was sewing. Edolie looked around the cramped room full of women servants, trying to spot her sisters.
Bridget looked up from the shirt she was mending. She saw Edolie in the door, and she nudged the girl next to her. She was her identical twin sister, Eleanor. Eleanor looked at her questionably, and she nodded to the door. Eleanor's face turned white, for she knew what day it must be, but Bridget was thrilled. She placed her mending down and spoke to the Laundry Mistress, murmuring quietly. The lady waved her off with a hand, and Bridget skipped back to Eleanor, a huge grin on her face. Bridget nudged Lydia with her foot as she passed her. She saw Edolie twitching in the doorway, grinning hugely. After packing up their things, the sisters exited the room, closing the door softly behind them.
"Come on!" Edolie said, dragging on Eleanor's arm, who was looking at the door they just closed longingly. Eleanor hated horses.
"We'll meet you at the stables, Edolie," Lydia said, grinning at the pouting Eleanor. "You go get Ariel. Lana told me before going to the children's room that she was crying in a corner by herself.
Edolie frowned to herself, her sister's voices growing dimmer as she moved towards the children's room. Ariel was a very shy little girl, and all the sisters worried about her now that she slept with the other children.
She strode down the hall, stopping at the last door on the right. She knocked, and a rush a sounds hit her ears as she opened it. Children's screams and squeals resounded about the large bright room as Edolie searched it for her youngest sister, Ariel. She found her sitting on the ground playing with a ragged doll. Her back was turned away from the rest of the children, her shoulders hunched. Edolie felt a pang at seeing her like that. She wished she could have her with her all the time, but working with the horses and dogs could be dangerous, and she would get in the way.
Edolie snuck up behind her. She waited, and then swooped down, tickling her ribs, causing the little girl to squeal loudly. She scooped her off the floor, showering her face with kisses.
"Eddy!" Ariel cried happily, kissing her on the cheek. Edolie walked out the room with her, waving at the two women that were on child watch duty that day.
"Where we going?" Ariel asked her sister, putting her head on her shoulder.
"We're going for a horse ride," Edolie told her, and the little girl let out a whoop, wiggling. Edolie set her on her feet and took her hand. The child began to laugh and skip as they stepped outside. She was relieved her youngest sister was not sad anymore, although she was always happy when she was with her sisters.
"Horsie, horsie, horsie, horsie, horsie!" the happy girl chanted, clapping her hands. Edolie felt a warmth seeping her heart listening to her. And she couldn't help but feel the excitement tingle in her veins about their upcoming afternoon ride.
It had taken her years to gain Master Marin's approval of her knowledge of horses. Only after she knew everything, from saddles and reigns, to health issues and remedies, did he allow her to ride a horse. It had taken several weeks, but she had mastered it, and she had begged the stable master to teach her sisters as well. Now, all of them were exceptional riders, although Eleanor loathed it.
The girls were very privileged. Not many servants had ever touched a horse, let alone ridden one.
Five minutes later, all of the sisters were in the stables, ready for the ride to the meadow. In the time it took her sisters to saddle the horses, Edolie handed off Ariel to Lydia and began to ready Cordelia. She made sure all the saddles were properly harnessed, and each saddle bag held a sack for the flowers.
As the eldest, and most practiced with the horses, the other girls asked her for help as they brought their horses out of their stalls. Edolie was eighteen years old, and many of the older servants were griping at her to get married, although she had no interest in any of the men servants. Her hair was midnight black, and her skin was white as snow. She had very odd green eyes that seemed to glow. She was a sturdy five foot seven.
Lydia was the second oldest, and the most beautiful. All the girls were stunning in their own ways, but Lydia was the most striking. She had the perfect figure every girl dreamed of, and at seventeen, she had rounded out in all the right areas for a lady. Her hair was the a shade lighter than Kay’s, and her eyes were a soft blue, like the sky after a rain storm. She had dainty hands, dainty feet, and her face was so soft that any man’s heart melted when he saw that vulnerable face. She walked over to her favorite mount, Chester.
“Hello, good sir,” she said gaily, sweeping into an elaborate bow.
“He says hello back,” Edolie told her.
Lydia kissed him on the nose, rubbing him between his ears.
"Eddy, think fast!” Bridget screeched, hurtling a large bundle of hay at her face. Kay caught the hay bomb and lodged it back.
Bridget was the eldest of the thirteen year old twins. They both had dark brown hair, but Bridget’s was curly, while Eleanor’s was straight. Bridget enjoyed fencing, dueling, and making up bawdy jokes while Eleanor was timid and shy, prone to quiet fits of tears when she was teased, and often times hiding for ages. Even though they were exact opposites, they were inseparable. They were never apart, and when Eleanor ran off, Bridget would always be able to find her and coax her back into a good mood.
“I don’t want to ride. I would much rather stay here and…. bake with Gustav," she said, her hands shaking as she finished saddling her mount.
“Oh Eleanor, lighten up. The horses wont bite. Edolie taught them manners,” Rosaline said, striding into the stables. "Gustav said you were all going for a ride."
Rosaline was the second to last of the sisters, ten years old. She also had midnight black hair, but she had wild curls. Her silver eyes were a bit unnerving, but she also had a very large secret. She had the art of Healing, which was a very rare gift. While Edolie had the art of Speech with animals, Rosaline specialized in healing people from scrapes, burns, and several other things. She only practiced on the sisters though, because magic was something that was considered dark and evil.
The youngest of the sisters was the five year old Ariel. She was very quiet, and she almost never talked to anyone but her sisters. All the other servants called her ‘Mute Girl’ because they had never heard her speak. Her hair was a very dark red, the same shade of their deceased mother, but her hair was bushy. She had freckles, and her eyes were a stormy green quite like Edolie’s eyes.
“Ok, mount up,” Edolie ordered. She placed her foot in the stirrup, hauling herself on the horse side-saddled.
Lydia passed Ariel up to her, and the little girl could barely contain her excitement. She laughed when Cordelia snorted.
“Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,” Eleanor muttered under her breath. She was mounted on Cordelia’s brother Fate. The black stallion pranced, and Edolie cursed under her breath for letting Eleanor choose that mount.
Edolie reached for his mind, gripping it with her power to talk to him through her thoughts.
Behave she murmured to the fidgety stallion. He stopped, blowing air out of his nostrils impatiently.
But I want to RUN! I want to feel the dirt under my hoofs, the wind in my mane! Hurry! he squealed, starting to fidget a bit.
“Ah,” Eleanor exclaimed when Fate snorted and pawed his hoof into the dirt, eager to be off, expressing his obvious impatience.
“Scardey cat!” Rosaline told her, laughing atop a sand colored mare.
“Let’s go!" Bridget exclaimed, leading her horse out of the stables. Master Marin waved at them as they headed out.
“I am not a scardey cat!” Eleanor yelled at her sister's back. I pulled up beside her, holding onto Fate's reigns to keep him from launching himself down the forest path.
“Woo,” Edolie let out a gleeful laugh as she urged Cordelia faster. Eleanor clung to Fate's mane, glaring reproachfully at her sister.
They galloped down the dirt path leading to the Queen’s meadow, streaking past women carrying buckets of water and dripping wet laundry.
“Race ‘ya,” Bridget called to Lydia.
“You’re on!” Lydia retorted back, urging her mount, Sunshine, on.
They disappeared in a plume of dust.
“Beautiful day,” Rosaline said calmly, enjoying the fresh air and warm wind upon her face.
"You're doing great, Ell," Edolie murmured to the silent girl, who shot her a weak smile before returning her eyes back to the ground.
The path they were on went further into the Royal Forest. The morning sun filtered through the trees.
When they arrived at the Queen’s meadow, Kay dismounted gracefully and placed Ariel gently on her feet. Lydia was crouched to the ground, picking flowers and placing them in her bag, while Bridget had a stick in her hand, sword fighting with an imaginary enemy. The other girls dismounted, letting their mounts wander in the meadow. The horses were perfectly content to graze around the clearing.
Edolie pulled off the bags meant to collect the flowers and sent Cordelia on her way. She sat down, surrounded by beautiful flowers, breathing deeply. She watched as Ariel sat down beside her, plucking up flowers and placing them in my bag.
Edolie treasured these days when she could simply sit and enjoy the scenery and being with her sisters. They didn't get to do that often enough these days. Spring time was always the busiest time for chores in the castle.
The day was clear, and the birds were sweetly singing their spring melodies. She heard the gurgle of a nearby stream, and if she listened carefully, she could detect a light buzzing coming from a bee. Five feet to her left, Cordelia was contentedly grazing. Edolie let all her flustered thoughts escape out of her mind. She placed the bag for collecting the Queen's flowers by her side. Her eye lids grew heavy, and she lay down on her back, looking up at the clouds. Ariel watched her before pillowing her head on Edolie's stomach, falling fast asleep. Her hand came up to stroke her red hair softly. Her eyelids fluttered. She finally gave in, closing her eyes.
Edolie hummed to herself as she sadly watched the other women talk and socialize among themselves, completely ignoring her. She had just finished wringing out a shirt when a dark cloud settled in the sky. It began to rain, and the numerous girls assigned to washing began to clean up, dragging clothes out of the water and placing them into the waterproof baskets. Two girls, Flora and Nerissa continued to wring out their clothing, hurrying to finish up and help pack up.
A loud boom of thunder split the quiet clearing, and several girls shrieked and began to walk towards the dirt path leading to the castle, baskets of wash in their hands.. Suddenly, a large shape started to descend from the sky. Edolie shaded her hand uselessly to see the shape better. The writhing mass above her twisted and coiled, and then it began to take shape. A large black hand began to form and large claws extended as if to snatch the very life from the air. Edolie dropped her basket of laundry, her eyes wide with horror. The other women had noticed as well, and several girls stood still, dumbstruck at the black cloud above their heads.
“Run!” shrieked Berta, a girl that she barely talked to.. The other girls snapped their heads back to the ground, and they bolted for the path leading to the castle. Edolie ran with them, the basket of laundry forgotten.. Her legs pumped and her lungs wheezed. She dared to glance back, and what she saw left her horrified.
The hand had lowered so it hovered just above the path. Its dark form cackled with lightening, and it snatched anything in its path, which happened to be the fleeing women. Flora, who had fallen behind, let out a blood curdling scream as it grabbed her legs and tossed her about like a cat playing with a dead mouse. The hand then squeezed her, and Flora's screams were cut off with a sickening crunch.
The other women began to scream, but it didn’t cover the sound of crunching bones. Dark red liquid poured on them as they all fled, the hand staying over them like a menacing cloud. When a severed hand hit Kay in the back of the head, tears began to pour, her legs pumping to catch up with the other girls.
The hand began to snatch more girls. The air was rich with red blood and severed body parts. When the castle came into view, Kay looked back and saw the bloody grass and torsos from the unlucky girls. One girl was left besides Kay, and Kay reached the kitchen door just as the hand snatched the girl up. Her scream vibrated in her skull as she huddled in the doorway and watched the black hand crush the girl’s skull, her body hanging limply. Kay pounded on the doorway, her shoulders heaving.
"Let me in! Please," she cried desperately. She dared not turn around, for she heard the sound of the poor girl's mangled body hit the ground.
Edolie suddenly heard a large sucking sound. On instinct, she turned with tears streaming down her face, cradling her aching hands where she had pounded on the door. The hand was convulsing, black mists swirling as it turned into the shape of a man. It had a long black cloak on, and its eyes were spots of red. The rain flew away from him, as if it were afraid to touch the evilness of him. Kay sensed his malevolence rolling off him with a sickening stench. Her stomach clenched when she saw him crush Nerissa’s skull under the heel of his boot.
“Edolie,,” it croaked softly. It began to walk towards her, a long black sword materializing from thin air, resting in his hands.
“Stay away!" she said weakly, looking for a weapon. She found none.
“Edolie…” it groaned. “Come meet your destiny…”
The sword arched in the air, taunting her as it swung ever so slowly towards her shivering form. She closed her eyes, awaiting the cut of the sword upon her head.
“EDOLIE!”
Edolie jolted awake. She looked up and saw Cordelia’s head above her own.
Are you alright?
“Bad dream.” She sat up and looked around her. Her sisters were still frolicking around, and Ariel was still asleep on her.
Well, if you’re sure, the horse said hesitantly. I don’t want to bother you, she continued but I don’t like the quiet. The birds have stopped singing, and I cant hear any voices from the path. Something is wrong. Her ears were flattened to her skull.
Edolie frowned. She tried to sense some form of animal life, but they were all hiding in their burrows and trees, too afraid to respond to her probing.
“Odd,” she said, standing up. Ariel murmured to herself, sitting up and rubbing her eyes sleepily. Edolie frowned when again she called to the nearest animal, a Palmeesian Squirrel. She caught his surface thoughts, rather alarmed.
Hide hide hide the squirrel chanted to itself, burrowing into a tighter ball in its tree.
She scanned the surrounding forest, her senses on high alert. She suddenly felt very vulnerable, and her heart began to pound.
Several things happened at once. She heard a large crash from the underbrush, followed very quickly by several screams from her sisters. Edolie jumped to her feet, pushing Ariel behind her.
Edolie turned sharply in the direction of the noise, and she spotted something. Standing in the clearing a little ways from the forest was a very large man. He was at least eight feet tall, and his upper body was bare. He had a long ponytail and he had studded, leather boots on his large feet. In his hands was a weird, long bow and poking from behind his back were homemade fletched arrows. She also detected a knife crease on his thigh, just like some soldiers carried, and there was a vicious looking blade on his hip. His trousers were a dark color, too worn to really have a distinct color, that was held up by a piece of rope. Edolie’s heart tripled its beating rhythm, her palms sweaty. She strained her eyes and she glimpsed a glistening scar running across his chest, right over his heart. Her feet told her to move, but something moving below the monster paralyzed her with dread and fear when her eyes landed on it.
At his feet, cowering in fear, was Eleanor. She had her hands over her face, and even from thirty feet away, Edolie could tell she was weeping. She felt like screaming, but her mouth and lungs seemed to have failed, shriveling like an old prune. Her instinct to protect her sister bit at her in the helpless situation. She could never get to her sister in time... and he was huge!
The giant leaned forward and grabbed Eleanor’s hair. Eleanor screamed in terror, lashing out viciously with her fists. Edolie looked around desperately. Lydia and Rosaline were holding Bridget’s arms, both of them straining to contain her. Rosaline hit Bridget sharply on the cheek. This shocked her enough to stop struggling, but her two sisters continued to hold her arms, probably for strength and support from each other. Ariel huddled behind me, crying in desperate sobs, her whole body shaking when I turned to check on her.
"Edolie!" Lydia shrieked, pointing behind herself.
Edolie looked and gasped. Coming out of the forest were green clad… things. They had the upper bodies of men, but their lower half was a stag. They each had a strung bow and arrow aimed at each girl in the clearing. Several regular men came out behind them, holding an assortment of bows and swords. One man even held a crossbow.
"Edolie!” Lydia cried out again, her face white. Bridget growled as she spotted the archers in the trees.
A high pitch scream issued from Eleanor. The man had leaned down to pick her up, his hands gripping her arms.
“Help! Help me, someone! Edolie!” Eleanor began to bite and kick the large man.
“Oh, no you don’t, you bastard!” Kay leaned down and picked up a rock the size of her fist, running forward. She flung it at the man, and it bounced off his knee harmlessly. She ran back to Ariel, picking her up. She ran to her sisters and dropped Ariel, picking up another stone.
She flung with all her might, and it struck him on his broad chest. The other sister began to hurl stones and sticks, anything they could get their hands on, screaming all the while. An arrow whizzed, standing straight up an inch from Edolie's feet. Lydia grabbed Ariel to her, whimpering. I dropped the rock in my hand, shaking.
“Ha, ha, ha, ha,” the man laughed, dropping Eleanor in a heap at his feet.
She tried to crawl away, but his foot came down on her stomach, holding her to the ground.
“Ahhrgg!” she screeched, beating his leg. When her fist came in contact with his boot, she cradled her hand and screamed, having connected with a metal stud.
Edolie was proud of her normally timid sister’s spirit. “Hold on, Ellie. I’ll save you!” Edolie fidgeted in frustration, her eyes looking around the clearing for a break in the men surrounding them. There was none. Her mind stretched out to the animals around them, but found only the same squirrel and a family of rabbits. All other larger animals had vanished. The squirrel wanted to help her, it told her, but what could a squirrel do?
What could a squirrel do, indeed, Edolie thought with a sigh.
“Ha, ha, ha, ha,” the man laughed again. “And how do you plan on saving your fellow servant. You are surrounded. One false move, and you die.” To someone waiting behind him in the woods, he said, "Get the rope and start to tie them up."
“Coward!” Edolie charged, waving her arms and baring her teeth, forgetting completely about the archers in her rage. She saw the man pick something up from the ground at his feet before a dark mass flew up to meet her, and she was struck, causing her to crumple to the ground. She whimpered, trying to lift the heavy woven material off of her. It was weighted with metal, and she was having problems getting air into her compressed lungs. She also had a hard time focusing, as something hard had struck her forehead. Her vision was sprinkled with stars, and she struggled staying conscious.
The giant strolled over to her, dragging Eleanor with him. Eleanor struggled in vain, finally ceasing her efforts when she began to tire. She was gasping for breath and her eyes were riveted on her older sister. She shrunk upon herself, and Edolie shook her head. It seemed to help with her dizziness.
“I caught a pretty little fishy,” he said with a casual drawl. Edolie shuttered at his velvety voice. The other men laughed, and they started to close in, pushing Lydia, Bridget, Rosaline and Ariel closer to the giant and Edolie. Cordelia whinnied loudly, staining against a rope they had flung around her neck.
Two men were fighting to keep Bridget under control until one of them punched her on the side of her head. She dropped like a stone, the half-men supporting her on both sides. Edolie viewed all of this through the holes in the net. She looked for animals for help yet again, but none were there. Her sister’s mounts must have fled to the palace.
Another six men struggled to hold Cordelia in place. One man took a whip out of his belt and struck her. A small stream slipped down the horse's neck.
Be still Cordelia Edolie pleaded. They will whip you even more!
Cordelia snorted in amusement. They, hurt me? I, who am from the most noble of bloodlines. I think not.
Please, I need you. An arrow through your heart will not help us escape.
I understand, Edolie. I will try to help you escape to the best of my ability. I will wait for your signal. Cordelia snorted and began to graze indifferently. The men holding her clung onto her reins as if she would rear again. She bared her teeth at him and he flinched back in terror. Imbecile Cordelia muttered, returning to the grass.
Edolie would have laughed in a different setting, but she remained quiet.
“Your name, girl?” the giant questioned. Kay realized he must be the leader of this pack of thieves. And he had addressed her.
“I am Edolie, a servant at Blackthorn Castle.”
“Are you now?” he drawled out, raising an eyebrow. He passed a shrieking Eleanor to one of his thugs, grinning down at her. Edolie’s anger built at the look on his face. She clenched her fists, the calluses on her hands stretching painfully. She struggled to a more dignified position, but subsided to a half crouch to spit her fury at him.
“That is correct. And I will let you know that Master Marin will hunt you down and cut your livers out, and then he will string you up and let you dry, you hideous brute! And everyone will see that you look like a pig because your mother mated with a pig! And that you have the intelligence of a rock! And that you smell of urine and excrement!" Edolie shrieked. And as an after thought, she added, "and your mother taught you manners of a pig!"
She huffed and puffed, her cheeks red with her emotion.
The man turned a dark red, fists clenching. Eleanor shrieked as a thug dragged her forward, throwing her down onto the ground at the giant's feet. He placed his foot on her throat, and Edolie's face drained of color.
“Should I punish her for your little outburst?,” he asked once he had gotten control of his anger. Kay went cold from fear. “I think the Queen can handle a loss of staff”
The other men laughed, and he pressed harder into Eleanor's throat, cutting off her scream. He let up the pressure.
"Edolie, don’t let him hurt me!” Eleanor screamed, her hands tied behind her back.
“No!” Edolie screamed, and Lydia began to scream at him as well.
“I think,” he said loudly over the sisters’ protests, “that you should learn some manners.”
“Please!” she begged, her eyes locked on her little sister.
“Say it," he told her. "Apologize for your rudeness."
"I am sorry I insulted you and your family. I beg your forgiveness!” she cried.
After a few tense moments, which felt like an hour to Edolie, but was merely thirty seconds, he kicked Eleanor away from him. She curled up into a ball, sobbing, and the same thug who brought her forward grabbed her arms and hauled her over his shoulder. “Manners are everything,” he told her.
Edolie swallowed, forcing her bile not to rise in her throat.
“Tie the other girls to the horse,” he said, nodding towards Cordelia. “I’ll bound this one myself,” he said nudging Edolie with his boot.
She flinched and drew away from his boot. She let her head finally droop down to the ground, her neck shaking from holding it up under the heavy net that was on top of her.
The man laughed with no humor in his face.
“My name is Dernhill, but you can call me Dern, darling.” Edolie didn’t even lift her head to acknowledge him. Guilt racked her body for putting her sister in danger. It clawed like a savage beast in her belly, making her vomit on the ground. She spat and whimpered.
Moving off a ways from her, he drew some men to him. “If any one of them are treated dishonorably, I will kill them personally,” he quietly said with a deadly look. They nodded quickly, then hurried away from him. Edolie didn't hear this little exchange.
He returned to her, smiling sickly at her. He bent down and removed the net. She remained impassive. Just before the monster touched her, Edolie leaped to her feet with a warrior cry she had heard the pages use in practice. She lashed out with all of her strength and punched Dern right in the nose. Edolie’s hand throbbed and clutching it to her breast, she pelted away from him, weaving in and among the half-men and regular men. She made a dash for Cordelia to free her sisters when she was tripped to the ground by an archer’s well placed foot. Before she could twist away, the soldier grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back.
“Tricky little wench,” Dernhill said, grabbing her roughly by the arm and hauling her to her feet. He nodded to the man who had tripped her. "Thank you, Cail." He tied her wrists together, and firmly attached the rope to his belt loop. “You really need to work on that left hook,” he said. He reached up and grabbed his nose, grinding it back into place with a sickening crunch. Edolie’s stomach started to revolt, but she swallowed it back. She turned away to hide her face from him, instead focusing on her bindings. They were tied so tight that she could feel her wrists began to chafe. She pulled stubbornly against her ties, crying out when her skin burned from the chafing. She swallowed her tears and held her hands awkwardly away from her so they couldn’t chafe again.
“Lets move out men!” he bellowed with authority. All of the men organized in columns. Two men began to tie Lydia, Eleanor, and Rosaline more firmly to Cordelia’s saddle horn. They were directly behind Cordelia. If she would bolt, she would crush them.
Then a man mounted her. Cordelia began to rear in anger. Edolie saw the danger to her sisters.
No she said to Cordelia. You must remain calm, or you will crush them.
Cordelia settled right away, snorting in anger.
Thank you, my friend.
Two men came up with a big water bag. One man hauled Bridget up while the other poured the water on her face. Bridget woke up, gasping from the cold. The half man unceremoniously threw her over Cordelia’s back, then looped a rope under Cordelia’s belly, tying her hands and feet together so she could not slip off. Bridget’s face looked furious, but she refrained from kicking out in frustration to avoid causing Cordelia pain.
Another man picked up Ariel. She was hoisted up on his broad shoulders and left there like a sack of potatoes. Ariel began to shriek, turning a dark purple. She beat her little fists on his broad back, beginning to gag with terror, but mostly from anger. When Ariel showed her temper, it was like a winter storm that never blew out.
“Evil man,” she ranted. “You can rot in hell!” She screamed all the profanities that she knew, pausing to breathe before she started to insult him in Laital and Samit, the languages they had learned from the stable hands. The men laughed at the unfortunate man holding the screaming girl. One of her ankles whipped out and struck him in the face. He cried out in pain and roughly shook Ariel. She was so surprised that she stopped cursing and began to weep loudly in sputtering gasps.
“Please,” Edolie said desperately to Dernhill. “May she walk with me. She is frightened easily.” Dernhill turned to her. He looked at her face and glanced at Ariel, who had started to wretch, causing her captor to curse and hold her away from him.
“Yes, she may. But only because she is being sick on my second-in-command. Owen, bring that wretch to me,” he called to the furious Faun, as Edolie came to learn they were called. Owen brought Ariel over, cursing as he tried to wipe the vomit from his clothing.
Dernhill roughly picked up the sobbing girl and passed her to Edolie. Awkwardly, she held Ariel against her breast. The bindings made it hard to hold her. Ariel found a comfortable spot on her shoulder and nestled closer, sobbing with exhaustion and anger. Her shoulder was instantly soaked with tears, saliva, and vomit. Dernhill grimaced in disgust and turned away while Edolie murmured comforting words to the child.
“Better go change,” Dernhill told Owen. Owen made a rude gesture toward Dernhill before moving off a ways. The other men laughed, patting him on the shoulder. Owen growled at them, but he grudgingly smiled, being a good sport.
“Alright men. Let’s get moving. It’s going to rain very heavily tonight.”
Edolie looked up at the sky, which did hold threatening clouds despite the sun shining brightly. It was going to be a miserable day. The sun was quickly heating up the air, and sweat was already beading on her upper lip. Since rain was so near as well, it turned muggy very quickly, and there was no comforting breeze. The calm before the storm. They set off quickly into the woods.
Her rope was tugged roughly every few minutes, almost causing her to fall. Edolie stumbled and tripped behind the large man, her arms aching from carrying her sister.
They had traveled deeper and deeper into the forest, and high noon had come and gone, Edolie was sure she would die from exhaustion. She had already dropped Ariel numerous times, and now the little girl was being carried under Dernhill's arm. When she had cried, he had shook her until she had ceased her crying. Now, she was fast asleep, her head bobbing up and down with the man's steps.
Their path was very direct. Dernhill did not attempt to hide their tracks. Edolie felt hope lift in her chest when she saw the crushed underbrush behind the party of men and their captives. From her position, she could just make out Cordelia, but not her sisters.
Not expecting a resting period, Edolie let her thoughts drift in misery, settling on her parents.
Her mother and Father had died in a plague that swept through the kingdom and died out within the week. Ariel was barely a babe when they both died days a day within each other.
Edolie had sat by her mother's side for hours, her father already dead. Edolie remembered her mother's voice, laced with death, as she talked to her throughout that long night. She had told her oldest daughter things about her father, memories of her childhood, and about her own parents and where she grew up.
Close to the time she died, she had whispered to Edolie, "Take care of your sisters. No matter what happens, protect them, my Edolie."
Her voice was fierce with emotion, and then her eyes, the exact shade of Edolie's eyes, closed. Her breath wheezed, and she died. The sickness, known as the Brown Sickness, infected people, and then a day later, they were dead. It was called the Brown Sickness because it turned skin a dusty color brown. The vessels in the eyes also ruptured, and it made the victim's hair fall out.
Edolie let despair fill her up. She had failed her mother. She could not protect them now.
Soon enough though, she was too tired to think. Her mind became a numbing blur, and her eyes stared straight forward, her feet unthinkingly moving her forward. She had no idea where they were going, and she eventually stopped caring. All she cared about was not tripping and the rope pulling painfully on her bloody skin.
The poor girl trudged on, and a stay stick made her trip, but this time she did not try to get up. The pain in her arms made her pass out, and Dernhill stopped his marching, looking down at her thin body in the underbrush. It was already turning dark because of the coming storm, and they only had another half hour to go.
"Cail," he yelled, and the Faun ran up to him.
"Yes, Sir?" he asked, looking down at the unconscious girl at his feet.
Dernhill jerked his thumb at her. "Carry her."
"Yes, Sir," Cail said, picking the girl up in his muscular arms. Fauns are very brawny men, the height of an average horse. He had no problem carry the slight girl.
Bridget too had passed out like her sister, all the blood rushing to her head from hanging upside down. Eleanor was being carried as well by a man, her head resting on his shoulder as she slept from exhaustion. Lydia had her arm around a sagging Rosaline, and they stumbled and tripped as the march through the dense wood continued.
Lydia whispered encouragement to her sister, and they made a game out of what plants they could identify to pass the time.
As the plants grew thinner, Lydia looked ahead and saw the end of the trees suddenly, and a wooden wall that she couldn't see over. The forest continued on around the wall, but there was a twenty foot gap between the wall and the trees. A Faun stood guard at a small gap in the wall, and they all squeezed through it.
Opening her eyes, Edolie gasped. She was laying on a cot in a tent. Canvas stretched over her head, and she could hear the pitter patter of rain drops as it struck the tent and the ground outside. Turning her head, she saw Eleanor's face. She was fast asleep.
With a groan, she sat up, her head spinning. Thankfully, her stomach was empty, and she did not throw up from the head rush.
The tent was rather large, and she saw her sisters sleeping on pallets. There was nothing else in the tent.
"Edolie?" Lydia asked, and she looked at the tent opening. She sat cross-legged, staring at her with concern. Around her ankle was a rope.
Edolie looked at her own ankle and discovered a rope as well.
"We are all connected with the same rope, and the end is tied to the tent poles. We would have to drag the tent and each other to escape, giving them plenty of time to catch us," Lydia explained to her, smiling sadly. "You've been out for awhile. We arrived here yesterday evening."
"That long?" Edolie asked, grimacing. Her hands rubbed her wrists, and she gasped. The skin was smooth. She lifted her dress, looking at her legs. They were smooth and free of the gashes and cuts she had received from tripping and stumbling through the woods. She was sure her muscles should be screaming with pain from the long trek, but there was no ache. She stretched her arms above her head, flexing the muscles in her shoulders. Nothing.
"Rosaline healed me?" she asked, and Lydia nodded. Edolie's stomach let out a huge grumble, and her hands went to the area automatically. She grimaced from the hunger pangs.
"Here," she said, pulling a huge chunk of bread out of her dress pocket. "I saved it for you."
Edolie snatched the bread from her, tearing into it. She hadn't eaten since the scanty breakfast she has consumed at the castle. It was gone too quickly, and she frowned as her stomach rumbled, wanting more.
"Where are we?" Edolie asked, eager to get her mind off her hunger. She was also curious what Lydia had learned while she was unconscious.
Lydia titled her head thoughtfully. "You could say it's a town, but it's very small, only big enough for one actual building. It's surrounded by a wooden wall, and men are stationed around it on guard. The only exit is a small gap that we came in through, and it's guarded night and day. There is also a small corral for their horses, sheep, and pigs. There is also no huts or sleeping quarters. Just tents."
"Who lives here?" Edolie asked her, peering out the opening of the tent. Twenty feet in front of their tent was another row of tents, but it was too dark to make out much.
"The men and Fauns, of course. And their..." She looked at her hands, tears pouring down her faces.
"Their what?" she asked her sister, anxious. She placed her hands on her cheeks, wiping away the tears.
"Wives would be too humane a word," Lydia said softly. She leaned forward, her eyes burning suddenly with hate. "I overheard some of the men talking. They were arguing about which girl they would get for their 'woman'." Edolie went to speak, but Lydia cut her off. "We are to be married to one of Dernhill's thugs by the end of spring. When the twins come of age, they will be married off too, as well as Rosaline and Ariel."
Edolie's eyes opened wider with horror. "No!" she exclaimed.
Lydia nodded, her eyes still angry. "I saw a woman when we entered the fort. She was...breathtaking. And a woman brought us food, and she had an unearthly beauty about her. I think they target beautiful women," she said, and she looked down, stifling a sob. Lydia had always hated her beauty. It had drawn unwanted attention to her from some bad men. One man had even tried to kidnap her and force her to marry him, but Master Marin had saved her and beaten the man to a bloody pulp. She had only been fourteen.
Edolie realized what her sister was thinking, and she gasped and grabbed her hands, shaking them. "Listen to me!" she said, making her sister look into her eyes. "This is not your fault. You had no control over this!"
They were interrupted by a throat clearing itself outside their tent. A Faun stood there, dripping wet. He pushed the flap aside and entered, settling down on his haunches. In his curly hair rooted a pair of small antlers. The tips just brushed the top of the tent.
The girls scrambled away from his, Edolie shielding Lydia from his view.
Their movements bumped Rosaline, and she sat bolt upright, gasping in fright. The whole tent was awake in moments, and Ariel began to cry and shriek. Eleanor was shaking at the very back of the tent, and Bridget protectively drew her into her arms, glaring at the Faun.
The Faun held up his hands in front of him, palms out. "Peace!" he said over Ariel's cries, holding out a bag. "Here is some blankets and shawls for the cold." He held up a another bag, stuffed full. "And there's some fresh bread and water bags in here as well." He placed the bag of blankets by the wall of the tent, but held out the bag of food, waiting. It was silent in the small space save the occasional sniffle from Ariel, who was on Edolie's lap.
Edolie tentatively reached for the bag, but he lifted it just out of your reach. "Names, please," he said good-naturedly. "Introductions are in order. I am Owen, Second in Command."
Edolie let her hand fall, studying him thoughtfully. She pointed at each sister as she said their name. "Lydia, Rosaline, Ariel, Bridget, and Eleanor. We are all sisters. I am the eldest, and my name is Edolie."
"Pleasure," Owen said, holding out the bag of food, which Lydia took, taking out bread and passing it around. Ariel threw her bread down on the ground, crying.
"No! No bread. I don't want no bread!" she said over and over, kicking. She glared at Owen hatefully, and walked up to him and promptly kicked his leg.
"Ariel!" Lydia cried incredulously. She picked up her screaming sister and carried her to the back of the tent, her back facing away from the others.
Owen chuckled, rubbing the spot she had kicked.
"She's got strength, that little one," he told Edolie, who was watching him fearfully. She let out the breath she was holding.
"At least she's allowed to speak her mind," Bridget muttered under her breath, and Owen looked at her, frowning.
"The leader, Dernhill, sent me to tell you something," he told us, and Lydia turned to look at him over her shoulder. Ariel had stopped screaming, her mouth full of the bread Lydia had shoved into her mouth. "He wanted to inform Lydia and Edolie that he will be picking a husband for you both in a few days. You will then move to your husband's tent."
He expected an uproar, but there was silence. Lydia looked away from him, and Edolie's face was blank. Her hands smoothed her dress over and over again. Eleanor's eyes were filled with horror, and Rosaline's mouth was hanging open. When she saw Owen looking at her, her jaw snapped closed with a click. Owen went to stand, wanting to leave them to talk as a family, but a fist hitting the ground made him pause.
Bridget struck the ground again. "You mean they will be slaves!" she yelled loudly, glaring at the Faun. The other girls began to yell as well except for the two oldest. They stared into each other's eyes, holding a silent conversation.
Owen tried to yell above the noise, but it was no use. He crossed his arms and waited, but he suddenly felt a very solid blow to his face. He spluttered, looking up at Bridget, who had leapt to her feet. Her fist was inches from his bloody nose. She pulled it back to hit him again, fury dancing from her eyes like lightening.
"Bridget, no!" Lydia said, lunging forward to hold her arm from striking the Faun again.
"Get off me!" she cried, trying to throw her off. "How can you let them do this to you?" she shrieked, crying miserably. She looked at the Faun edging out of the tent, and she screamed in fury, dragging Lydia with her as she lunged for him. The three fell out of the tent into the mud, yelling and screaming. The others girls gasped and huddled around the opening.
Bridget was furious, and she rained blows down upon the man below her. His hooves flailed about as he tried to stand, but the weight of both the girls was too much for him. They were all covered in mud, and Lydia kept slipping as she tried to get away, screaming at Bridget to stop.
Bridget had just swung her arm back again when a large hand plucked her off Owen. She writhed in the air, her fists trying to reach the person holding her, but he held her off.
Lydia gasped, trying to stand, but she slipped again. Owen had crawled off, so he was able to stand and hauled the muddy girl to her feet.
"What's going on here?" Dernhill roared, shaking Bridget. "You woke the whole camp with your screams!" No one spoke. Owen's pride was damaged from being beaten by a little girl, and both girls were too frightened to speak. "Well?" he roared, letting go of Bridget. She landed with a squishing noise in the mud on her bum. She stayed there, cowering.
"Edolie?" he yelled, and the woman in question jumped.
"Yes, sir?" she squeaked.
"What. Happened. Here." he said slowly, his voice quieter. Rain dripped down his face.
Edolie shook, but she told him what happened. "Owen brought us food. We talked with him, and then he said he had to tell us something. Bridget attacked Owen when he told us about...." she hesitated, tears threatening to spill. She cleared her throat, but no words came out. She flushed, looking down at her lap.
"What?" he snapped, looking at Owen.
"The marriage arrangements, Sir," Owen told him. His arm was still around Lydia, and he quickly dropped it.
Dernhill studied the two of them thoughtfully before turning his attention to the thirteen year old at his feet. She was covered head to toe in mud, and she shivered with cold. Lydia was shivering as well.
"You'll just have to deal with it," he said to Bridget, gripping the back of her dress and hoisting her to her feet. "Plenty of women and children live here, and they are perfectly content. They aren't treated dishonorably, and many are happy with their families and the spouse I chose for them."
"Many, but not all," Edolie said without thinking. Her eyes grew wide at her outburst.
ThaTS ALL i have right now. So, thoughts, critics? let me know your feedback!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Heat wave
The heat is alive, stripping away energy and happiness. Oh, my my poor sweet love who has to slave away in this heat. I send a sweet breeze to you with my thoughts.
The air itself is so thick that you can almost taste it. The church bells ring every hour, but the sound is like tyring to move through syrup, sluggish and slow. Even the trees betray me. Their leaves do not stir, which conveys the hopelessness of wishing for a soft friendly wind. Even the much hoped for relief of night did not sway the heat. The eyes remained awake as the body sweated and flushed tried desperatley to find a cold spot left on sheets it rested upon.
Heat.. heat...heat.... how I loathe you
The air itself is so thick that you can almost taste it. The church bells ring every hour, but the sound is like tyring to move through syrup, sluggish and slow. Even the trees betray me. Their leaves do not stir, which conveys the hopelessness of wishing for a soft friendly wind. Even the much hoped for relief of night did not sway the heat. The eyes remained awake as the body sweated and flushed tried desperatley to find a cold spot left on sheets it rested upon.
Heat.. heat...heat.... how I loathe you
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Life
I'm at a point in my life where I want to get married. This is so way off from what I said I would write about, but I need to get it out. I want to be with a certain someone for the rest of my life. And I don't care if I'm too young. Who gives a rats butt about my life? Because what I say and do is not society's concern. so, I'm getting married before I'm in my mid 20's. That is.. if my boyfriend will ever propose to me. He's in college right now, and I think that he's dead set on finishing before he thinks about buying a ring. It might be wishful thinking on my part, but i hope he's been thinking about proposing and the whole idea of marriage.
I'm going to put some bridal pictures on here, just because I want to. These are the things that would make my engagement/wedding perfect. Things really doesn't matter in the long run, since I'll be getting my soul mate during the process, but I do love pretty things. And I can dream, right?
I'm going to put some bridal pictures on here, just because I want to. These are the things that would make my engagement/wedding perfect. Things really doesn't matter in the long run, since I'll be getting my soul mate during the process, but I do love pretty things. And I can dream, right?
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Things have been so busy! My new job started this week, and I love it! I work at an after-school program, and it has been a challenege and a blast. The kids are great, though some can be a nuisance. As part of my two week training, I have to come up with a craft for 4-5 grades and a fitness game for K-1 grades. For the craft, I am doing bead animals. They used to be so popular and fun to have when I was a kid, and they haven't made a comback in awhile, so why not? We're going to do the simple pattern ( the snake). Hopefully, they will enjoy making them. For the fitness game, I'm doing something easy: Soccer. It's not too hard for such young children, and I know the rules (relatively speaking). I'll have a co-worker there to help me, so it will be no sweat. I'm dreading doing it, though. The kids make me kinda nervous, which is silly.
Tomorror, or well... today, I have to go to a curricular meeting to discuss different things that can be taught to the kids. It should be fun (sarcasm in the written form here people!) The meeting is going to be in a bad part of town, so I'm kinda nervous.
Updates:
I finally watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It was funny, although it was a little too into the sexual aspect of it, which is fine, but come on. The main character showed his personal area twice in the movie. The first time was surprising, but the second time was just... boring. There is nothing great about a man's speacial area. I also watched The Covenate. That was pretty good, although they used new actors/actresses, which meant the acting wasnt 100 percent good. It ha a good plot, but it lacked any emotion. When the main character's girl is taken and used as bait by the bad guy, the guy doesnt even freak out. He just gets this little boy look like "Give that back! That's mmiiiiinnnneee!"
I haven't gotten to those books I said I would start on. Suddenly, I can't find any at the library. There were plenty copies at the 2 libraries close to home, and now poof. Vanished.
Anywho, I'm done rambling. It's not like anyone actually reads what I write, so who cares, right? No one.
Tomorror, or well... today, I have to go to a curricular meeting to discuss different things that can be taught to the kids. It should be fun (sarcasm in the written form here people!) The meeting is going to be in a bad part of town, so I'm kinda nervous.
Updates:
I finally watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It was funny, although it was a little too into the sexual aspect of it, which is fine, but come on. The main character showed his personal area twice in the movie. The first time was surprising, but the second time was just... boring. There is nothing great about a man's speacial area. I also watched The Covenate. That was pretty good, although they used new actors/actresses, which meant the acting wasnt 100 percent good. It ha a good plot, but it lacked any emotion. When the main character's girl is taken and used as bait by the bad guy, the guy doesnt even freak out. He just gets this little boy look like "Give that back! That's mmiiiiinnnneee!"
I haven't gotten to those books I said I would start on. Suddenly, I can't find any at the library. There were plenty copies at the 2 libraries close to home, and now poof. Vanished.
Anywho, I'm done rambling. It's not like anyone actually reads what I write, so who cares, right? No one.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
End of the Series
Yes, it is true. Sadly, there will be no more books in this series! I have finished the last book, Fire Study. It was darker than the first two, but it was still wonderful and gripping. The ending was also fantastic and wonderful. I am very eager to start the next series Snyder has written. The first, I believe is Storm glass? I'm not sure.
I have some fantastic news for my personal life! I had an interview yesterday for an Assistant Activity Leader for after school programs. And tomorrow, I have a staff orientation! So i have a 99 percent chance of getting the job! Yay. I am so happy!
In other news, I have recently watched Zombie Land, and it was gorry the minute it started! But it was also very funny. I recommend watching it! Now, I am watching the Dutchess. I hope it's good!
I have some fantastic news for my personal life! I had an interview yesterday for an Assistant Activity Leader for after school programs. And tomorrow, I have a staff orientation! So i have a 99 percent chance of getting the job! Yay. I am so happy!
In other news, I have recently watched Zombie Land, and it was gorry the minute it started! But it was also very funny. I recommend watching it! Now, I am watching the Dutchess. I hope it's good!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Magic Study
Alright, I'm back! I've been reading the third book, Fire Study, all day. So far, I don't like it as much as the other two books. Fire Study is full of dread and horror, and it's making me uneasy. The mood of books affects how I feel for the remainder of the day, and right now I feel gloomy.
Anyway, I'm here to describe the second book to you all. The second book is called Magic Study becasue Yelena is taught how to control her magic in Sitia by a Master Magician. She also is introduced to her long lost family, which proves to be stressful and joyful for Yelena. While she is being taught, an evil man nicknamed Ferde is torturing girls and stealing their magic by enslaving their souls. Yelena sets out to stop him along with some help, and she learns of her frightening and new powers. Again, I won't give away all the details, because I want to encourage people to read the books.
For more info on the books, you can visit Maria V. Snyder's website, http://www.mariavsnyder.com/
I really enjoyed the second book. Of course, my favorite is the first, but the second is equally as good. I'm not too sure about the thrid though, for nothing good has happened to Yelena so far. I'm on page three hundred and thrity three, and I have one hundred more pages to go. I hope there's a positive outcome! Cross your fingers!
Periwinkle
Anyway, I'm here to describe the second book to you all. The second book is called Magic Study becasue Yelena is taught how to control her magic in Sitia by a Master Magician. She also is introduced to her long lost family, which proves to be stressful and joyful for Yelena. While she is being taught, an evil man nicknamed Ferde is torturing girls and stealing their magic by enslaving their souls. Yelena sets out to stop him along with some help, and she learns of her frightening and new powers. Again, I won't give away all the details, because I want to encourage people to read the books.
For more info on the books, you can visit Maria V. Snyder's website, http://www.mariavsnyder.com/
I really enjoyed the second book. Of course, my favorite is the first, but the second is equally as good. I'm not too sure about the thrid though, for nothing good has happened to Yelena so far. I'm on page three hundred and thrity three, and I have one hundred more pages to go. I hope there's a positive outcome! Cross your fingers!
Periwinkle
Saturday, March 6, 2010
In the begginning....
This is my first ever post! It feels so great! So, to get right to the point, the purpose of this blog is to share my thoughts with my readers about books I am currently reading. I am looking forward to spilling my thoughts onto this space because one of my passions is books and reading. Above are the pictures of the series I am reading by the very talented author Maria V. Snyder. The titles are Poison Study, Magic Study and Fire Study. Right now, I am currently reading the last book, Fire Study. It is such a great series.
The main character's name is Yelena. She lives in a country called Ixia, which is ruled by Commander Ambrose. In the first book, Yelena is offered the position of Royal Food taster instead of death by hanging for a crime she committed. Although it is better than hanging, it is just as deadly. She is taught how to detect the poisons, hence the title of the book. To make sure she doesn't escape, the Commander's Security Leader feeds her a poison called Butterfly's Dust, and an antidote taken every day stops her from dying a horrible and painful death. Along the way, rebels plot to take over Ixia, and Yelena discovers she has magical abilities. She also has no idea how to control them. Read the book to find out what happens to her!
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