IT Was All Too Easy

All Too Easy

Aiden chapter two is up!
RATINGS WARNING!!!!
For : Dark thoughts and violence.
Just so you know.

I slipped into the house like a wraith. No one knew I was coming and only a dead body would tell them I had been there. The layout was exactly as I had been told. No surprises. He slept on a chair in the main room. His head back and slouched slightly to the side, mouth open, and snoring like a dragon with a cold. I sneered. It was far too easy. One slice and the mission was complete. I wiped my blade on his shoulder, no use getting his blood all over me. Then I slipped out as quietly as I had entered. Easy money. Almost too easy.

***


Check out Aiden's full Chapter 2!

Short intermission

Since discovering my love for writing, I've found myself delving into this and that: poetry, contemporary fiction, historical fiction, Christian romance, and now fantasy. But I'd like to let y'all know of another adventure I have signed on with. And that is, Guardians of the Trust. We are setting out on this adventure to inform others of the issues out there today so that we can vote and support men and women who will defend our freedom and the constitution that our forefathers gave their lives for. It is real issues for the real world and we invite you to read along and maybe even join us!

Sincerely,
Haley Crenwelge (Aquila)

“Where are you going?”

Aquila looked up. “To my room.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

“Because why?”

“I do not sleep in rooms with men.”

“But you have been sleeping in the same room as a man for the past few weeks.”

“Yes, but that was different. That man was helpless and on the brink of death for the longest time and needed round the clock care. This man is able to move and get out of bed, and this woman is moving out.” Aquila said all this and thought the conversation was over.

Trouble thought otherwise. “Why?”

Aquila dropped the bedding she had just picked up. Her fists went to her hips. “Why, why, why! Questions, questions, questions. Cause I do not trust you, that's why. I may be short but I am twenty years old and I know what you'd like to do. You would like to get your hands around my waist and my—“

Trouble was grinning from ear to ear. Aquila stopped mid-sentence and stomped her foot. He had done all that for some sort of reaction and had accomplished his goal.

“You insufferable cow!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The saga continues! Aquila's Chapter 6 has been posted!

Searching for the right opportunity

Chapter Six of Zoe is up! Come, read, and comment.

The Horror of Negesh

Arnan shook his head to try and clear the cobwebs and realized with certain horror that they were in the middle of the forest with no trail in site. The mare he was seated on was happily making a feast off of the wild grasses growing on the forest floor. Arnan groaned, he wasn’t sure how long he had slept but it would likely take hours to find the path again. He offered his arm down to help Pepper back up onto the horse, but was met with a skeptical eye.

“You’re not going to fall asleep again, are you?”

“No Pepper, and the sooner you get up the sooner we find the path.”

Chapter Three of Arnan is Up.

A Memorable Meeting

“Your meal, miss,” a young woman said. She slid a heavy trencher full of thick stew with a floating slab of bread across the table. A waft of beef and turnips flooded my senses and my mouth watered. A mug of watered ale followed, liquid sloshing over the edges and covering the table as she thumped it down.

“Wench,” a male voice hollered nearby. “My meat is overcooked!”

After tossing a spoon on the table, the woman adjusted her bodice and turned away to attend to the man’s complaint. I pulled the trencher closer and picked up the spoon. The first bite was heavenly, the turnips were well cooked and the meat tender. I closed my eyes and let the thick gravy coat my throat.

On the trail, I rarely had time to cook. Most meals were bread and cheese, or salted jerky. Occasionally, after a capture, I would treat myself to a stew, but it never was this good. This taste could only be produced by cooking it all day over a low fire.

“You have gravy on your chin,” a male voice informed me. My eyes flew open to find the bold bounty hunter sitting on the bench across from me.

I swallowed and dragging a sleeve across my mouth, glared at him before looking at it. It was clean. “That seat isn’t available.”

Chapter Two of Wren

Survival

“Pepper will go with me to Negesh and then we will make refuge in An Toan.” Arnan met Simon’s shocked stare at the mention of the deeply religious island, out of the corner of his eye he also saw Mauria’s shoulders drop in defeat. The silence between them was chilling, yet he knew that neither of the couple would try and talk him out of it. This was a matter of survival. Finally, Mauria slammed the mug she had carried over down on the table and spat out a few words.

“You’ll be the death of that little boy, Arnan Romany.” She twirled on her heel with a swish of her skirts and headed back towards the kitchen.


Chapter Two of Arnan is up! (for better or worse...)

Saying goodbye to your siblings in never easy

It was a nightmare that there was no wakening up from. Everything surrounding us seemed to be in a black haze. We had always been a private bunch, we all had those in our family we were close too, but you would usually find us alone somewhere with our thoughts. Now, we stayed in them completely. I watched my family go about getting ready to leave, and it was as if they couldn’t even see each other. My failure had reduced us to this. And tomorrow we would all be leaving.

Chapter 1 of Aiden has arrvied! Read and enjoy!

Missing Artist...

Taxes, taxes, taxes was the only thing Daelia heard about from sun up to sun down. After listening carefully to their conversations and several more patient explanations from Sealen, she had begun to understand the bleak conditions to which she had unknowingly entered. Wagons arrived at doors on Leiden Street every day to haul away furniture and treasured possessions from those who could no longer pay the heavy taxes they owed. One by one many houses became empty and abandoned by those who had lost everything.

The rich, however, seemed to have all the money in the world to spend on decorating their homes. Only a few small painting now remained in the shop.

Where, oh where is Finneas?
----------------------------------------
Chapter 5 of Daelia is up!

Meet Trouble...with a capital "T".

He's never dull, always smiles, and always has something to say, but Aquila's not quite sure if he's worth all this trouble. Come see for yourself!

A firm resolve

Well, I'm either inspired or just crazy: here's chapter FIVE of Zoe. I think I'm just crazy. No clue what happened that finally got this story kicked into gear. Hope you like the next chapter! The plot thickens..... :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~
A rare feeling of despair rose up in her. How was she going to escape this place? It was clearly preposterous not to try escaping, but the actual process of leaving this great city would be very difficult. She did not want to face the alternative that loomed, the result if she remained passive and did not try to leave. I would be a slave forever.

A flicker of motion in her peripheral sight caught her attention, distracting her from her dispiriting thoughts. She glanced to the right and scanned the topmost branches of a tall, graceful oak tree that stood there. Another flash of movement drew her eye, and her heart jumped when she saw the falcon perched on a high limb. No…it can’t be. Is it?

She walked closer. Cormac was inside the house with Jaedon. She did not think they were paying her any heed. Still, she took care to act nonchalant as she moved toward the oak. When she stood at very edge of the fenced yard, she called softly up to the falcon. “Iolani. Come, Iolani.”

The falcon’s head twitched and the elegant white bird eyed her keenly. Zoe tentatively beckoned to the bird but did not offer her forearm as a resting place for her. She knew the falcon’s sharp talons would slice her arm to the bone. The bird ruffled her feathers and then spread her wings and swooped down, landing on the ground nearby. Zoe glanced around, hoping nobody was watching her. She didn’t see anybody, so she crouched down and whispered, “Iolani, it is you! Come here, let me see the message you have.”

Read more here!

A battle of wills

She was still seated on the cot when the door swung open almost an hour later. The merchant’s tall frame filled the open doorway and Zoe was suddenly aware of how strong this man was, especially in comparison to the indolent rich men she had observed all day. He was carrying a tray and she smelled a heavenly aroma coming from it.

“Are you hungry?”

She rose to her feet quickly and stared at him disdainfully. Her stomach growled as she replied curtly, “No.”

“Really.” The merchant raised one dark eyebrow in a move of absolute superiority that Zoe hated. “When did were you last given food?”

“You speak as if I were an animal, waiting for my master’s crumbs to fall to the floor,” Zoe retorted, ignoring his question. “I was free but a week ago, traveling where I wished and eating when and what I wanted.”

“Traveling where?”

“Is that really any of your business?” She snapped back.

“You speak rather freely to someone who has much control over you,” he said evenly, setting the tray down on the nearby table. Zoe’s mouth watered at the tantalizing scent that wafted toward her. “Elangsian slaves are not usually highly valued. If I were a crueler man, I could have you killed for disrespect.”

“Your control over me lasts only as long as I’m your slave,” she replied bitingly.

“Implying that you won’t be mine for much longer,” he finished.

Chapter 4 of Zoe is up! Come and read the full edition here

Chapter Four of Taerith is Up!

Borden sank back into the shadows and sought out the bloodied warrior's face. His eyes were dark with anger, and they were fixed on Mirian. One by one, the eyes of the gang turned to the same place: Mirian, who still stood at the fore of the crowd, her hair blazing under the torchlight, her stance tall and proud as ever. They were angry. They knew better than to tangle with the unicorn now: it had a boy to protect, and would be three times as fierce as it had been before. Besides, the crowd had taken the unicorn's side.

But Mirian stood alone, and they would hold her responsible. After all, had she not wrenched the spear away and chided the leader of the gang as though he were a child, the unicorn would not have had a chance to bond.

Borden's hand tightened on the hilt of his sword as the young men slowly gathered around Mirian, but he did not draw it. He wanted to see what she would do. He told himself that he would not let her be abused too harshly--he wanted to see her blaze to life in her own defense, and best them all.

* * *

Read the whole thing here.

Bad to worse...

Chapter three of Zoe is up!

Come see what's happening with the stubborn girl!

Trouble in paradise...

The customer and Sealen exchanged several friendly, good-natured remarks before the old man began a ten-minute tirade on the rising taxes in the city “to pay for those young squanderers and their frivolous feasts and parades.” Sealen merely nodded understandingly as he continued to knead dough on the long counter. Finally, the man asked for a loaf of oat bread, which the baker gave him, and left the shop after dropping a few coins in Sealen’s big palm. “Don’t know as I’ll be able to come as often anymore, my friend, if all of my money starts going out in taxes,” he said on his way out the door.

Sealen shook his head and kept on punching the dough with the heel of his hands, speaking more to himself than to Daelia, “My taxes are as high as anyone’s, but what can a man do? My sales continue to drop; my friends cannot afford to buy as much, even to feed their families. But our people have no voice. Someone much higher than us makes the decisions and it does no good to stir up trouble...only disaster will follow.”

Chapter 4 of Daelia is up! Yes, I know it's short, but I couldn't resist posting what I had :)