“Five… Four… Three…” I mumble to myself as I pull on the external part of my ear to position the earring’s hook. I’ve never done this before, but here is to hoping that I am doing this correctly. “Two… O-one…” Shik. “AUGH! Sweet bloody nails of the gods! Sapphire, how in heavens did you do this?!” My ear warms up as it throbs in pain. The hook is now through the chunk of skin, its edge protruding on the other side. I am unsure if I’m bleeding, but with shaking hands, I reach for the other earring, and do the same thing to my other ear. “I wish you were hither so that I don’t have to do this. These are supposed to be on your ears, Saph…” My sister is dead. I shouldn’t have been so reckless; I wasn’t aware of my surroundings, and my excitement got the better of me. I held her lifeless body in my arms all night yesternight, hoping that whatever ability she had used to heal our wounds and bruises would also heal the hole she had through her chest… But it never sealed, and it never b
“To the next village I go, then…” I think aloud, tiredly walking through yet another village’s forest edge. I feel my booted feet touch soft, damp dirt after walking around all night yesternight on the cobblestone paths, searching for a person— anybody at all— who seemed experienced enough to teach me how to defend myself. I’m troubled by the actuality that I’m not making any progress. Two days have passed since I've embarked on my quest to avenge my mother, only to come to my senses that I must learn how to fight to be able to do so. Therefore, I have a goal I must achieve before I can proceed to my main goal. “‘Do it,’ I said. ‘It will be simple,’ I said. Ugh, things are not this simple, Maia.” And… I realize I’m talking to myself… again. I sigh. I’ve no idea where I am, nor how far I am from my home. Uncle Wyatt must be so worried by now, but I cannot fall back just yet— I have… direr concerns for now. As drained and frustrated as I feel, I carry on to the next village I shall
Aforetime. Alas… another morn. I am awoken by the sound of gentle knocking on my bedchamber door. My eyes flutter open at the sight of the same old red cloth draping over my tester. “Lady Clemence?” I hear a familiar voice beyond the door, followed by another series of knocks. Groggily, I sit up. “Come in, Lorelle.” The heavily-adorned wooden door creaks open, and Lorelle, one of the manor’s kitchen cooks, enters my private chambers with a tray in between her stubby hands. “Good morn, my lady! Lady Honora had requested to fetch you porridge and warm ale for morgenmete.” “My deepest gratitude, Lor— wait a moment…” Mother never orders any of the servants to bring up food to me, let alone morgenmete. “Why would Mother order you to bring me my morning meal?” I speak, dipping the iron spoon into the bowl of thickened rice. “I’m fully capable of eating in the dining room.” “I believe tha she is aware of that, my lady,” she replies, fidgeting in place as she toys with her apron. “Bu
Disclaimer: This chapter contains mature scenes. You have been warned. Continuation. Naturally, I am a calm and collected woman. Besides being utterly looked upon for being physically attractive and intelligent, these are a few of the traits I possess that aid me in a lot of situations as a noblewoman. But at this moment, I’m being neither one of those. “I think I’m in love with you, Yelena.” As the words I've said sink into both me and the redheaded servant in front of me, I begin to stutter. Again. “Ah—” I start, panic rising in me as the words pour out. “W-what I am saying is, mayhap it is too soon for me to claim that I am, in actuality, in love! With you! Y-yes, um…! I mean, we had only just met over a sennight ago and I am aware that you are a woman, as am I, and 'tis out of the ordinary that a woman claims to be in love with another woman and h-here I am having you suddenly confess— I mean me! Me, not you— I’m still unable to fully grasp my feelings at the moment and I am
In the present circumstances… “Did you not want this?” I ask the brunette bent over in exhaustion as I view my surroundings, including her, from atop a tree’s bough. “If you want to learn how to fight, you must be prepared for absolutely everything, at all costs.” “But ‘tis unfair that you are using your odd abilities, while I am not even allowed to practice with my blades,” she replies angrily, exasperation evident in her voice. “And get down from thither so I can kick your derriere!” Yesterday, this fit, brown-haired, trousers-wearing woman named Maia pestered me to train her. I had honestly thought she would fall prey to the mind impairment powder’s effects, but she is smarter than she looks, and survived it. Despite refusing her requests, she was relentless and was an absolute pain in the neck. Her one and only goal is to discover the truth of why Eadmond Davidson murdered her mother. She doesn’t seem to be in a rather stable state, however, for she’s claimed that she had only r
The sweat on my brows. The tension in my shoulders. The daggers in my hands. The mental distress I am currently experiencing. “Severin,” I yell, my voice shaking. “Are you sure we are going to do this? Is this really safe?!” “You were the one who wanted to train with your daggers a while back, and I think you are more than capable!” “You think?!” It has only been a sennight since Severin had first trained me, after practically begging him to, and only then has this cabbage-head decided to spar with me… …with my daggers! I've only learned enough from him to be able to spar with him weaponless! He may be a sly, ill-mannered saddle-goose but I do not want to cause him any harm! “I’m reconsidering everything hither!” “Stop letting your hesitance impede you!” “B-but what if I actually hurt you?!” “Cease all your whats and ifs— just come at me, Maia!” Despite my hesitance and my instructor’s exasperation, I grip the daggers’ hilts in a forward grip. My eyes land on the green-ha
“How else was I supposed to help her?” I ask myself, annoyance rising as I shake off the hood on my head. It falls down at the back of my neck. “She would not have agreed to have her garse sealed off even if I had asked. She thinks she knows better, leaving it exposed like that…” I am still vexed due to the morn’s events. I make my way back to the dug-out, a large slab of pork resting in one hand, and some carrots in a cloth sack in the other. I refused get any other greens— cabbages, to be exact— to add to today's meal, for it reminds me of my own head. “'Tis Maia’s fault for constantly comparing me to a vegetable. It's not even close to the shade of green my hair actually is! My mother casted a spell on me, and its side effects altered the color. She will never be able to comprehend that if I tell her, though.” Today's raid was successful— too successful, perchance. Compared to the past few days, I needn't use another potion of fog. The village I stole from was not even bustling w
“Eternal suffering…” I mutter to myself as I pull back the hemp bowstring to nock an arrow. “That is what they all deserve… They will pay for what they did to their own kin.” When I release the bowstring, the arrow flies past my head and into the hay target thirty paces away from me. The arrow lands just slightly off the middle ring. I curse under my breath. I risked my life just to escape the manor. I was hurt, alone, and in a half-naked state. I suffocated the man I was to wed to death beforehand. I jumped across my window, latched onto the old oak tree across it, and climbed down. I knew not where to go, but I had to get out of what was once called my home. Going around the entire manor’s walls was no easy task; I had to ensure that I was not going to be seen or caught, so I took the perilous route— nearer the valley. Right when I went past the forest’s edge, this band of rebels found me, and took me in. If it hadn’t been for the healer they were with, I would have been left to