Tag: alternate world fantasy

Flash Fiction Fridays – Intergalactic Space Tours

Featured Ariel Paiement

My most recent writing post on Pinterest was a prompt about someone who goes on an intergalactic space tour only to discover there’s more to the guide assigned to them than meets the eye. Since it got a lot of views and attention, I thought you guys might enjoy seeing my spin on it. Here it is!

~~~

Elmora peeked around the corner of her bathroom door at the man sitting on her room’s couch. He didn’t notice her. Too engrossed in checking his personal holo while he waited for her to come out of the bathroom. He was supposed to take her to the ship’s dining hall for dinner and then out onto the surface of the planet they’d landed on. Shyn, was it? Or maybe Shryn? She couldn’t keep the places straight anymore. The things she’d seen just blended into a kaleidoscope of colorful cultures, new foods, and a few unpleasant surprises.

Unpleasant surprises were the reason she was now hiding in the bathroom. Thryen was one of the unpleasant surprises, to be more specific. Well, maybe not unpleasant. She couldn’t really decide if it was pleasant or unpleasant to run into him here. But she definitely didn’t like the fact that he’d lied to her about what he’d been up to the last few years. She sucked in a slow breath and pressed her back to the wall. Should she confront him about it? Ask him why he’d left a life of luxury and peace to be a tour guide, of all things, aboard the InterGalactic?

Well, it had to be faced at some point, didn’t it? Equally pressing was the small matter of his interest in her and the utter lack of subtlety he exercised in showing it. Heat rose in her cheeks. It wasn’t fair. She shouldn’t be assigned a guide that couldn’t hide his interest and kept secrets. To think she’d thought they’d be good friends when they’d first met during on of his assignments on Earth.

She shook her head and smoothed down her skirt before stepping out of the bathroom. Thyren looked up at her, and one of his rare smiles spread over his lips. “Ora, the dress looks lovely on you.”

The heat in her cheeks rose to the tips of her ears. “Thanks. I guess… Thyren?”

He shoved his holo into his pocket and raised a brow. “What? You look like you’re going to faint of fear. Is something wrong?”

She played with one dangling earring. “Maybe. I don’t know…”

“You don’t know?” Confusion flitted across his face. “What does that mean?”

“You lied to me,” she blurted out.

The color drained from his face. “I lied to you about what?”

“You said you were a nobody when we met. You told me you wanted a quiet life and that after your task on Earth was over, you were going to find a quiet place in the woods to have that life.” She bit her lip and held in the tears. “But you weren’t telling the truth. You knew how I felt about liars when you said it, and you still lied!”

“I… I may have left some things out,” he murmured. “But I wasn’t lying about what I wanted.”

“Then why are you here? I don’t get it! You grew up with a silver spoon in your mouth. The acclaimed half-breed child, the first half-human and half-alien that survived from a breeding between humans and your mother’s race. And you left it all to what?” She waved a hand at the room as a whole. “To do bounty hunting and then give tours to air-headed women and arrogant men who want to see all the galactic wonders?”

“I hated being there. Out here, I’m free to be me.” Thryen’s lips twisted into a bitter smile. “Out here, I don’t have people demanding that I be what I’m not just to suite their needs. I don’t have women of both races trying to trick me into marriage just in the hopes of having their own exotic baby.”

Her heart ached for him, but her rational mind only saw the lies. How could she excuse this? True, his secret wasn’t really bad or good. But it hurt that he hadn’t chosen to trust her during the entire time they were friends on Earth or even now, when she’d come under his protection and guidance for the duration of the tour. “And you didn’t think I’d get that?”

He sighed. “I wanted to leave it behind, Ora. I wanted you to see me for me and just enjoy our time together without thinking about everything back home. Is that so bad?”

She lowered her head with a half-hearted shrug. “I don’t know, Thyren. I really don’t. But I think I’d like to skip dinner. I’m not really hungry.”

“And the tour on Shyren?”

She shook her head. “I… I don’t want to go. I want you to leave me alone, please.”

“Ora…” He reached out and rested his hands on her shoulders.

She should shrug him off, but she didn’t have the energy.

“I know you’re mad. And I should’ve known you’d be upset if I didn’t tell you and you found out some other way. I’m sorry.” He pulled away and shuffled to the door. “If you change your mind about dinner, you know I’m just next door.”

She nodded but didn’t look up. The door banged closed, and she stood there, trying to understand everything that had just happened. Her heart hurt so badly that she wasn’t sure she could bear it another second, but since she couldn’t escape her own feelings, she just shambled to the bed and dropped onto it. Curling into a ball, she lay there and hoped sleep would put her out of her misery soon.

~~~

Thanks for reading, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed and are having a great end of your week so far! See you next week.

Flash Fiction Fridays: Face-to-Face

Featured Ariel Paiement

This week’s flash fiction doesn’t go with anything in particular. It’s just a short piece based on the idea of portals and what someone might do if they found one or what they might find on the other side.

~~~

Molly stared at the portal in the small cave. It hadn’t been here yesterday when she’d found the cave in the woods of her new property. Granted, she hadn’t been looking too closely, but she wouldn’t miss a glowing light emitting from the cave, would she?

She glanced around. Should she tell someone? Maybe. But if she did, then she’d have people swarming the property to get a look and reporters hounding her for a story. She bit her lip. Best to keep it to herself. But since she was keeping it to herself, she’d better have a closer look at it, make sure nothing dangerous would come out of it. Like dragons or something. Dragons didn’t exist, of course, but then again, neither did portals, so maybe they did. Regardless, she couldn’t afford trouble coming onto or off of her property. Not after she’d just moved here to get away from the trouble back home.

Heaving a sigh, she climbed down into the cave and trudged to the portal. It didn’t look dangerous. Still, she could be mistaken about it. It might not be a portal. Maybe it was some sort of laser that chopped things to bits. She picked up a stone and chucked it through then walked around to the other side of the glowing portal thing. No stone. Well, whatever this was, it either vaporized things or it was a portal. She could check the vaporizing theory at least. Climbing back out of the cave, she found a stick with good length to it and managed to get it back down into the cave. She shoved that into the portal thing and pulled it back out. Nothing looked any different about the stick. Huh. Maybe it really was a portal.

One way to find out. She sucked in a deep breath and stepped into the glowing ring. For just one frantic heartbeat, everything went dark. Then the light was back, and she stepped out into a barren wasteland. Nothing, not even scrub bushes, dotted the ravaged landscape. Just cracked earth and oppressive heat. She turned to look at the portal behind her only to find a person standing in its place.

A person who looked exactly as she imagined she would if she were twenty years older.

~~~

Well, that’s it for me this week! I hope all of you have an awesome weekend, and good luck to all of you in your writing endeavors. If you’re stuck and looking for inspiration, considering checking out the writing prompts I post on Pinterest. Otherwise, have a great rest of your week!

Work-In-Progress Wednesdays #37

Featured Ariel Paiement

This week, I finished up chapter fifty-nine of Pathway of the Moon. One more to go, and then it’s done and off to my list of works to edit (which currently consists of only that one piece and part of another, so it’s a short list of books for my own work, at least). I’m extremely excited about this (as I know I’ve said before), and this week’s work-in-progress comes from the most recent chapter.

~~~

Alrian glanced up at the Numahi. “Is this what we need to activate?”

She nodded. “It should be touch-activated. The one on our world was accessible to anyone in Sedra’s circle, but we couldn’t open it. She made sure of that.”

Brennan frowned. “You’re sure this is it? Is it even functional?”

“It is the record system. I’m sure of that, at least. But I don’t know if it will be functional or not. If it isn’t, the written records abandoned here should be enough. It’s written in an older dialect than what you use now, however.”

“Neither of us can read the dialect that far back.” Alrian leaned over and pressed her palm against the dark surface of the orb. “So, let’s hope this thing turns on and translates for us too.”

Just after she touched it, the orb began emitting a pale glow, which grew brighter until it became a piercing beam that scanned over her. What was it doing? Hopefully it wouldn’t kill her. She squeezed her eyes shut and stood still. If it was going to hurt her, it was too late to get out of the way. If she froze, maybe it wouldn’t hurt her? A tiny trill emitted from the glass orb, and she peeked at it. The beam dimmed back to a tolerable glow, and she opened her eyes fully. 

“Records activated,” a robotic female voice chirped. “Please request an option from the navigation menu.”

She glanced at Brennan then back to the orb. “What are the options?”

Something whirred, and then the voice came back. “Review log files. View recordings. Enter a new log file. Record a new video file.” The voice spouted off a few more things she didn’t understand then said, “Please request an option from the navigation menu.”

Brennan’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “Umm… View recordings?” He glanced over at her. “What is a recording, anyway?”

The Numahi laughed. “A recording is simply a record that contains audio and sometimes visual that was taken down in the moment it happened. You can communicate using those devices that are programmed to one another, yes?”

She nodded.

“Well, this device is more sophisticated. It can capture that communication and save it.”

Alrian shifted from foot to foot. A device that could capture their words and faces? Didn’t really sound like it led anywhere good, but maybe it could be useful. After all, without that, they wouldn’t be able to activate this old thing and find out what was really going on. She sighed and crossed her arms as the device whirred once more and projected an image onto the table. She squinted down at it with a frown. 

Brennan looked equally confused. He poked his finger through the glowing stretch, but the image only moved over his finger too. “What is this?”

The Numahi snickered. “I forget that your communications are primitive here. It’s what we call a holo.”

“How does it work? Magic?”

“No, not magic. Technology. But never mind how it works. You need to tell the device which video to play. If it’s like the ones back home, you can choose based on the dates on the bottom left corner of each still  image. If you don’t see something interesting, you can tell the orb to scroll to the next set.”

Brennan looked over at her. “You ready?”

She sucked in a deep breath and nodded. “Let’s just start at the beginning.”

Brennan turned back to the video display. “Show us all the videos starting with Entry One, Year 0.”

The screen changed, and sound poured out into the room. What she heard in that first video made her stomach clench, and sweat beaded her forehead. The creature hadn’t been lying. Maybe it had lied about other things. Who knew? But it hadn’t been lying about this, and even minutes into the first video, she was ready to shut this whole thing down and run. Still, she couldn’t move, couldn’t flee. This had to be heard. The threat was still out there, and who knew what might happen if it found out they still existed? They could all end up in dire danger if the organization backing the odd experiment Sedra was describing on the recording had the power to help her create life itself. This organization played the part of a god, and they had no problem with doing even the profane. If they found Alcardia, everything would be lost.

~~~

That’s it for this week, everyone! Next week, I may have something from the final chapter to share. Then that’s it. No more excerpts from Pathway of the Moon for Work-In-Progress Wednesdays because it’ll be done. I’ll be moving on to new things.

Speaking of new things, I’m participating in Wattpad’s Open Novella Contest this year! I did this last year too, and Bane of Ashkarith was the result. (So everyone who has really like the book, you have that contest to thank. 🙂 They’ve got some pretty good prompts.) This year, my piece is shaping up to have more of a sci-fi feel, but I’m basing it around the prompt “If all else fails, throw a little magic at it.” I’m liking it so far, so you may be seeing some of that on this section of the blog through until April when the novella has to be finished.

Work-In-Progress Wednesdays #36

Featured Ariel Paiement

This week’s work-in-progress comes from Pathway of the Moon, mainly because that’s what I’ve been working on most lately. I’m getting so close to done, and I’m definitely feeling end-of-book jitters. More than usual, in fact, but I guess that’s to be expected since the book is way longer than anything I’ve ever done before. But, hey, I’m still excited to write the sequel, so that’s probably a good sign, I think.

~~~

THE CEREMONY WAS finally here, and it didn’t quite seem real. She stood at the front of the small chapel with her hands in Leo’s, and for the first time, it slowly started to sink in. She would be his Bond when this finished. Really, truly, his. A small tremor zipped down her spine. Before today, she’d dreamed of this moment and spent hours fantasizing about it. It wasn’t everything she’d dreamed of. But it was everything she really needed.

Anyone who mattered even a little sat in the rustic pews and watched the two of them as they placed their interlocked hands over the bowl of clear, fresh water on the altar. In the old days, this would have been done in a large pool of water for larger chapels or at a stream for chapels without the ability to furnish the pool. Now, they kept the symbol without the actual ancient tradition. She stared into the clear water. A symbol not only of the purity of their intentions today but also a sign of the clarity and transparency that was to characterize their lives as Bonds. 

The presiding minister stepped forward and wrapped a leafy length of vine around their hands to show the way their lives would be bound to each other’s, and she smiled. The words of the ceremony barely registered. Didn’t matter anyway. She knew that she could pledge herself to the man standing across from her with no doubts or reservations.

He squeezed her hands with a smile of his own, and she knew he wasn’t paying close attention to the droning of the minister either. She blushed and lowered her head. Her mind drifted toward the other ways they’d become Bonded after the ceremony. They’d been holding back on it for long enough, and finally, the waiting would end. No more interruptions or people keeping them apart. If anyone tried to get in the way of her Bonding night, she couldn’t be held responsible for what she’d do. Her entire body was ready to combust with a single touch from him, and the gentle pressure he was putting on her hands felt like a silent promise.

And then the minister was asking her for her vows, and she resurfaced just in time to recite them. If she was being honest, she doubted she’d remember much about this part of the ceremony. It already felt like a blur, and she hadn’t even finished going through it yet. Years from now, her Bond’s expression and the love shining in his eyes would probably be all she remembered. That thought didn’t bother her nearly as much as she’d expected it to, though. Really, Leo and her new family was all that mattered. The ceremony was a formality to allow the Bonding magic to unite their ashtras. Nothing more.

The priest kept droning on for a few more minutes, and Leo rolled his eyes. She glanced out across the crowd and caught a smirk on Brennan’s face. At least one person had caught onto their impatience. A bubble of laughter welled up inside her, but she squashed it. Laughing now would be highly inappropriate. Leo looked like he couldn’t decide if he wanted to rush the priest or laugh about how stuffy the man sounded. Well, they were in this together then. Just like they would be in everything else from now on.

Finally, the priest said the only words Leo had been waiting for this entire ceremony. The moment he had permission from the priest, he dipped her back and covered her mouth with his. No chaste, polite peck for him. He had to devour her lips like a man dying of thirst. She clutched his broad shoulders for balance, knowing this was only a small taste of what she’d get later. Her cheeks heated, but she liked that he wasn’t shy about declaring his affections even if Nadar did cough when the kiss went on a little too long. He finally let her come up for air, but his dark gaze whispered promises for the minute he got her back to his room. She shivered and didn’t let go of his shoulders as his gaze swallowed her whole.

~~~

Well, that’s all for this week, everyone! What are you guys working on? Anything you’re finding fun and exciting? For those of you who don’t write, what are you reading? Feel free to share in the comments!

Flash Fiction Fridays – First Meetings

Featured Ariel Paiement

This week’s flash fiction is about Leo’s parents and their first meeting. If you’ve ever wondered how his mother ended up stuck in such an awful situation, this answers that. Enjoy!

~~~

She held her head as high as she could and looked him in the eye. Pale violet blended out into a deeper shade of indigo, and she stared just as much as he stared at her. A shiver went down her spine. No warmth lingered in his gaze. He was cold. Even colder than the slave traders who had brought her here. 

The way station’s travelers bustled outside the large three room house where they were kept. None of them had any idea what went on in here. None of them knew that she would probably leave this building with one of the men here today. But she held her head high anyway and forced back the tears. No help was coming. No one on the outside could do anything even if they knew, and she couldn’t pull them into this mess. The men here were all powerful in their own rights, and none of them would think twice about killing anyone who intervened. She’d seen it happen.

The violet-eyed man stalked to her position in the line, his gaze never leaving hers. A challenge flared to life there, as if he were daring her to run from him, daring her to find out that she wasn’t so strong after all. She tensed and fought the urge to lower her gaze and to hide from him. He stopped right in front of her and reached out to grip her chin between his fingers. She flinched, and a cruel smile curved his lips. He could’ve been carved from marble for all he cared about how he made her feel. He was even worse than the men leaving with their new slaves. They might afford their slaves some dignity. This man? He would break anyone he chose, and she was the unlucky soul he’d chosen. He might not have bought her yet, but he would. She knew the look in his eye. Saw it all the time, in fact.

“What’s your name, girl?” His low voice washed over her in warm baritones.

His voice didn’t belong with a man so hard. She lowered her gaze, unable to stand staring into those cold, hard eyes.

His grip tightened. “Do not make me ask again. I will take you into one of the back rooms and beat it out of you.”

She bit back a cry at the sudden pain in her jaw. “It’s Anne, Master.”

“It’s Caladhor. From now on, you will address me by sir or by my name.”

She licked her lips. How was she to know which to use when?

“Is that understood?”

“How do I know which to use?” She glanced up at him.

“It depends on my mood. If I look like I might want to kill you, sir might be most appropriate. If I’m pleased with you, my name will do. You’ll figure it out. And if you don’t pick up quick…” He released her with a sharp smile. “Well, never mind that. I think you’ll figure it out quickly enough.”

She swallowed hard. “Yes, sir.”

“You’re figuring it out already.” His grin widened. “Though I don’t want to kill you just yet.”

Anne didn’t say anything. If he was hoping for a response, she wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction. She would do what she had to in order to live, but she wasn’t going to let him break her. She wouldn’t lose her spirit no matter what he did to her. He walked off to talk to the slave traders, and she watched the gold change hands. Inside, she was numb now. When Caladhor returned and grabbed her by the arm, she let him drag her out of the house without a word. Like it or not, a new life awaited, and this man would be the one who decided her fate. She would make sure she found a way to have a good one.

~~~

That’s it for this week, everybody! I hope you all enjoyed. If you have something specific you want me to write for this section of the blog, feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment! I’m always happy to see new ideas and new writing prompts, particularly if they’re ones that would be more interesting to you all!

Flash Fiction Fridays – Thuriel’s Dagger

Featured Ariel Paiement

This week’s flash fiction is about the forging of the dagger from Revelar’s Queen. Enjoy!

~~~

Thuriel bent close over the glowing silver in its crucible. Bubbles formed and popped on the surface. It was almost time. Soon he would forge the blade that would protect his descendants, the blade that would destroy her. The Seelie Queen who had taken everything from him. His soulmate, his throne, and his people. This dagger would take it all back and inflict the same pain on her. With each descendant who held it, it would grow in strength, in the thirst for revenge. His descendants would ruin her even if he couldn’t.

He plunged his hand into the boiling silver, wrapping his hand in a cocoon of magic and blending the magic into the silver. When it glowed and sparked with his power, he removed his hand and let the silver bubble in its crucible over the fire a little longer. Then he removed it and brought it over to cast the dagger. 

Each movement was precise, and he took each with care as if he were crafting the subtlest of masterpieces. He whistled to himself as he worked, continued to imbue it with his power throughout the entire process and ended the process with a final blow of the hammer. The dagger lay on the anvil, gleaming under the light, and he placed one last piece into it. Heating up the handle, he warmed the metal until it would give under his hammer. Then he embedded a single uncut ruby into it. This was the tricky part. He reached deep inside, grabbed a part of his soul and tore it away from the rest forcefully.

His body convulsed, and he screamed in agony, but he gritted his teeth and continued. This had to be done if the dagger was to guide his descendants. He directed the piece of his soul into the ruby and bound it there. Finished at last, he sagged to his knees on the ground and rested his head against the table. It was finished.

~~~

That’s it for this week, everyone! Have something you’d like to see on Flash Fiction Fridays? Feel free to leave the suggestion in the comments!

Flash Fiction Fridays – The Goal

Featured Ariel Paiement

This week’s flash fiction is from the universe of Aurelai. Hopefully you all find it interesting!

~~~

He tapped his long, bony fingers against the stone arm-rest of his throne. His bulbous eyes focused in on the connection he was maintaining between himself and his denizen. The creature had found the ruins in that other place, had found the source of power, and was waiting for the pursuit to catch up. It wasn’t the smartest of his subordinates, but it was the only one who wouldn’t appear too threatening to the beings of that other planet.

Non-threatening was key here if they were to deliver their message to these humanoid creatures. And it had been ingrained in them that they were to bring the son of shadows here. He didn’t know who that was, but this seemed like the best start on it. Up until recently, they’d been unable to make any headway at all. They had fought with Aurelai’s surface dwellers for a place in this world, for a way to access the Gate that would lead them to the son of shadows. But he hadn’t been able to use it. 

The way to that other place and the coordinates given had been useless. The Gate let the surface dwellers go other places, but it never admitted him or his men when those numbers were entered. He knew the Gate worked. He could feel the hum of energy right up until he fed the coordinates in his mind into the machine. And then the magic sputtered to a stop and the gears inside ground to a halt. 

But after centuries of surviving against all odds, they finally had broken through. The Gate had flashed and sent out a beacon with those coordinates, and he’d sent someone through. Now, he just had to wait.

Waiting was the hardest part, of course. He reached out with his mind, breaking the link with his subordinate. Nothing special going on over there. Until the Gate brought someone else to this world besides returning surface-dwellers and their goods, he didn’t care too much about what his liaison did. The runt was always a bit on the dull side, but it knew how to communicate well enough, so it served a purpose.

Heaving himself out of his chair, he clopped across the hall on his hind legs before dropping to all fours. Walking like the surface-dwellers became easier every day. Maybe if he kept working at it, he could finally gain freedom from this wretched prison. But until he looked like them, they would never accept him. And while his projection allowed him to appear human enough to them, he couldn’t hide a strange gait or awkward speech. But someday. Someday, he would be free to mingle up there. Free to find out what all the fuss was about in that cloud city. And he would find out himself. Maybe if he could understand them and their culture, the senseless killing of his people could stop. They were different, but that didn’t mean they were inhumane. It wasn’t their fault their creator made them with a goal that overrode any sense of humanity in them. But the goal didn’t control everything, and someday, once the son of shadows came, it would be gone. He would be free.

~~~

And there you have it! That’s it for this week. Have something you’d like to see in this section of the blog? Feel free to leave your suggestion in the comments below!

Flash Fiction Fridays – Nunael

Ariel Paiement

This week, we go back to Enlil from the Flash Fiction post Hear Him Thunder. If you haven’t read it yet, feel free to read it here! Anyway, on to the flash fiction for this week.

~~~

Nunael stared at the man. His eyes still sparked and echoed the lightning rolling over their heads. Faint sparks lit and died on his fingertips too. She dropped to her knees before him, tears springing past her lashes when she closed her eyes.

“Look at me.”

She opened her eyes as told, unable to resist for some reason. Why was she entranced by him? He emanated anger and vengeance, and the smoking ruins of the village surrounding her castle attested to that mood. “Please…”

“Please what?” He towered over her, and lightning crackled overhead.

“Please leave my family alone.”

He crouched down with a frown. “Why should I? It’s their own fault this is happening.”

“What could they have done to merit your wrath?”

“They tried to keep what was mine.”

“And so you killed innocents?”

He scoffed. “Hardly. Your people are complicit in the crime. Your parents couldn’t protect you from a god alone.”

Her pulse raced, and her fingers trembled on the hilt of the dagger at her hip. The man’s eyes traced over the shape of the blade’s pommel, and he laughed. She trembled at the sound and slowly stood again, facing him eye to eye.

“Did they send you out here?”

“No. I was the only one willing. I offered and hoped I could reason with you. Now I see that was madness.”

He shrugged. “Well, it doesn’t matter. Not now. What does matter is that you’re here, delivered to me just as you should’ve been on the full moon a month ago.”

“Are you insane? I’m not going to leave home with a murderer.”

He stepped closer with a twisted sneer. “I’m not insane. But you are if you think you have a choice.”

“One always has a choice.”

He reached out to take her chin in his firm grip. “But you must bear the consequences of that choice.  And others have choices too.”

She lifted her chin. “I don’t want to go with you.”

“But you will anyway.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because, Princess. I know why you came out here.”

She took a trembling step back. “I told you why.”

“Yes, you did.” He smiled with a sad glint in his gaze. “You want to avert more death.”

“Of course.”

“You want to protect them, even if they don’t deserve it.”

“They do.” 

But she didn’t believe that anymore. Not really. Not when they’d let her come out to meet the storm alone.

“They don’t.”

“Fine, have it your way. But I’ll do what’s right regardless.”

He laughed. “Right? Wrong? It makes no difference. But that is why you will come with me anyway. Because you need to do what you believe is right.”

“And you will use it against me.” She crossed her arms.

“Don’t blame me, Princess. Blame your family. They drove me to this point.”

“You had a choice. You could’ve walked away.”

“Duty demands I fulfill my word. They knew the consequences.”

“And everyone in the village? Did they know the consequences too?”

“If your parents informed them.”

“And if they didn’t?” She shook her head with a hysterical laugh. “You killed those people for doing their duty, however misguided it was. Am I to condone that?”

“It doesn’t matter to me if you do or not.” He held out a hand to her. “Now, will you come or will you try to deny me my right as well?”

She stared down at his hand. “What are the consequences for refusal?”

“I thought you knew.” He sighed. “Shall I spell it out?”

Nunael remained silent.

“Very well. You can come willingly or they all die and I’ll still take you.”

She bit the inside of her cheek and turned to look back at the castle. No one stood watching for her safe return. Cowards. Well, they might not deserve their salvation, but she wouldn’t do the wrong thing just because they had. She turned and put her hand in the stranger’s. “Let’s go then.”

~~~

That’s it for this week! I hope you all enjoyed it. Do you have something you’d like to see in future flash fictions? I’m open to suggestions, so feel free to let me know in the comments below!

Work-In-Progress Wednesdays #30

Ariel Paiement

This week’s main work-in-progress has been Pathway of the Moon. With eleven chapters left to a total of sixty chapters, this books has been a major undertaking. It’s the longest project I’ve ever worked on, and it’s hard to believe that, a little more than a year after I started it, it’ll be finished, at least in its rough draft form. I’m really excited! This week’s WIP section comes from the last chapter I completed.

~~~

LEO rubbed his eyes and stared at the pages in front of him. They’d come no closer to answers with their night of studying than they were the day before. Books and scrolls donated to their work by the scholars from the Argos Records Library and their new friends among the Disciples of Rith lay scattered everywhere. Amadeira had fallen asleep at some point, her head resting atop one of the smaller tomes they’d received. He sighed and set aside the diary.

He’d learned a great deal more about the things he was, supposedly, capable of, but in all that searching, nothing to explain the problems with the Pathway. His blood should have opened it. And it had, but now the Pathway was broken, allowing no further travel to and from their world. He’d discovered only one thing in all his searching. 

Pages were missing from the diary. Who knew what they’d contained or where they’d gone. Maybe they were another prophecy. Maybe another explanation to help him, the Son of Shadows, find his true path. But so far, he just felt like his head might explode, and he wanted to throw the book across the room.

He stood and rubbed his temples. Maybe fresh air would help. He glanced over at Amadeira. Still asleep. She shivered slightly in the draft coming from the window. He walked over and latched it shut before snatching a blanket from the seat beneath it. Then he returned to Amadeira and settled the warm, scratchy wool over her sleeping frame. She whimpered but didn’t wake up.

Satisfied with that, he left her to sleep and meandered out into the halls. His aimless walk led him to the gardens, the still crisp air of early morning washing over him. He settled onto a bench with a sigh. All the things he’d learned about himself and the frustratingly elusive solution he needed permeated his mind, refused to let him relax. Two days of searching for nothing. Leo buried his head in his hands with a groan. What good did it do him to know he could use the shadows to teleport or that he could quite literally touch another person’s soul with them if he was unable to solve the issue they most needed to solve?

“You look restless.”

He glanced up to find his mother staring at him with arms crossed. “What are you doing up so early?”

“I’ve been an early riser for quite some time.” She settled beside him. “But you were too busy dispensing justice to others to notice.”

He frowned. “What?”

She fixed him with a stern gaze. “Did you think I had no idea what you were doing? What you were trained to do?”

His frown deepened. “You mean you knew the whole time?”

“Suspected at least. And when you went traipsing off on some secret mission, I guessed the rest. They’re saying you defeated Kiarhsu while you were away. The least you could have done was tell me the truth.”

He sighed. “I couldn’t. They wouldn’t allow it.”

“Before that, you could’ve.”

“I didn’t want you involved.”

She smiled and took his hands in hers. “I know you didn’t. I just wish you hadn’t gone through everything alone. I heard from Amadeira that the king’s making you his liaison with the nobility.”

He nodded. 

“So what has you so down?”

“Honestly?” He sighed. “Too many things.”

“Very well.” His mother squeezed his hands and stood. “Walk with me, and tell me what you can about it.”

He complied with a worn out smile. “Where to start?”

“How about with the trip? I’m certain that’s where some of these troubles are stemming from.”

He laughed sadly. “Yes, some of them. Actually, most of them.”

“What’s troubling you most?”

“The Pathway. We found it, and I opened it because I wasn’t given a choice.”

“Weren’t given a choice?”

“Well, when it’s between letting the one who owns your heart die and saving them by sacrificing yourself to open a Pathway… What would you do?”

She smiled. “You love that girl a great deal. A very large change from when you first met her.”

“I was just trying to protect her back then.”

His mother snorted. “You just didn’t want to pull anyone else into your fight. You were afraid of getting attached and losing her.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine. That was part of it. But that’s beside the point. The point is, I couldn’t let her die just to avoid opening that Path. So I let it happen. We barely made it out alive, and this time, she saved me. But ever since I went undercover out there, I’ve been finding more and more things that unsettle me.”

“Like what?”

“Well, first of all, I’m the object of numerous prophecies written by Queen Bane of Ashkarith. Did you know that?”

She raised a brow. “Is that accusation I hear in your voice?”

He glared at her. “Mother, for the love of Albrith! Did you or not? I’m having an existential crisis here. I don’t need to add to it.”

She patted his arm with a sweet smile. “I didn’t know anything about it, no. Your father suspected your potential back when you returned from the woods that night at six. But he never confirmed those suspicions.”

“He confirmed them,” Leo muttered.

“The night you killed him?”

“You knew about that too? Why am I not surprised?”

“I know more about you and your life than you realize. So, you opened the Path?”

“And now it doesn’t work. I’m supposed to figure out why using the diary and books given to me by the Disciples of Rith and the king’s scholars. But I can’t find anything. All I’ve done is uncover the ways my power can be used and all the ways it can go wrong.”

“Go wrong?”

“Plainly put, I need a tether of some sort. I need to be grounded the same way the strongest of those with Controdene abilities do. Even though mine isn’t a mental power, it could still consume me if I’m not careful, and my tether pulls me back from the edge of insanity.”

“That tether is Deira.”

He swallowed and scuffed a foot through the gravel of the path before lifting his head to watch the rising sun. “I think so. I can’t be sure, but she was able to bring me back from the edge of death back in Dubarin. My powers were consuming me and my mind, and she followed me into the dreamscape I was in.”

“Does she know what her part in this is?”

He shook his head and shoved his hands into his pockets. He still hadn’t brought it up with her. Didn’t know how to, if he was honest. How would he tell her that she was in the prophecies right alongside him? That she would be the difference between his salvation or damnation of himself and all of Alcardia.

~~~

Hope you all enjoyed! What have you all been working on? Did anyone finish out their NaNoWriMo projects? I did, though I didn’t manage to finish all of the things I was working on when I started. However, the important thing is that I met my goal of writing at least 50,000 words in November!

As always, feel free to share bits of whatever you’ve been working on or to offer feedback to others here. Just remember to keep everything polite and friendly.

Flash Fiction Fridays – Sinking

Ariel Paiement

This week’s flash fiction is about Ansiel again! Hope you guys enjoy! If you haven’t read the last post on Ansiel, you can go read it here.

~~~

Ansiel stared as she spun away from him into the arms of another man. He barely caught his newest partner in time. She batted pale lashes at him, her pastel pink gaze darkening with interest. He kept his attention firmly fixed on her. On Queen Saeread. She was the only reason he was here in England at all. But he could only curse the purpose that tied him to her now. That purpose was the reason she was untouchable.

He left his partner dancing with another man and wove through the crowd, left the party to find some place of peace and quiet. The festive air everyone else possessed weighed him down, made his heart freeze and his lung seize. He should be happy right now. Should be glad for the reprieve from court back in Ireland. But he couldn’t find a single spark of thankfulness inside his sinking heart.

Hurrying out onto a balcony that was sheltered by an overhang and the wall, he found his sanctuary. Out in the darkness, listening to the pounding of the rain on the cobblestone below, he tried to regain control. She wasn’t his. She never would be. 

A soft footfall sounded behind him. He didn’t turn around. Didn’t need to when he already knew who it was. “Queen Saeread. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

She came to stand beside him at the rail, stood in the shadows and let the wall block her from view of those in the party. “Do I need an excuse to see you, Ansiel?”

He winced. No, of course not. But he needed a good excuse to stay. Temptation flared. He could excuse it because his King should be wedding his mate, not some random Fae Queen from London. He could excuse it because he knew the pain his sister would endure if this woman was wed to his King. But he also knew the price for betrayal was high, and he couldn’t bear to start a war that would most definitely involve his sister. So, he remained silent.

“Why don’t you speak?” Saeread’s arm brushed against his. “I hadn’t thought I’d done anything to make you angry.”

He shook his head and glanced over to find her watching him with a pout. “Nothing at all, my lady.”

She sighed. “Do you hate me?”

He tensed. Of course not. “Why would you ask that?”

“You tease me more often than not. And you look at me with something burning so hot in your gaze that I assumed you must. Besides, you spend more time running from me lately than you would if you liked me. Is my company that wretched?”

He couldn’t bear this. Groaning, he turned to face her. “Do you know what it feels like to feel as if, with every step forward you take, you might be taking your last? To feel as if you walk on a razor’s edge?”

A dainty frown creased her brow. “I–“

“No, I’m not done.” He pressed closer, didn’t care that he shouldn’t. “Do you know what it’s like to have a weight sitting on your chest every day? To be torn between two decisions? To feel as if you are sinking down, down, down until you don’t know which way is up? Until you feel like you can’t hold your breath any longer?”

She sucked in a breath, her pretty eyes brimming with tears.

“You don’t. You don’t know what it’s like to see what you want right before your eyes and to know that it’s yours but be unable to take it. You don’t know what it’s like to feel as though you’re sinking deeper into the bottomless sea of despair each day with no chance of rescue.” He shoved past her and paused in the doorway. “And until you do, Saeread, you can’t understand why I look at you the way I do.” 

She sucked in another gasping breath, as if he’d wounded her to the core. But he didn’t wait to hear her response. He just fled. Fled from her, the party, himself, everything. It was all that was left to him now, after all. If he couldn’t have the one woman who should be his, then what was left for him, anyway? 

~~~

That’s it for this week, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed. Have a great weekend!