The Royal Secret part 6: Time Apart
The days went by in staccato bursts as the princess and her suitor waited for the next time they could see each other. And as is the case with time, it always seemed to slow down interminably when they would look over at a clock and try to count the...
The Royal Secret part 5: Perfect for Each Other
Raspberry cake was Phillip's new favorite food. He chewed the richly textured dessert with a serene glance at the beautiful princess reclining in front of him, then he took a small sip of tea that seemed like the best cup he'd ever had. Maybe it was...
Eastern Desert part 1: Of the Sand
Desert wind cut though Vera's cloak as she looked out at her ruined village, but she didn't care; the knowledge that most of her people had escaped from the raid was the only thing that mattered now. She pulled her rifle from the sand and turned away...
The Royal Secret part 4: a Royal Demand
Phillip lay on the sticky sheets as the princess Rachel went to get some water. He had offered to get it himself, but she insisted that she had to drink a few glasses before bringing back the pitcher. He still couldn't quite believe his good fortune,...
The Royal Secret part 1: a Long Morning
The frankly titular monarchy of the Imperium had long been seen as a mere vestige of a dying age. But, the royal family was still technically the executive head of the government, and the many people of the various provinces still held the principles...
The Royal Secret part 3: the Reveal
"Don't worry, your highness. I won't hurt your little suitor too badly," the young duke cheered haughtily on the other side of the yard as he spun his sword deftly in glittering disks. "Please, Phillip, you don't have to do this..." Rachel whispered...
The Royal Secret part 2: Dinner with a Princess
"Remind me, who is this aristocrat again?" Rachel whispered to the attendant sitting with her in the carriage. "The esteemed inheritor to the most profitable law firm in Cabalton, your highness," the leopard replied curtly as he watched the Financial...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 17: Week 5
_Week 5_ It had all just been a hopeful dream, Jim realized as he looked around his interminably cold cell..._plit_...He saw the wrought iron bars and felt the chill of the concrete. There was his useless calendar..._plit_...There was his wooden...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 16: an Unlikely Rescue
"What am I doin' 'ere?" Tuck whispered to himself as he approached the gates to the Black Prison. But he knew his purpose. The last month had been a haze of agonizing guilt, and the hyena had tried everything to make it stop. Even his past thieving...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 15: Weeks 1 through 4
_Week 1_ Jim couldn't remember how exactly they had reached the prison; fragmented images flicked through his mind in a loose interpretation of the events. A surgeon stitching his wound and saying that his eye would be sewn shut and I hope you go...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 14: the Black Prison
It had to be a nightmare, the worst nightmare of all time. Jim couldn't think of any other explanation as he gripped the hollowed body of the Professor. The loss undulated over him in tremulous horror as he gently laid the corpse down and stood. He...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 13: the Inferno of Hell
The hound's knees buckled and he grabbed at Jim's narrow shoulder as he fell forward, "I'm undone...my work...all that I had...Emma was in those things...it was everything...everything I had left of her," he whispered at the inferno, "Jim...Jim, I'm...