The Last Night Part 1 (Tigerlily's House)

I suppose everyone knows that they aren't mine... I've decided that Peachleaf, Gorse, Henna, and Moonstream are all older than Niva, Isas, and Vayni. Vayni is going to be Lark's novice name. I don't think she'll be in this chapter, but just FYI.

The Last Night


Niva laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Moonlight streamed through the open widow of the Earth dormitories. It was nearly midnight and Niva was counting the last minutes of her old life.

She was going to dedicate herself to the Earth temple in the morning. She would be stuck in Winding Circle forever, bound by her vows.

Niva threw back her sheet and padded over to the window. She pried the latch up and swung the window open. She glanced over her shoulder, back into the dormitory.

Dedicate Silverleaf, the dorm supervisor, was flat on her back, snoring quietly. The poor woman didn't know that sleeping powder had been slipped into her evening tea.

Niva clambered out the window and pulled it shut behind herself. She walked through the grass and turned onto the main temple road.

The night was warm and nearly pitch-black, thanks to a thin, crescent moon. No one else was walking along the road. A few Fire dedicates patrolled the temple wall, but everyone else was abed.

A thin hand reached out of the shadows and snagged Niva's sleeve. She jumped backwards and tripped over the hem of her white robe, landing in the dirt.

"Isas! What are you doing?" she whispered hotly. "You're not supposed to be out here!"

The other novice raised his eyebrows and draped his long arms artistically. "Neither are you. No one except for them," he nodded towards the dedicates on the wall. "Is supposed to be out right now. Especially us, since we're getting- " he paused. "Since we're getting dedicated tomorrow."

Niva snorted. "You still can't get over the idea that you're going to be stuck here for the rest of your life. I'd have thought you'd have accepted it by now."

"Not everyone is as quick to adapt as you are, my dear." He grabbed Niva's arm and hauled her back up. "Is your family here for the dedication?"

"Mmm-hm. My father hired some people to help with the farm and he and my brothers came down to Summersea. That's what he said in his letter, at least. He said they would come to Summersea, then travel here, to the temple, in the morning. Your family?"

Isas smiled cynically. "My father is too busy at the estate in Olart. My mother and sister are here though. I expect I'll see them tomorrow. I can introduce you."

An image of two ladies in ruffled dresses and pearl necklaces with carefully coiffed hair drifted across Niva's thoughts. She shivered. There are more people like him, she thought. "Wonderful. I'd be... charmed." She switched subjects abruptly. "Have you chosen your new name yet?"

Isas sighed. "No, I haven't."

Niva laughed softly. "Neither have I. Come and walk with me. Maybe we can get some ideas." She grasped his arm and pulled him off the path, into the gardens around the cottages and dormitories of the temple.

They slipped between the dark greenery, which was warm and damp in the humid air. Niva pulled Isas though a shadowy grove of gnarly trees and onto a lawn that sprawled around the Water dormitories.
The lawn was smooth, with a few shrubs and bushes.

Isas ducked his head and breathed deeply. He looked up at the back of Niva's head. Her long, auburn hair swung across her shoulders. It looked almost black in the night.

Suddenly, Isas stumbled. His foot hadn't landed on the grass. The young man fell, arms out before him, into a large pool of water. It had appeared smooth, like the grass, in the darkness. Isas pushed himself out of the water. Niva had skipped ahead and she was giggling madly.

Isas frowned at her. "You knew that was there."

"If I did?" Niva grinned.

Isas rolled his eyes, trying to look serious. "May I have a hand up?" He extended his dripping arm towards her. She grasped his hand and pulled, but Isas pulled harder and Niva splashed into the water.
She surfaced a moment later and spat water. "That wasn't fair!"

"Neither was your trick."

Niva sighed and floated on her back. "I suppose. We're even now."
 
Isas looked at her. Her white novitiate robe swirled around her, drifting in the water. "Your name," he said shortly. "Have you any ideas?"

She turned her head to look at him. "No. I guess I've been hoping that it will just come to me, that Mila and the Green Man will just say 'This is your name.' I suppose I want a plant name. It seems to be traditional to pick a name that associates you with your temple. I mean, look at Moonstream. Streams are part of water. And Silverleaf, well, that's obvious."

Isas shrugged. "There are non-traditional names as well. Gorse and Henna. You can't really guess where they're from. Most people would just think they're from the Earth temple. What about Peachleaf? She's Water temple."

Niva sat up. "I need more inspiration. Let's go somewhere else." She leaned over and kissed Isas' nose gently. "Come along." She pulled him out of the water and she danced across the lawn, with Isas right behind her. She leaped over the stone border of the Water dormitory grounds and paused on the temple road.

"Where do we go now?"

Isas smiled. "I know the most amazing place."

Niva held him back. "Is it very far? We probably shouldn't stay out all night."

"It's by the Air dormitories. So we have a bit of a run ahead of us if we actually want to sleep tonight."

Niva grinned. She grasped her white robe under her arms and whipped it off, over her head.

Isas gasped and looked away. He could hear Niva laughing. "What?" he said, eyes on the ground.

"I've got my underskirts on."

"Oh." Isas blushed and looked up. Niva was rolling her wet robe up, and true to her word, she was wearing a white, sleeveless shirt and several lacy petticoats that clung to her legs.

"It's hard to run in wet skirts, so I figured I might as well take the heaviest skirt off." She tucked her robe under her arm. "Lead on."

Isas turned and started jogging down the path. He had only gone a short ways when Niva loped ahead. Isas ran faster, and soon they were both sprinting down the path.

The gravel crunched under their feet. They raced path cottages and workshops, until Isas stopped before a dark, disused cottage.

Niva skidded to a halt, gasping. "What's this, Isas?"

The cottage was large, with whitewashed walls and a thatched roof. Trees and flowerbeds lined the inside of the white picket fence.

"It's just pretty and. . . it's special and I wanted to show it to you." He eased the latch on the gate up, and slid into the yard.

Niva could feel the plants clamoring for her attention as soon as she stepped over the threshold. She held out her hands and sent a wave of magic through the plants to calm them.

A rosebush tendril kept moving towards her. Niva was about to move it away, when Isas stepped forward. The plant squirmed into his cupped hands. A small rosebud burst into bloom and it gleamed palely in the night.

Isas knows how to grow plants, Niva admitted to herself.

The rose dropped into Isas' hands and the tendril returned to its bush. Isas turned to Niva and slid the rose's stem into her hair.

"It's called a tequila sunrise rose. They grow in Yanjing and Chammur, typically. My father received one from the Empress of Namorn. He gave it to me and I planted it here."

"Why did you plant it at this cottage?" Niva asked.

"My teacher lived here."

Niva nodded. She had known Tigerlily a little, and knew the Dedicate Initiate had been Isas' teacher for most of the novice's training. Tigerlily had died the year after Isas and Niva returned from Lightsbridge. There had been a smallpox epidemic in Summersea and Tigerlily had used too much of her magic trying to heal others.

"No one lives here now," Isas said as he walked up to the cottage's front door. He grasped the door-handle lightly.

Niva ran her fingers along the name over the door. "Discipline. What a wonderful place for a mage to live. Mila, if only everyone could live in discipline."

Isas snorted. "That would be quite the cottage." He looked up the wall. "I wonder who's been taking care of this place. It's been empty for- "

"Nearly three years now," Niva finished. She laid her hand over Isas' hand and opened the door. Musty, herb-scented air washed over them. Niva peered into the darkness. "Isas? Do you know where the altar is? I'd like to light a candle for Tigerlily before we leave. It seems fitting, as if we are visiting her."
Isas stepped into the cottage and walked down the hall. He didn't go very far; instead he turned right into a small room. Niva moved past him and nearly bumped into the altar. She reached down the side of the table for the customary drawer that would hold incense and candles for the altar. Her fingers closed around a matchbox and a long taper. She struck the match up, and gold light flared aroung her fingers.

Isas daintily took the match from Niva and held it under his chin, so his face flickered with shadows.

"It was a dark night," he whispered. "Lightning and rain poured from the skies. In an alleyway in Khapik- ow!" The match burnt his fingers and he dropped it.

Niva giggled and crushed the match under her shoe. She struck another match and lit her taper. She held it over the altar.

The wooden surface was bare and dusty. Isas swept his sleeve across the wood and reached into the drawer for god-figurines and incense.

Niva set her candle in a silver holder on the altar and helped Isas to pull out the supplies. She set the figures of Mila and the Green Man in the left corner with Yanna Healtouch, Lakik, and Shurri Firesword on the right. Isas set Asaia Birdwinged in the center and set a small blue-green bowl at her feet. Mila set another dish before Mila and the Green Man.

"I suppose we ought to honor the others, too," she whispered into the silence.

Isas drew out another bowl and set it before the remaining gods. He pulled a large packet out of the drawer and held the candle over it.

"Rosehip and lilac incense." He poured a small amount into each dish, then put the packet away. Niva set votive candles around the figurines and Isas set a slightly larger candle in the center of the altar.

Niva took the taper from Isas and lit the candles and incense. Rosy smoke and golden light filled the room.

"Mila and Green Man watch over Tigerlily," Niva whispered. "May she be able to grow tomatoes and be happy, wherever she is."

Isas laughed softly. "May she have tomatoes and happiness," he echoed. "So mote it be."

"So mote it be."

I suppose Nano's over, but...

I think I'll keep working on my Circle fanfics and Holly Silver stories. I'll keep you updated. :)

It's December and life moves on

I've finally crashed back into my normal life-after-nano. I didn't realize how much I had neglected my school projects and now I'm pulling a lot of late nights. It's crazy, but I'm getting back down to Earth. I only have two more weeks before finals and I'm glad. It's almost over. Hopefully, I'll be able to get out another chapter of BoLC in the next week or so. :)

AHH!!

I did it! Just now! 50,004 words. I'm sitting in my room next to my bed, whimpering and hugging myself. I can't believe it!!! *whimper whimper* *self-hug*

Nearly there

I'm only 9069 words short of 50K now. I'm almost there. It's a good feeling, but I'll TGIO. It'll need a load of revision, but that's okay. I think it'll fall back under 50K after I edit, but if I write some more in, it should be fine. :) Wish me luck! Only three more days!

Queen of Unremarkable Words

40,000th word- right
30,000th word- she
first word- Mareke (my MC's name)

Not very exciting are they?

30,000

So I've gotten over 30K, I'm taking a little break. I skipped a small part, where I couldn't get my characters from point A to point B, but it's going pretty good. Here's the first chapter. It's not great, te later chapters are better, but it's okay. :)

Chapter One- Later

Mareke rolled out of her sleeping bag, and looked at the brown-haired girl hovering over her face.
“What do you want, Jezza? It’s too early to get up now,” she looked out the window. “Jezza! It’s barely even morning. I have to get the last of the vegetables out of the Northern Garden. It’s nearly two miles away and it’s snowing.”
Jezza rolled her eyes. “Well, duh it’s snowing. That’s why we live in the Snow Plains. It snows most of the year,” the girl shook her head. “But that’s now what I wanted to tell you. There’s a person coming into town! It isn’t even a droid or an official! It’s a real person!”
Mareke goggled at her, annoyance lost. “A person? No way. It must be an official.”
“No, it’s a real person. Bear looked through his binoculars and said he couldn’t see a number on the person’s coat. All the officials have numbers. Jena said we should go out and meet whoever it is. I’m bringing my big stick. He might be armed or something,” Jezza sounded excited and Mareke couldn’t blame her. Still, Mareke tried to appear disinterested in front of the younger girl. Appearances were everything, and Mareke couldn’t afford any apparent weaknesses. That was how people got hurt. You showed a flaw and someone would attack it.
“I’ll get my stuff and meet you in the food hall. I’m hungry, even if you aren’t.” Jezza bounced on her toes and hurried away to the food hall.
Mareke shut the door to her room and opened the closet behind her desk. Her possessions were thrown in with a mixture of yellowed paper and dried glue bottles. The building she lived in was an old school, miraculously untouched by the Planetary Wars from centuries ago.
She pulled out her clothes; leggings, boots, and a sweater, mismatched and patched in various colors. Her jacket was fleece-lined with good, old-fashioned fleece. Not the government’s cheap, thin stuff. She got dressed and grabbed her pack from where it sat by a large Old World atlas. Mareke paged through the atlas most days, absorbing the photos and maps of the land beyond Silverhurst, her small town.
‘I’m bringing my big stick. He might be armed or something.’ Jezza’s voice echoed though Mareke’s head. Mareke frowned, then walked back to her bad and reached under her pillow. She had a large frying pan and a small steak knife concealed there, both of which were technically illegal. Nobody really cared though. People without weapons were goners. There were too many hungry animals wandering around. Only a few months before, someone had been mauled by a starving grizzly bear.
Mareke stuffed the pan and the knife into her pack and headed down the halls to the food hall, as she pulled her blond hair back in a braid. She got closer to the cafeteria and heard raised voices. She slid into the hall and entered the food line. Apparently, breakfast was being served early.
“Call the government! That’s the rule. We’re supposed to tell them so they can figure out who’s outside.”
“Talk to him! Maybe he’s lost or something. Maybe he’s a government official. Maybe- “
“I don’t want to be in trouble. You know what happened to the last kid who didn’t call. I want to stay alive.” That was Jena. She was a perfect model of what the government wanted. A follower, not a leader. “Let’s talk to him and keep an eye on him while someone calls the government.”
Mareke sat at a table, next to Jezza, and bit into her toast. “So, what’s happening? It sounds like Jena’s trying to take charge again.”
Jezza snorted. “That’s the understatement of the year.” She sat up and impersonated Jena’s snotty voice. “I think we should call the government. I know we’ll get in trouble if we don’t. I’ll take all the credit and be the model citizen.”
Mareke laughed. “Yeah. So we’re all just sitting here trying to decide whether to let the stranger in or not. That’s where this whole place fails. They raise us to do just what they want, then when something actually happens we run around like dead chickens.”
The two girls sat at the table and finished their breakfast. Jena was still shouting at the crowd when Mareke and Jezza slipped outside. The snow crunched loudly under their boots and their breath froze in the air.
Mareke paused and looked across the town. It looked almost pretty when all the ruins and dirt were hidden. She couldn’t even see the white government droids glimmering in the sun. Maybe this was what the world used to look like. All white and sparkly and clean.
Suddenly a movement caught the girl’s eye. There was a small bright shape a mile or two away.
“That’s the boy, isn’t it?”
Jezza nodded. “Or whatever he is. What is he wearing? I’ve never seen colors like that. I suppose it would be sky-colored if the photos of the Old World are right.” Most days the sky over the Snow Plains was a muddy blue-gray, one result of the Wars.
Mareke dropped her pack and pulled out her frying pan. “I suppose we might as well wait here for him. It’s not like Jena and the others are getting anywhere. The least we can do is figure out who he is.”
They stood there, letting the snowflakes fall around them like pixie-dust. The cold burned away the grimy smell in the air and it was almost nice to stand there as the boy walked closer.
Jezza twitched as the school door crashed open and Jena’s voice cut through the air.
“Leo, go to the government office on Hammond Street and let Officer McMinn know that someone’s gotten past the droids. Take Eliot with you. He’s bothering me.”
Mareke sighed. “I can’t wait ‘till next year when Jena’s too old for the school and she gets to live in one of the houses downtown. I’d be glad never to hear her voice again.”
Jena and the other kids from the school gathered around Mareke and Jezza. Jena glared at them. “What are you doing? You should have waited for me to leave, not come out here alone. Are you stupid? He could kill you.”
“Not that you care or anything,” Jezza muttered quietly.
Jena frowned. “Leave off, freak. Mareke, go out there and bring him back here. Tell him I’ll talk to him, and that we’ve already called the government.”
Mareke turned towards the boy as Jezza’s voice rang through the air. “Scared, Jena?” Mareke moaned inwardly. Jezza had a smart mouth at the dumbest times.
There was a loud clap and a thump. Some of the boys howled appreciatively. Mareke wheeled around. Jezza and Jena were rolling in the snow, hitting and kicking each other.
“Come on Jezza! Don’t let Jena smack you down!” someone hollered.
“Jena! Jena! Beat her up! She’s half your size!”
Jezza wrapped herself around Jena and smacked the bigger girl’s ears. Jena howled and clouted Jezza, knocking her away.
Mareke trembled. She didn’t want to fight. She hated fighting. Jezza is my friend. She needs me right now. Mareke bit her lip. Just do it. It won’t matter later, at least not much. She looked down at the two girls in the snow, and then jumped in.
She landed on Jena and heard the winds come rushing out of the girl’s lungs. Jena gasped then hit Mareke’s face. Mareke fell backwards and held her stinging cheek.
Jezza dove forwards again, her brown hair fluttering behind her, and fell hard across Jena, before a strong had lifted her off. Jena lunged up, but the strange boy put his foot on her.
“I don’t normally have girls fighting over me this early in the day,” he said. His voice was cheerful but he held Jena and Jezza firmly. “Will you two stop if I let you up? I’d like to introduce myself, but I can’t do that very well right now.” He was tall with black hair and wind-chapped skin.
Jezza grinned. “I’m Jezza, and I won’t beat Jena up anymore. I got her good already.”
Jena snarled at her.
The boy let Jezza down and looked at Jena. “Well, what is it? Can I let you go?”
“Leggo me!” Jena struggled to get free. “I’ll set the government on you!”
“You’re a bit late for that. They’ve been after me for ages.” The boy lifted foot and Jena leapt to her feet. “I’m Troy Matthis. I guess you’re Jena,” he turned to Mareke and Jezza, “and you’re Jezza the Firecracker.”
Jezza grinned at him. “This is my best friend, Mareke. She doesn’t like fighting, just like you.”
Jena shoved the two girls away and glared at the boy. “I’m the leader around here, so listen up! Don’t bother arguing or anything, because Leo and Eliot already told our government official that you’re here.”
“Why are you here?” someone from the crowd piped up. “Who are you? No one’s ever gotten past the droids before.” There was wonder and a trace of envy in the voice. Everyone in the city had to work hard for his or her daily food, whether it was harvesting the Northern Garden or mining deep underground.
Several years before, a boy has tried to run away. He had left in the middle of the night and tried to sneak past the droids that patrolled the city limits. He had been found in the morning as a black scorch mark on the hard, clay-like ground.
The new boy shrugged. “I’m not from anywhere in particular, just everywhere in general.” No one laughed. “My name is Troy and I used to live in the East, by the capital and the ocean.”
“There isn’t an ocean. It was evaporated in the Wars by all the rockets and nuclear submarines,” Jena said.
“Well, I guess it’s not all wet, but it’s like an ocean, with all the salt. You can almost imagine what it looked like. It would be beautiful, I think.”
Mareke frowned. The water that came out of the well by the school was a rusty brown and it tasted metallic. Why would anyone want a sea of that?
There was another loud crash as the school door banged open again. Officer McMinn puffed towards them. He looked a bit like a gorilla, Mareke thought, if her encyclopedia was anything to go by. He pushed his way through the crowd of kids and stood in front of Troy.
“Who the devil are you, boy?” he roared. Spittle flew out of his mouth. “How did you get in here?”
“My name is Troy and I walked in.” Mareke blinked. The boy had lost all the politeness and warmth from his voice. “I just walked.”
McMinn swore. “That’s a lie, boy! Tell me the truth now, and I might save you some pain later.”
“I don’t think there will be very much later, now.”

Ok, fine. I'll post this.

Prologue
The Planetary Wars began in 2875. Whole continents formed alliances. There was no more Britain, Japan, America. No Brazil or Egypt. There was Afraisa and Canamerica and the European Union.
If there were ever records of who fired the first nuclear rocket, they were lost long ago. After the rocket was fired, all of the remaining rules dissolved and the world slipped into nearly 150 years of chaos.
Then, there was nothing but the victors and the gone. Only the strong alliances remained; smaller, poor countries had dissipated. Many of the alliances reformed into separate nations again, but they had new priorities. Freedom and happiness of the people wasn’t as important as survival.
Out of the ruins of Canamerica, rose Sarenaia. Sarenaia was the biggest, cleverest nation. It was thousands of miles of land, of resources. The government organized the people into city-states sitting in the richest places, sitting on gold-mines and forests; clean, untainted water and fields in which to grow crops.
The people who lived in Sarenaia worked the resources and turned the results into the government officials. The government paid the people in cheap grain, vegetables, and animals. The gold, clear water, wood, and crops were sold at high profit to smaller, less advantaged nations or taken by Saernaia’s leaders, for themselves.
None of the working people left his or her city-state. The government set droids and lasers and officials armed with electric guns around the perimeters, so the people could not join together, rebel, or fight back. Children were separated from their parents and taken cross-country. All of this for one purpose: greed. The leaders of Sarenaia wanted life the way it used to be. Cheap food, good life, money. Not apples four or five dollars apiece, not working all day and planning the next day all night.
Then, somehow, a woman escaped. A rather average woman, so it was thought. She escaped and ran away to Britanada, an ancient nation, now a mixture of Canada and Britain. Britanada was smaller now, but it was fair and the people were happy, if a bit poor.
The woman escaped, and somehow she met up with powerful people and formed a league, a group that aimed to take down Serenaia. That in itself wasn’t surprising, people had tried before. What shocked Serenaia was the fact that the woman had the backing of the Zeusite Alliance, the oldest and most powerful of the original Planetary Alliances.
The Zeusites had wanted to free the Sernenaians for decades, but they were too far away, based in Greeco-Italia. But now they had a foothold in North America, by way of the newly-formed Athenian League, led by an average woman named Abby Harrington.

Goodbye until December.

The title says it all. If you want to keep up go to http://www.nanowrimo.org/

UPDATE: actually, NaNo is down (I'm surprised it took this long.) so if you can get on, look up Mistmantle. See you in December

The Latest Plot-Line

Mareke lives in a classroom in a school. The school is called Colette High, and it survived the the Planetary Wars of 3130. Mereke and her friends are getting up for the day when a boy comes up to the school. They are immediately on guard, since people have never entered or left the town, unless they were a government worker. The remaining cities in North America are now similar to city-states or colonies. They are too far apart for people to really travel. The government sends people around for a census every year, but that's about all. The boy says he is from the Athenian League. Everyone gets worried. The only thing the government says about the rest of the world is that the Athenian League is a group of rebels attempting to overthrow the government. Anyone who meets someone from the League is supposed to alert their local government agent, or sent a homing pigeon to the nearest agent. The boy is called Troy and he is traveling to the Athenian League headquarters. He is from the East Coast. The league dropped him in the region for a mission and he is on his way back. Mareke feels curious, but their leader, Jena pushes Troy away. She says he can have some wood for the night, but he will have to get his own food.

(Okay, update. I remembered this, and I'll post it for you, but it's not done. However, that is most of it. )

Nanowrimo ate my life

I think I have a totally new idea for Nano this year. I think the setting will be a post-apocalyptic Montana/Wyoming area, most likely called the Snow Plains. The people will have a steampunk era technology, though I've yet to decide on clothes. Comment me any ideas. The government will be a rather secretive, oppressive group. Their goal is to mine the last of the precious metals and fuels out of the land, the exact opposite of most everywhere else. Africa, I think will probably be well off. Europe is going to be the most advanced, I think they are going to be working on overthrowing the North American government. Europe is aiming at technology that is eco-friendly and they want to grow plants all over the Earth again. I think each continent is going to be a 'country'. The 'real' countries (ie: Britain, France, ect) are going to be more like districts, each has a say, but they have a continental 'congress' (?) maybe. 

At any rate, the main character is going to be a girl named Mareke (?) and she lives in the Snow Plains. ( I think one of the governments' things is to separate kids from parents and scatter everyone, so no one can bond together and rebel.) At any rate, one night in Mareke's 'town' a boy comes in. No one has ever seen him and they wonder how he got past the droids stationed around the town. The kids' leader, a girl named Livia says the boy, Troy, can stay one night. They'll give him blankets and some wood, but he has to get his own food. Mareke is chosen to take the stuff out to him. She's armed with her kitchen knife and frying pan and she sits and talks with him for a while. He tells her about himself, how he's part of the Athenian League, and she's terrified. She leaves and goes back to to her school-room. In the middle of the night she's awakened by Troy. He tells her to pack all her belongings. He has a Basilisk 1400, a type of nuclear-powered gun (rather like a Neutrino in Artemis Fowl), so Mareke packs. She puts her knife in her boot when he's not looking and grabs her frying pan. He tells her she can keep it if she doesn't try anything funny then they run out of the school. As they're leaving town, Mareke hears sirens and sees a charred droid in the snow. She realizes Troy is serious about the Athenian League. Troy says the sirens are a new type of droid, designed to capture people.

I'll put more later, that's all I have now. I think Mareke is going to be the daughter of Abby Harrington, the League's leader. hmm....

With No One As Witness....

Changing direction again. I'm thinking I might do a post-apocalyptic story, slightly influenced by Harrison Bergeron. The world wouldn't be immediately identifiable as Earth, not like Life As We Knew It, more like The Hungry City Chronocles, but not quite that obvious. I think some words and most names could be versions of present day pronunciations. Loora/Laura or something like that. I'm thinking there's a powerful but mysterious government, rather like Russia in the animated movie Anastasia. Something happens and a female lead and probably a boy her age go off to figure it out. Maybe they find out their region is way behind, the rest of the world is advanced into Steampunk. They ally with some other liberal group and go from there. Names- Teese and Jefree? I don't know. It's a start.

Fanfiction for "Falling Darkness" Inspector Lewis, Season 3, Episode 5: The Ceiling Below

The Ceiling Below
 
Hathaway and Lewis stepped out of the car as a piercing scream rang out.

Lewis glanced at his sergeant. "It's her!" They ran towards the noise as Hobson screamed again. Lewis rounded the corner of the disused hospital first. The graveyard was now in full view. There was a man shoveling dirt into an open grave as a curly-haired woman looked on. "Vince!" Lewis yelled. "Stop now! Charlotte!"

Vince Corwin paused. He dropped the shovel, grabbed Charlotte's hand, and sped towards the hospital.

Hathaway and Lewis paused by the open grave. There was a mound of dirt at the bottom. Lewis glanced at it. "Get her out now!" He turned and ran after Vince and Charlotte.

Lewis stepped into the hospital. There was a sound of breaking glass from above. He raced up the stairs and paused, his flashlight centered on Charlotte. She stood by a window, looking down. Lewis stepped towards her, and Vince crashed into him.

He held Lewis over the balcony. "Not nice being scared is it? Living in fear."

"Is that why you did it?" Lewis gasped.

"We wanted her to know how it felt. To make her suffer. We gave her enough clues. Her friends, the place she lived, the message on the refrigerator."

"Laura Hobson isn't your mother!" he choked out. '"Your mother is Ligeia Willard. She registered your birth in Laura Hobson's name."

Vince glanced at Charlotte. "He's lying."

He grabbed Lewis and they crashed into the banister near the stairs.

"Vince!" Charlotte called. She ran to her husband and hugged him as Lewis backed away. Charlotte looked up. "I'm so tired Vince."

"I know baby. Soon you can sleep." Vince held Charlotte tight and looked at Lewis. "We belong dead," he said as he leaned over the banister. Lewis lunged forward and grabbed Charlotte as Vince crashed through the glass ceiling below them.

~****~

Hathaway stared after Lewis for a split second, then leaped into the open grave. Hobson lay screaming under a pile of dirt.

Hathaway lifted her upper body out of the grime. Hobson screamed, her eyes shut tight. She bucked against Hathaway, trying to free herself.

Hathaway cupped her face in his hands. "It's okay, it's James. It's me, James. You're going to be fine Laura, it's just James."

Hobson's wails melted into hiccuping sobs as she focused on Hathaway's face. "That's right Laura," he said calmly. " It's okay, we're going to get you out of here."

He slowly worked Hobson's legs free and untied her ankles and wrists. He set his coat over her and they leaned against the grave wall; Hobson fell asleep quickly, terror had sapped her strength.

Hathaway pulled out his phone and dialed.

"Lewis."

"It's me-"

"Is Laura all right? Is everything okay down there?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're fine. Hobson fell asleep. She's exhausted. I haven't been able to check her over, but I think she just needs a bath and a bed." Hathaway could hear Lewis' breathing slow.

"Okay. Call for a pair of ambulances. Vince jumped off the top floor. I got Charlotte, but not him. She can ride to the station in someone's car, but I think Hobson should take an ambulance. I don't think I can lift the pair of you out, so you'll just have to hold on until the EMTs get here," he paused. "I'm sorry."

Hathaway snorted. "It's fine. I can manage. See you down here."

~****~

Lewis stood at the head of the grave, Charlotte at his side. He could see blue lights flashing in the distance. He looked down at Hathaway's shadowy figure. "They're almost here."

"Good. It's cold down here, and I could use a smoke."

It was turning cold at Lewis' level too, and he shifted from foot to foot. He watched as ambulances and cars parked around the gate. Clangs and thumps echoed through the grounds as the stretchers were brought through the gate.

"All right, they're about here. See if you can wake Hobson up." He walked over to the nearest policeman. "Get a stretcher. One of our suspects jumped off the hospital. He's inside." He handed Charlotte off to another man. She had been subdued since Vince had fallen over the banister. "Take Charlotte here to the station. We'll be by later. Ring DCS Innocent and tell her we got our man." He beckoned to the second ambulance crew. "We have a woman in the cemetery. I hope you lot are strong enough to get two people out of a grave." He turned back to the grave, trying to keep a straight face.

"You two still down there?"

He could hear Hathaway laugh. "Where else would we be?"

Lewis waited for a moment. "Laura?"

"That's me." Hobson's voice wavered and she took a shivery breath. "I'm fine Robbie."


"You'll be fine," Lewis said firmly, more for himself than Hobson. "The EMTs are here. They'll lift you out, then we're going to the hospital. James, you want to drive with me?"

"Yeah, sure."

Lewis waited until the EMTs had lifted Hobson out of the grave and had carried her away. He walked over to where Hathaway was hauling himself out. "That was good work James. I appreciate it. When we get to the hospital you can call it a night. That is, if you like."

Hathaway nodded. "Yeah, okay. You did pretty well yourself. Don't forget to sleep." He turned and started walked towards the car.

Lewis watched as Hobson was loaded into the ambulance, before he followed Hathaway.

~****~

Hobson was strapped into the stretcher. She tried to stay calm as she was loaded into the ambulance. No punctures, no broken bones, minor abrasions and bruising. pH will be a bit off as I was.... hyperventilating.

Someone's hand landed on her ankle. She jumped, at least as well as she could. One of the EMTs smiled at her. "All right Ms. Hobson. We're going to give you an IV of fluids and some oxygen, seeing as we don't know how much dirt you have in you." The woman chattered as she slid a needle into Hobson's arm.

Hobson forced herself to breathe. "I have minor abrasion on my wrists, ankles, and face and bruising on my right side. No concussions or broken bones as far as I can tell."

The other woman looked surprised. "Are you a doctor ma'am?"

Hobson tried to smile. "Yes, I'm actually a forensic pathologist."

The EMT smiled. "I've never had one in my ambulance before! I trust your judgment, but I'm still going to check you over, just for procedure."

Hobson lay still as the woman strapped an oxygen mask to her face. She gasped for air for a moment as the plastic bit her cheeks. She closed her eyes. Relax Laura, relax. It's going to be fine. It's just an oxygen mask, not....She faltered, then pulled herself together. It's not grave-dirt.

The Battle for Living Circle Chapters 1-4

Rosethorn crammed jars into her pack. She layered bits of clothing between the jars to keep them from clinking together.

There was a loud crash. “Mila damn it,” Briar muttered. “It was just a jar of aloe,” he called to Rosethorn. “Nothing big.”

“Hurry up, we need to get out now. The faster we leave the better,” she told him. “The Yanjini Emperor is going to know we overheard his meeting soon enough. We need to let Living Circle Temple know before he does."

Evvy trotted up the stairs. “I have all the food packed. I think I have all my rocks too.”

Rosethorn tied her pack shut and swung it onto her shoulders. Briar did the same, and then put on the sling for his shakkan tree. “I guess we’re ready,” he said. “Let’s go.”

Rosethorn pulled her hood over her face as they walked away from the house. “The last thing we need is someone figuring out where we went. You two,” she nodded to Briar and Evvy, “blend right in. I am like a stick in the mud. A pity there isn’t a good way for me to blend in.”

Evvy frowned. “There are some shops that sell hair dyes and paints for people. We could probably find one. Here.” She tossed her pack to Briar and melted into the crowds of people in the street. Briar and Rosethorn could hear her high voice over the city noise.
“Doa, do you know a place that sells paints and dyes? My aunt likes to look her best. On Spicer Street? Over there, okay, thank you very much doa."

The girl trotted back. “On that street over there, there’s a place. How about I go in and get the stuff? The lady said there’s a used clothes store too. We should get some of that too, because habits and fancy stuff don’t look normal on the road. Let’s go.”

Evvy picked a jar up off the shelf. “Anleigh’s Color- Starry Night Black. Five davs? That’s a rip-off!”

A cool hand touched her shoulder. “I can sell cheaper if you can tell me a few things.” Evvy turned around. A tall woman in a blue sari stood behind her. “Is there anything else you need? Once you know what you want, come up to the counter and we can…negotiate a price.” The woman winked, then walked away.

Evvy grabbed a few jars of inky-black dye before another label caught her eye. Cinnamon Sugar Brown. I bet Rosethorn could dye her skin with that. That would really help us hide from the emperor. She picked up a couple jars of brown dye, then walked over to the counter.

“Who’s this all for?” the lady asked. “Pretty colors, they aren’t especially cheap either.”

Evvy licked her lips. “They’re for my auntie,” she said in her most little-girl voice. “She’s….mmm…..getting on in life and she likes her hair to be one color.”

“Oh, yes. Just like so many people. The total cost is twenty davs, but I’ll settle for twelve with the right information. Do you happen to know of a pair of mages, a young man and an older woman? The man is native-looking, but the woman is small and fair.”

Evvy frowned. “Those pahans from Em-ah-lahn? Aren’t they here to meet the emperor?”

The woman shrugged. “They were supposed to have an audience with him this morning, after his private meetings, but they never showed up. The guards said they were there.”

Evvy tried her best to look calm, but her mind was racing. How she know about this? How did the emperor know? We said Rosethorn was sick and we couldn’t make it. I didn’t think anyone saw us. <“I was on Acadia Lane and I saw the pahan on the roof. There were plants crawling up his arms. It was weird,” Evvy shivered as she pushed her coins across the counter.

“If you see anything more, don’t hesitate to tell me. I’ll make sure the right people hear of your cleverness, and you will be rewarded. Good day.” The woman handed Evvy the bag of goods, then slid behind a beaded curtain. Evvy walked away as fast as she dared, not looking back.

Rosethorn and Briar stood at the side of the market square. Evvy hurried over. “The emperor knows what we heard and he knows we’re gone!”

Rosethorn turned pale. “What do mean? Who told you that?”

“There was a woman in that store. She lowered her prices for information. I said I was buying things for my aunt and I said I saw you at our house. I think she believed me. I hope so.”

“Mila! What do we do now?” Rosethorn ground her teeth. “I suppose the best thing to do is get out as soon as we can.”

Briar held up a large bag. “We bought some clothes and there’s a hamman around the corner. We can change our clothes there and dye Rosethorn’s hair.”

The three mages walked to the bathhouse and paid their entry fee. Briar went into the men’s section, while Evvy and Rosethorn entered the women’s part.

A short while later, Rosethorn and Evvy stood by a private bath. Evvy pulled the jars of dye from her pack. “How are we going to do this?”

“I think these are plant dyes. I can just ask it to stain my skin until I want it to come out, I think,” Rosethorn said. The dedicate turned away and pulled her green habit off, over her head. Even though she wore a thick, cream-colored under-dress, Evvy could see the woman was thin and bony. This journey will be hard on her.

Evvy turned around, stripped off her clothes, and slid into the foamy water. Rosethorn had already cleaned her hair and was rubbing in the black dye.

“I’m going to miss being a redhead,” Rosethorn snorted. “I’m going to miss seeing my own reflection.” She finished with the black dye and climbed out of the water. She was still wearing the under-dress.

Rosethorn caught Evvy’s look and smiled crookedly. “Ever since my town was raided by pirates, I’ve tried to always wear something. This dress, it’s a wonder in a way. Lark, at Winding Circle, made it. It doesn’t rustle, it has loads of pockets, and it stays clean. At least, for the most part. Lark made it before I could grow any tomatoes.”

Evvy sank into the water and scrubbed herself clean. By the time she was done, Rosethorn was painting her skin gold-brown. The woman was almost unrecognizable.

Except her eyes. They were large and brown, not almond-shaped and almost black. Oh well. People can have different eyes. Briar’s are green after all…

Rosethorn finished. “I suppose we should keep this dye. Will you help me wash out my hair?”

Evvy walked over and poured water over Rosethorn’s head. Only a little dye washed away. “I think you’re magic is keeping your hair black. We can dry off, then get dressed, I suppose. What should we do with your habit? We should keep it, I don’t think…”

This was actually written during French. We're studying passé composé. At any rate, have fun, please review.

Briar washed and dressed quickly, then left the hamman. He and Rosethorn hadn't brought much with them from Chammur, and Evvy had never had much to begin with. There was plenty of empty space in their packs, and Briar intended to use it.

He wandered down the street to a souk and found the food market. We'll need bread, and probably some fruit or vegetables, he thought. I should probably buy some water flasks too.

He slid into a bakery. It was empty, so Briar walked up to the counter. "I'll get six loaves of your freshest bread and a bag of rolls."

The baker raised his eyebrows but didn't comment. He set the order on the counter. "Anything else?"

Briar thought. "Do you sell any of that mix for biscuits or pancakes?"

"I sell both. You can buy a bag with five, ten, or fifteen cups. Which would you prefer?"

"I'll get two fifteen-cup bags of each, please," Briar said.

The baker turned away to fetch the bags. This is strange. Either he's planning a party or something has happened. Either way I want to know.

The baker set Briar's purchases on the counter and tallied up the cost. "Twenty-five davs, sir." As Briar pushed the coins over, the baker leaned towards him. "Sir, I am only a baker, but I would like to know what has happened. To my knowledge, there are no festivals or weddings soon, but you are buying enough to supply one. You don't need to tell me, but I would appreciate if you do."

Briar glanced over his shoulder. "I have word that there is trouble brewing in the palace. I've heard of a war against Gygonxe and its Living Circle Temple. If you have family there bring them home now. Don't spread the word, it will just cause panic." He slid a silver dav into the baker's apron pocket. "I trust you will be most…confidential." The mage gathered the bread into his pack and left the shop.

The baker didn't waste a moment. He started setting his goods on the counter, a sign that he was closing early and his prices were cheap. I will take my money and belongings and leave. I can stay with my brother in Chammur for a time. He won't mind. He and his wife will appreciate the company.

Unaware of the baker, Briar finished his shopping and hurried back to the hamman. He looked around. Evvy and Rosethorn ought to be done by now. Two people leaving the bath-house caught his eye. The younger girl was Evvy. Briar stared at the older woman. She had gold-brown skin like a local and choppy black hair. Her pink and orange dress just touched the ground. Briar frowned. Something wasn't quite right. Her eyes aren't slanted. Briar rolled his eyes. It was Rosethorn. How couldn't have figured that out?

Evvy saw him and skipped over. Rosethorn glared at him. "Don't make any clever comments, boy, or I'll string you up in the first well I find."

Briar grinned. "I haven't said anything….yet."

Nanowrimo 2010

Two ideas:

I've got two ideas, but I can't get them any farther. This would be a medieval-era time and total fantasy. I think there would be elves, humans, naiads/dryads, and maybe something else.
a) The duchess of Hideki is found dead in the middle of the Midsummer feast. She was next in line to the Seelie throne. Holly Silver (the queen) and Claribel Hawkins (her guard) are walking back to the palace from the crime scene and they are attacked. Holly manages to cut the person with her dagger and he runs away. She yells and Emmett Marengo (the other guard) comes at a run. He and Holly find Clari and take her to Holly's room. Holly locks them all in and only allows Aloei the Healer in. They talk while Clari asleep and decide to pretend nothing has happened. They will try to find the killer over the rest of the Midsummer festival. (I was toying with the idea of a masquerade too.)
b) Part-time detective Claribel Hawkins is employed to solve a dryad’s murder. She gets caught up in an old feud between naiads and dryads. She bumps into all sorts of people along the way, including queen Holly Silver’s best guard Emmett Marengo, the priestess of Dipika Stareyes, and a almost nice naiad.
I just can't get the 'who did it why' part. I like the 'good beats bad' plot ideas too, but I just can't figure out what the bad guy would do.
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~Mistmantle~