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Day and Night

Harvest XIV Age of Kings They lay with their eyes closed, basking in the late afternoon sun. There was nothing but the sound of their own breathing and the wind in the wheat. A horse nickered in the distance and a tall, golden haired man sat up in a sea of grass to look out over the plain. A stray ...

Despair

He bowed to her wishes, moving to join the woman on the bed. He was swift to bridge the space between them, unrestrained in his affections. The guard was forgotten and for one stolen moment together, they shared nothing but ecstasy. The commotion at the door saw the king to his feet, his woollen tro...

Despair

Elyna murmured a few words before the knight silenced her with an unexpected kiss he placed to the right side of her neck. His hands followed the fastens of her robe, challenged for all of a moment by the knot he undid blindly. The fabric was peeled away and cast aside as if it had offended him or b...

Despair

There was a split second of terror that gripped the man at his wife’s words, followed by a sense of calm as Elyna mentioned Vaughn. It warmed his heart to think that she might accept him and work towards a future where they existed together as a blended family. “And Vaughn,” he agreed, with a smile....

Despair

“Did you see that?” Emily whispered. She shadowed Ben as they moved out onto the grounds. “See what?” He asked. “The baron… his fingers.” “Spit it out,” Ben said, curious now. “He had his fingers in Malcolm’s hair.” “I saw a cloth in his hand,” Ben said. “No, his other hand!” Emily insisted. “Where ...

Despair

“Perhaps he interpreted you wrong?” Malcolm agreed, trying to understand what might have caused the outburst. “Maybe he thought you meant their father?” Malcolm was still for a time, his heart already calm. “I shouldn’t have hit him, that was wrong of me,” the knight admitted. “I think his swing was...

Despair

“Let me,” Benjamin said. He took the children from Elyna and carried them out of the room, humming a gentle tune to the twins in an attempt to calm them. He remembered what it had been like with young Noah during any times of stress. A crying child only added to things. Jared had given Malcolm somet...

Despair

Malcolm looked up at the golden maned horse lord, confused by the punch, which seemed to come out of nowhere. He scrambled to his feet, only to realise his limbs were not coordinated in their efforts to match his thought process. The strong punch had literally knocked the sense out of him, and he fe...

Despair

Malcolm had been making the rounds, checking on some of the injured. A couple of the lords who were caught in the crossfire of the battle had been assigned their own rooms. He was just stepping out of one when Elyna called to him. Even after half a year apart, he knew who the voice belonged to. The ...

Despair

Pavoo didn’t look pleased with his daughter's answer, but he bit his tongue. He did not want to share what his father had sent via bird, but perhaps, he thought, he could convince Elyna to return home with him later, after the meeting was done. The king’s jaw tightened as Elyna suggested she return ...

Despair

Malcolm gestured for Elyna to take a seat at the table. The duke of Endor squinted as she drew nearer to them. He recalled hearing that his eldest grandson had taken a liking to her. Still, he could understand why she had chosen the duke over a lord, after all, she was now Queen of Renmere. “Your ma...

Despair

“Anything we do now won’t hurt the capital until next year,” Malcolm said. “We took stock of their stores before going to Aramane. Andaris has more than enough grain.” “I still say we stop all shipments,” the duke of Endor said. “Ore and coal from Endor, wheat and horses from Warrick, wine and wood ...

Despair

He opened his mouth to protest, to remind her of his promise to try, but she had wanted his thoughts and ran with the worst of them. Malcolm sat down on the window ledge as the door fell closed under its own weight behind the woman. It was useless, he told himself, trying to fix what had come undone...

Despair

His mind and heart were racing. Did she hear herself, he wondered. Malcolm turned towards the window once more and leaned against the top of the frame, his left forearm cushioning his temple from the wood. How he wished he could open it and walk out into the cold and keep walking until he was so tir...

Despair

The pad of her thumb drew over his collar and he shrugged away from her touch, the nerve endings around his new scar left the flesh numb. Her touch made his skin crawl, through no fault of her own. He pulled his tunic over it and rubbed his chest, trying to chase away the strange sensation that ling...

Despair

Malcolm shook his head, it took all of his willpower not to bite and call her ridiculous. He couldn’t meet her eye then, and instead busied his hands. He lined up a pair of books and moved a few papers from one side of the desk to the other, leaving them face down. “You’re too young to understand wh...

Despair

Malcolm looked confused. “You told me to…” he paused. What had she told him exactly? What did she think he had said? “I don’t understand how you jump to my husband wants to sleep with a man , after being informed Jared had accompanied me home to Mayce. I know you don’t like him,” Malcolm said, “you ...

Despair

Malcolm ignored her response, or simply dismissed it. He wasn’t going to be blamed for her obvious omission of the truth. Too little time. He almost laughed at that. What between her warm welcome and death threats. Malcolm stared at the woman, why hadn’t she taken a seat? Perhaps, he imagined, she i...

Despair

“Why didn’t you tell me you brought the horse lord back with you?” Malcolm countered, giving no indication as to whether or not he would agree to a meeting. There had been an opportunity for the woman to say as much, yet she had allowed him to make a fool of himself by suggesting they make the journ...

Despair

“My expectations?” Malcolm repeated her words. He didn’t hold her gaze when he realised she was not discussing her role as a mother or wife, but instead feared he might clip her wings as a skyrider. Outside of those two things, he had no expectations of her. Would it be wrong to ask her what was wis...

Despair

Was it a peace offering or a plate of poison Malcolm wondered, and was just as swift to chastise himself. It was a terrible thought to think Elyna capable of that. She did not know Yvan was here, he reminded himself—there was no way the butcher was in her ear, not after what he had done. He thought ...

Despair

Malcolm had slept late, it was unlike him and it left him groggy and tired. Jared had woken him, sat in a chair as he gave his updates, including his midnight chat with Elyna. “What did she say?” Malcolm asked. He was stiff from sleeping in his boots. Jared shrugged. “Nothing really. Just that she r...

Despair

“Don’t pretend you misheard him,” Jared tried to deflect her obvious misinterpretation. “I know something of it,” Jared said. “My wife wasn’t born here.” He was cut off as Elyna went on to her conclusion, she wanted him out of her sight, away from her children, as if he posed some kind of threat. “Y...

Despair

Why did she speak so cryptically, Jared wondered, when the answer should have been simple. “Oh, you know everything, do you?” He challenged, “or so little that you’re willing to make it up?” He stared the woman down. The question had been rhetorical. He knew exactly what she had accused the king of ...

Despair

Jared had pulled on a white, long sleeved shirt that looked too big for him, cut with a deep v-neck and ties he hadn’t bothered to do up. His brown pants disappeared into his black leather boots and he had forgone putting his belt back on, more ready for bed than a midnight walk around the manor. El...

Despair

He hated that she had moved to the exit before him, that she took one last bite before taking her leave. He felt like a Lion in a cage, picked and poked at and ready to strike. Elyna left and Malcolm turned, sweeping the items from his desk. A fountain of ink crashed against the floor amongst the di...

Despair

Malcolm blinked at the overload of information. He stood with parted lips, not knowing what to say. “Kyanite?” He began, but there was something more pressing. “Why would?” He raked his fingers through his hair, upset—it was one of his tells, one he hadn’t noticed, but those closest to him knew all ...

Despair

“Worried about me?” Malcolm looked confused. Elyna and the twins had been in more danger than he could have imagined. “I hate to say it—I won’t,” he decided then and there. “Everything happens for a reason,” Malcolm said after a short pause. Had Elyna not found safety in the grasslands, who knew wha...

Despair

How did she do that? Vanessa displayed the same magical touch once upon a time, a power he was yet to master. Malcolm hovered, eager to study the face of his daughter, his first girl, one no man would ever love as purely as he did. His chest was tight at the thought of losing her, as Jared had lost ...

Despair

Jared helped Malcolm remove the heavy chainmail and carried it to a servant for it to be cleaned and stored. The regent pulled off his under vest and splashed his face with water. His tongue went over his upper lip and he tasted salt on his skin from sweat. “How many bodies today?” Malcolm asked Jar...

Despair

Come with me , Kyanite said. He had seen this land for himself and though it was as beautiful as Elyna had tried to express, was it worth all the blood spilled? Cora , he waved, we love you. We will protect you from , “treason,” he said. Even in his short time here, he had heard the word thrown aro...

Despair

She loves your brother, you know . The words replayed in the man’s mind as he watched the skyrider take flight. He sighed. Once upon a time Benjamin had been so eager to encourage his brother towards love, a love he was sure the man had found in Elyna. Now, he was no longer sure that those words we...

The Return

The question was heavy and the giant found himself torn in his reply. Elyna had seen enough upset for now. “I can’t see anyone holding Malcolm for long,” he said. “His stubborn streak would soon see them sick of him.” Ben smiled, as if to make light of it all. He traveled with them up the mountain, ...

The Return

Ten horses were led from the foothills to the valley, guided by the knights of Mayce, dressed in robes of black. Each horse carried a sack of rice, flour and oats, enough to feed both them and the troops of Burhan to the gates of Mayce. “I don’t understand,” Pavoo said, “where is the king?” “He coul...

The Return

“My pride?” Jared challenged, “I assure you, Lady Burhan, my opinion of myself has little to do with the decisions made by my family on this day. For you I have lost a daughter, a number of fine women and men, my stables, countless houses, and the love of my dearest friend. There is no vanity in wan...

The Return

Malcolm met the woman’s gaze until she spoke to the masses, then refused to acknowledge her again. “Elyna!” Pavoo shouted, had she doomed them all to death in the snow over a spat with her husband she was now making public? The Baron of Burhan followed the king as he moved to leave the courtyard, “p...

The Return

The sun was a thin golden line on the horizon, not an hour after Elyna had last seen Malcolm. There was an abrupt knock at the door and Emily stepped in, looking as if she had fallen out of bed in a great hurry. “They are rounding up the Burhan troops?” She said, confused. “Pavoo is already outside....

To Keep A Secret

45 Bloom 22 “Psst.” One of the guards looked up from his post at the door, stirred to attention by the low pitched hiss. “Psssst!” His eyes found the pretty little blonde seated at the end of the dining table, playing with a bowl of cold soup. She filled the spoon, lifted it a few inches above the b...

The Return

This time he did follow, though he allowed the woman her space. Twice he almost interrupted, but bit his tongue. It was her final words that made him take a step back from her. “By all reports, you had every opportunity to kill him on the battlefield, but you spared him—why?” Malcolm’s heart sped up...

The Return

“Who?” Malcolm asked. He had not forgotten his brother’s betrayal, but some things were too painful to dwell on. Elyna explained who the man was and Malcolm replied. “Then I should like to meet Kyanite and thank him in person. We will have to make the trip together one day.” He turned to look at her...

The Return

Elyna didn’t trust him with their children—that’s what this all boiled down to. She was keeping them in hiding, something he knew was best and yet it still stung more than she could know. The woman rose and crossed the room and Malcolm was on his feet again, unsure if he should follow. When finally ...

The Return

The accusation made his heart squeeze. How could she think that of him, that he didn’t want her and their children? Malcolm closed the gap between them. If she would not come to him then he would go to her. Malcolm pulled Elyna into his embrace and was speechless. How long had she felt this way, all...

The Return

Malcolm kept a hand on the heavy iron ring of the door. It seemed Elyna was not done fighting for the day. He was quiet for a moment, struggling to digest the loaded question. So she hated him, he thought. He had been locked up in prison instead of chasing her and Yvan to the ass-end of Noar. There ...

The Return

Yvan coughed and his blood met Jared’s boots. The baron turned and looked about to find Elyna guilty of stealing a life that had not been hers to take. He stood for a moment, pinned to the spot by disbelief. “That may be so, my queen,” Jared said, loud enough for everyone in the courtyard to hear, “...

The Return

When the battle was done, as if on cue, the rain fell so heavy it drowned out the moans of those who lay dying. The fires were put out and the dreary work of going through the fields began. Anyone who could be saved, friend or foe, were spared by the red cloaks, carried in on stretchers and by wagon...

The Return

Below the manor, Malcolm was lifting Vaughn onto the back of his horse. A second held Lazuli, her small hands balled about a fistful of silver mane. “What did you mean?” Benjamin asked, “that we had anticipated this attack?” “Not that Burhan would turn,” Malcolm replied, “but that Yvan would lead us...

The Return

“Seven!” Benjamin said, his hands in his hair. They hadn’t expected this. A scout mission only hours before had reported Yvan’s army to be camped in the valley, a day's travel on foot from the village. Burhan had betrayed them and Pavoo and Elyna had led them here. At that moment, Ben couldn’t be su...

The Return

It hurt his very soul to hear it and his heart broke anew for the man at his back. “No,” Ben said, shaking his head, the sound pitiful and low. “No, he would never, Malcolm would never…” He loves her , Ben wanted to say, but instead said, “he would die for Elyna and those babies—their babies.” Ben p...

The Return

Ben took the offered meat and tucked it away in his shirt. It took all of his willpower not to tear into it right then and there. The smell alone was fuel, even if it made his stomach churn with hunger. He peered at the pair on the floor and shook his head. “They’ve tortured Malcolm half to death, e...

The Return

Benjamin reached through the bars, but even with the metal pinched against his ribs, there was still three feet between them. “Thank the seven,” he said, eyes glossy with tears. “We’ve been so worried… and so hopeful, despite the circumstances.” He looked back as if to follow Emily’s gaze, his own f...

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