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[Aramane] Cracks

Elyna apologised after releasing the rune into his possession and, for a moment, Owen seemed all of the sudden calm. Her apology was just as swiftly undone when she stood agreeing with her maid that he was not to be trusted. Owen stared through her. He had travelled all this way to apologise to the ...

[Aramane] Cracks

Owen hadn’t expected the woman’s reaction. Anger, certainly, but not this, not these foundless accusations. He let her speak, he knew he owed her that much after his actions last frost, but he did not hear her and only thought to reply when he saw her staring at him, like he was some vial goat dragg...

Vagabonds

108 Bloom AOK21 It was fourteen days to the foothills of the Burning Mountains from the capital by horse. Malcolm had let each individual member of his crew decide whether or not they wanted to join him. Benjamin had sworn his sword long ago, leaving no question he would stand alongside his brother...

[Aramane] Cracks

Owen looked out over the gardens, as if he now knew the appeal of such things. He was quiet and, if he were to be honest with himself, the reason was Emily. That the two of them had to be chaperoned to speak to one another was the strangest thing to him. It was Elyna… Elyna the skyrider, the same gi...

[Aramane] Cracks

“Do you see her, cousin?” “No,” replied Owen. Fredric shrugged off one of the persistent mother’s and raised his voice so that the group of them would hear. “We’re but poor, penniless showmen, ladies—there’s nothing to see here.” Owen’s cheeks coloured at that. “But it’s not true,” he whispered when...

[Aramane] Cracks

For most of the journey, his heart had been heavy with grief, even the odd storm at sea was not enough to help distract his thoughts from the events that had unfolded in Mayce. The funeral had been as grand as the man himself, and Owen had been glad to witness it. He had visited Aramane as a boy, so...

Vagabonds

93 Bloom AOK21 Malcolm sat with his hands in his lap holding tightly to the sheathed dagger that lay across it, pinning the lord commander with an icy look. The commander had been appointed by the king to oversee the meeting the duke had hoped to have with his father in-law. “The king is a busy man...

Vagabonds

91 Bloom AOK21 “My lord, a letter.” Malcolm put his cards down to accept the letter. He took note of the lion head seal and picked up his cards again, parking the letter off to one side of the table. “Another love letter from Elyna?” Roland teased. Ben cast a casual, uninterested glance in the dire...

[Aramane] Unexpected

Malcolm had received the woman’s letter and regarded it with mixed feelings. They had already spoken about the idea of her not returning and the duke thought he had made himself clear in his intentions or lack of. He had no desire to marry, nor need, not until he had met her. Without her, life would...

Spring Showers bring Flowers

Malcolm blinked. It was strange to hear the words uttered by anyone else but Elyna. He couldn’t help but wonder what information had passed between two friends. That he was such a private individual had its challenges. Even his brothers and closest friend had been spared the details of their relatio...

Words on the wind

“Was that Elyna?” Ben asked. Malcolm gave no reply. “Of course it was Elyna,” Owen answered for him, “was it not?” Still no reply. “By the seven!” Owen said, “who was it?” Benjamin looked thoughtful for a spell before speaking. “I swear I heard Elyna?” “I couldn’t make out anything,” Owen said, “wha...

Spring Showers bring Flowers

“You said it yourself,” Malcolm interrupted, “if I could make the journey. I cannot, but you can. Do not let your pride get in the way or some notion that you need repay me. I offer this,” he said, shielding the gate rune as a knight went by them, “because it will bring me peace knowing Elyna has so...

Spring Showers bring Flowers

Malcolm appeared to visibly relax. So there had been no word, he thought, not quite sharing Emily’s dislike for Elyna’s mother, perhaps because he did not know the history, or maybe because he had only ever been forced to interact with her in passing. The spring storm gave a roar overhead, masking t...

Spring Showers bring Flowers

“Roland,” Malcolm said, raising a hand to signal all was well, that he recognised the soaked stranger in their path. “I’ll catch up with you all inside,” the knight said, dismissing his crew. He turned, hair soaked through, twisted into thick, black curls that sported the odd thread of silver here a...

Words on the wind

Malcolm stopped and half turned to face the door, though his eyes were on Elyna. He frowned. “Elyna I would happily go to my grave unwed. I didn’t choose you because marriage was a requirement I needed to fill, it was what I wanted… with you. There is no one else, there will never be another you,” h...

Words on the wind

This was nice, Malcolm thought, and not nearly as nerve-racking as he had imagined when Elyna had first brought the topic up. “Of course,” he agreed, she was young, she had aspirations and goals of her own; a great deal of things to accomplish before considering children. Malcolm could respect and w...

Words on the wind

He watched her study the small runestone, sure she would never use it. More than anything, he wanted her to have something to hold onto, something that would give her options in a situation she seemed trapped by. Elyna’s mother had a way of getting what she wanted and Malcolm was quite sure he was t...

Words on the wind

As Elyna spoke, Malcolm continued to dot kisses to her neck and jaw in an attempt to distract her from the small horrors her mother had in store. He knew heels and wigs were so far from anything the Skyrider desired to entertain. Finally she had captured his attention with her proposed idea that the...

Words on the wind

Malcolm appeared surprised by her obvious disapproval, but rather than follow her, he allowed her a moment to articulate her thoughts and speak her mind. He would always give her that. When she took pause, he rose from the bed and went to her again, voice gentle. “Elyna, no. What I imagined was… tha...

Words on the wind

“No,” Malcolm said, “no, of course not. I’d never leave you alone… not after—“ After they were caught? After someone had knocked and chosen not to show themselves? No, he thought, there was no way he could leave her alone after that. He pulled open the curtain Elyna had just closed and stepped outsi...

Words on the wind

A deep sigh of approval escaped the man in a breath as Elyna sought to see them joined. She uttered the sweetest words of affection only to be silenced with a kiss. He could not tell her he loved her when she had stripped him of his wit, leaving him emotionally bare. She hadn’t misjudged him, he was...

Words on the wind

Elyna’s protest was unexpected, both in word and action and, before the stew was tasted, it was forgotten, no more use to them than a bowl of rocks. Her failed attempt to move him had only seen them jolted together like a pair of uncoordinated teenagers. Her weight across his lap, however, was welco...

Words on the wind

It seemed Elyna’s nerves were catching and Malcolm found himself breathless for a moment, pinned where he stood. What sort of reception had he imagined and why did this one fall short of those expectations. He looked about himself, as if he had just stepped out of an invisible crowd. Why did he feel...

Words on the wind

11 Bloom Despite his disappointment upon reading Elyna’s letter, Malcolm couldn’t help but smile at the obvious disdain the woman held for high society. He had arrived at the capital a handful of days ago, her letter finding him soon after that, though he had been unable to find the time to read it...

Sell and Sail

117 Bloom AOK21 Spring had passed like a blur during the captain's time in the capital. The selection and training of new knights had taken up any spare time the knight had been afforded, leaving very little for the task of running a large farmstead and distant village. Word from Mayce was slow and...

Breathless

Jared ordered tea and sat, allowing the noblewoman her chance to give thought and then breath to her concerns. The tea was delivered and, unlike most, Jared stirred a lump of sugar into his cup. He added a splash of extra milk before giving the mixture a stir. “Nonsense,” he said, finally, “you’ll n...

Breathless

Jared Warrick was a devastatingly handsome man. He looked like one of those white knights depicted in all of the best storybooks, the kind that rode off into the sunset with the princess to live happily ever after. His light eyes and golden hair softened the dark scowl his features seemed to settle ...

Cups and Glasses

Each word a whiplash cast at his feet. Did she hope to deter him, he wondered. Was this the part where he turned and left her to her sorrow and self-pitying venom. Malcolm closed the door, despite her projections and imagined disgrace. He knew her secrets, had witnessed them firsthand and never held...

Cups and Glasses

As Elyna’s words fell with a weight of undeniable truth, Malcolm found his brother's gaze and the two shared a look that could only be described as tense. Had Owen divulged the secrets that everyone else had deemed worthy of keeping? How far his brother had fallen from the man he could have once tru...

Cups and Glasses

The fact that Elyna had enjoyed the dance came as a small comfort to the duke, an expensive night that had not been wasted. When he studied her face, however, Malcolm found that Elyna’s features did not seem to echo her words, instead replaced by something else, though he could not decide if it was ...

To Prosper

When Malcolm got up the next day, his muscles were stiff and his back burned. He stretched, dressed and headed down stairs for breakfast. One of the maids brought in a plate of cooked eggs and thin slices of heated beef. After he had eaten, Malcolm carried a cup of tea into the library to sit and en...

Cups and Glasses

“Why are you so hard on your sister?” Benjamin asked once the pair had left the room, leaving the three of them to play cards in peace. He pushed his bet to the centre of the table, not as ambitious as his last, and held his cards close to his chest. Edmund wasn’t sure how to answer that. He and Ely...

Cups and Glasses

Edmund looked as if he were experiencing secondhand embarrassment on Elyna’s behalf. Did she hear herself, he wondered, hand masking one side of his face. The things she described were not activities fit for a lady, and since when had she been comfortable enough to send the duke notes? Edmund had al...

Cups and Glasses

“Don’t look at me that way.” Edmund accused. He kicked his legs up onto the end of the sofa and crossed one over the other to get comfortable. “I’ve seen you fool our mother with such ease as I. I’ll take care of Edmund. ” He teased in a tone not too dissimilar from her own, if a little high pitched...

Great Balls

Elyna was not far behind him, choosing to linger with her parents a moment before she joined him on the dance floor. How was it the simple act of freeing her hair was enough to render him speechless? She met his gaze and he fell under her spell, just as he had all those seasons ago. There was no one...

Great Balls

If the duke was nervous, his body language did not betray him, nor the forefinger that brushed his thumb, so tramped to reach out and fix the threads of hair that hung defiantly against the woman’s cheek. His own hair was much longer than it should be, even with the last minute trim his head houseke...

To Prosper

1 Frost XX AK Malcolm ignored the biting cold as he stepped out of the keep and made his way to the fields. The ground had been freshly turned the day before, with two groups of workers still leading horses that dragged heavy instruments behind them to till the rest of the soil. The slaves from Nej...

Great Balls

“Knight to d-four,” Malcolm said, making his first move of the match. Jared countered with ease, shifting the corresponding knight to stand before its counterpart. “Knight to d-five.” He smiled as he put down the piece before meeting Malcolm’s eye. His friend always had a way of coming alive wheneve...

Great Balls

Owen let her get all of four paces before he called out, uncaring of who overheard him. “Elyna, Wait!” His call drew the attention of a few strangers that stood nearby, but every one of them looked away when met with Owen’s glare. His features softened as he closed the distance between himself and t...

Great Balls

A chance to talk, Malcolm thought, mind still humming with the words when he found himself face to face with lady Andaris once more. This time she had her future husband for backup. How could he refuse her a second time without insulting her again? Malcolm had been unable to give Elyna an answer bef...

Great Balls

Though the ceiling shone bright under the orange glow of candlelight, there was something soft and all together romantic about the light it cast on the ground. All else fell away, the hall dim, just dark enough to make it agreeable, so much so that even Caelin did not readily notice the man from her...

Great Balls

Penelope had made her offer and been refused by the duke, who explained that he was saving his first dance for someone else. His rejection wounded her anew. First he had backed out of their wedding and now he would not even do her the kindness of a dance. The man seemed to recognise the mortified lo...

Great Balls

The crowd was far larger than it had been the year before, both on account of the extended accomodations and swelling population in Mayce. It was not only nobles that graced the great hall of the keep, but knights, farmers, traders, their children and wives. There was a certain lack of colour amongs...

Homecoming

Elyna made her excuses and Owen watched as her features fought some welled up emotion he couldn’t quite place. Embarrassment, he assured himself in the short silence that followed. How could he imagine heartache for the girl when he had only witnessed that close to home. You should have waited, he w...

Homecoming

“Made a right tit of myself last year,” Owen explained, “not long before Elyna joined our merry band of knights.” Edmund had leaned back as if he were in for a good tale, but Owen didn’t elaborate too much beyond the simple truth. He had been a few feet from the city gate when something or someone h...

Homecoming

“Oh honestly, little sister, you’re such a puzzle. I will never understand your fascination for all things mundane,” Edmund said in response to her mention of planting fields. “Why don’t you work on your embroidery, you’re so very good at it, and spend your days deciding which dress you hate least o...

Homecoming

“I doubt he remains in Nejem, at least not in the major city,” Edmund said. “He’s a sailor, is he not? At least that’s what the crew say, that he sailed before he joined the knights. Cunning old man, is he not?” Owen was yet to speak, though he had been polite and shared a smile with the newly retur...

Homecoming

31 Frost XX AoK Caelin sat beside her husband, Pavoo, who took his place at the head of the table. She touched his thigh just above the knee, below the tablecloth out of sight, and looked at him sidelong, her smile tempered and cautious. Their son had invited a guest to join them for dinner and it ...

Through The Grapevine

75 Frost XX [/b] “And what of Marcus?” Malcolm inquired after his eldest son. The king paused where he stood, the frail skin of his old hands stark against the weather stonework of the low wall surrounding the royal garden. He looked out beyond the moat at the foot of the wall, surveying his realm ...

Through The Grapevine

“How did dinner go?” Jared asked, following a long spell of which the pair had worked in comfortable silence. Malcolm cut a few more canes away, giving himself a moment to reflect on the dinner he had attended a few days prior, before providing his answer. As always, Malcolm chose to answer politica...

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