Flash Fiction Friday #1

It has been AGES since I did a flash so here I am again

A pic is posted on Monday, then you write 350 words about it :)

Hosted by Tink's Place

The slave

It was cage, just like any other cage. She was treated like a princess, but that did not make up for the fact that she was a slave. A cage was a cage none the less. And cages happened to girls who did not listen.

Marayna looked through the bars and sighed. She had been here for years and sometimes she lost hope of ever escaping. She had been a young foolish girl who had ventured outside the borders of her homelands and had been taking by slave traders. Even though she knew that elves like her were something everyone wanted. The Elven Council tried to buy back every slave they found from the pagan North. But her, well no one had ever come for her.

He was there again. She tried not to look at him but found it hard. She always wanted to look at him when he stopped by the palace gardens. He seemed nice, but then who wouldn’t feed the caged animal? Sometimes he tried to coax her to talk too, but she dared not.

He sighed and walked away from her cage. She watched him in silence and closed her eyes. She was lonely. She closed her eyes harder so not to cry. So very lonely. A sound made her look up. He was back. He smiled and offered her something. She came closer and took it from his hand. It was a honey cookie and she smiled as she ate it. He tried to speak to her again, but she did not know enough of their language to fully comprehend him. So he walked away once again.

                                                                                                                                          

That same evening women came to get her. They bathed her and dressed her in the finest dress she had ever seen. They fed her honey cakes and gave her the sweetest wine. They chattered on and on about something that she did not understand. And when they painted her nails she started to fear. Was this not more than just for standing display in the gardens? Should she fear? Should she expect the worst? She braced herself as they showed her to way and opened to massive doors. They closed them behind her and she was alone. She took a deep breath. She had faces worse. But then he came, and he smiled.

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Done :D

The Sunday Post - 18th edition

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. 

Birthday week :D

Last week on Mur-y-Castell:

Third grave dead ahead by Darynda Jones, review

Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson, review

Interview and giveaway: Joanne Kennedy - Cowboy Tough

The Clippie girls by Margaret Dickinson, review

The cat's meow by Stacey Kennedy, rameau review

Dirty by Megan Hart, Lady Scoundrels review

Coming this week on Mur-y-Castell:

Wings of Wrath by Celia Friedman, review

Sarah-Jane Lehoux author post

Succubi are forever by Jill Myles, review

A soldier's duty by Jean Johnson, review

An officer's duty by Jean Johnson, Rameau review

The Lady Most willing by Julia Quinn, review

Books Received

Freebies

19 Dragons Lady gone bad

Happening in the Blogging world

It's ending soon so check it out as the blogs participating have so many contests going on

Giveaways on my blog

Win Cowboy Tough by Joanne Kennedy

Friday Flash Fiction

My entry here

New Cover Find

How was your week?

Flash Fiction Friday on Saturday, now with more stories

Every Monday Dottie over at Tink's Place posts a picture and then on Friday (Flash Fiction Friday) we post a story to go along with the picture. The story has to be about 350 words, give or take.  

As I have been bad and missed 2 weeks! I am now catching up with 3 stories.

(pic has been removed: )

No cure for a Broken Heart

by Blodeuedd

Sometimes not even love could save you. But then why should that save you? Love only brought destruction and broken hearts, and hips widen by clinging babies. It brought sorrow and dead dreams. Death and pain.

Elizebeta screamed and threw cups and plates around her. They broke but they did not take away the pain she held in her heart. She sank to the floor and clutched the answer in her hand. The thing that would take away this pain that tore apart her soul. The pain that made her want to cry and shout, and most of all smash that bitch’s head in with a chair. But the anger always gave way to the pain and that was one thing she could not handle. It was numbing, it was nauseating, it was destructive. 

But that was love. Sweet sweet love. And it had been sweet, oh so sweet. They had been childhood sweethearts and they had promised each other forever. First kiss, first hug, first moment of utter passion. Their families had been happy to see them together; she even had his damn portrait in her room. And when she turned 18 the wedding was to take place. But Ronan had said he wanted a tour of the Southern Lands first, so she waited. Then he wanted a season in town, so she waited again. As he said that he wanted her to stay where she was so that no one stole her away. What nonsense. It was during that year it had happened. A whirl wind romance with a rich heiress. Elizebeta’s family had lands and titles, but never that much money. And now Ronan would get all that he ever wanted.  He had not even broken the news to her in person, instead he sent his poor mother. Elizabeta had sat still and wondered if it all was a bad dream. Even after his mother had left she sat there still and wondered if she was crazy. But after the shock wore off the pain and anger started. And now he was getting married, taking all her dreams with her. So she took the little vial she hold and knew she would feel pain no more.

(pic has been removed: )

The Old Ones

by Blodeuedd

They said that sometimes your deepest nightmares would come to your in the light of day. And when Roselyn stood before the tree she believed it to be true. She had found one of the Pillars of the Past. The women broken and tortured and made into trees by the Will of The People. The cult that had taken over these fair lands and made them worship the One God and not the Goddess who gave them rain and fertility. Instead the One God who gave them war and urged them to take over other countries and kill until those bent their knees to the True God. But she had never heard HIS voice. The priests said they heard him but sometimes she wondered if that truly was true. Yes she bent her knee in Chapel like the rest of her family but she just never could believe. Maybe because she held a secret deep in her heart and seeing this tree it all surfaced. She feared ending up like these women and even today, 100 years after the fall women were still burned and killed. Women she knew were innocent, women turned on by jealous neighbors or angry husbands. No one was safe anymore, the masses ruled and the masses were not kind.

She sank to her knees and looked upon the tree. What she would not give to free one of the old priestesses. To confess that she heard the Goddess in her head, to ask for guidance and what to do about the magic she felt stirring inside of herself. But she had no one to ask. This was not the time for women; this was the rule of Men. So she stood up, took her basket filled with mushrooms and started her way back home. She did look back once and saw the tree sway in the wind, beckoning her to come back. But she could not for if anyone saw her she would be taking to the Questioner at once and that was not something you wanted. She shivered and pulled her coat closer around her. Never that.

(pic has been removed: )

Steampunk Fairy

by Blodeuedd

Steam came and took over the lands. The trees fell, the magic lost its charm and the critters big and small went to hide deep in the woods. The old ways were lost by a way of iron, steam and might tracks dug deep into the womb of mother earth. Not much stood when the factories, mines and mines had been raised all over. Sure there were old woods here and there, but not as much as before, and there would not be ever again. Even the Earth herself knew so, these ants on her tummy were taking over and they destroyed as much as they built new. Because what they built was not for her, or the ones she cherished. As for the ants, they would learn that what they built was not for them either in the end.

Kora did hate the Big Ones but at the same time she was grateful that a clockmaker had once found her, with broken winds, smashed in a window. He had nursed her back to health and made the most delicate wings for her. Her own wings of steel and she flew and flew and never grew tired. But she was not happy and even if the old clockmaker wanted her to stay she said that she had to leave and find her people, if any were left.

She flew over house and hill until she found what she was looking for. The car which had killed her wings, the human who had seen her on the window and done nothing. So she landed on a windowsill and looked in. All cozy and sweet. A family around a table and she  clawed with her tiny nails on the window. Never anger a fairy.

The next day when he went to work she followed him and with a little fairydust in his eyes he could no longer see and lost control of his car. And there is where she still was. Sitting on his skull, laughing even after his corpse had rotted and his car sunken into the deep of a swamp.

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yes I went all dark today ;)

Flash Fiction friday on Saturday

Every Monday Dottie over at Tink's Place posts a picture and then on Friday (Flash Fiction Friday) we post a story to go along with the picture. The story has to be about 350 words, give or take.  


(pic has been removed: couple dancing)



The Last Dance by Blodeuedd


She went to see him as he was training. She stood by the pillars and looked at him for what seemed like hours. He spun around with a sword in hand and it seemed liked he was dancing all by himself. She knew that he sensed her presence but he said nothing and she stood still. She smiled for a moment but it died out on her lips. Her heart raced in her chest and she closed her eyes. She wanted to remember him just like this.


“Elene.” 
She had not heard him and suddenly she felt his hand on her chin. She did nothing and gasped for air. It hurt her soul to be so near him. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her fiercely. She melted away and clung to him with all she got. But then she stepped back and broke the spell.
“I can’t.”
He looked at her with those sad eyes and her heart broke just a bit more.
“One last dance?”
How could she refuse him? She let him lead her out and they danced until their feet hurt. Neither wanting it to end, neither wanting to let go, or get any closer as that would burn away any strength they had left. Time seemed to stop as he held her on his arms and she thought her feet lifted from the floor at one time. Love gave her wings, but love also burned away those wings.


Footsteps echoed in the hallway and he let her go with a sigh. He turned away and picked up his sword and started his practice again. She stood in the middle of the room and tried to compose herself. Not to let anything show. To be the ice princess she could be, that she had to be.


“Ahhh, there you are.” 
Why did he have to sound so cheerful?  She slowly turned. “My prince,” she quickly kneeled and he came up to her and kissed her hand as he helped her up. “I thought you would be here, “ she explained and his just smiled.
“No, I have better things to do the evening before my wedding.” His eyes were so kind, his smile so sweet and she did her best to smile a bit too. 
“Yes, and so do I,” she softly said and they walked out. She wanted to look back, but could not. Tomorrow she would marry, and her husband’s brother would be forbidden and forgotten.


............


Sad :(

Friday Flash Fiction as always Saturday style

Every Monday Dottie over at Tink's Place posts a picture and then on Friday (Flash Fiction Friday) we post a story to go along with the picture. The story has to be about 350 words, give or take. 


(pic has been removed: a face
)

Waiting by Blodeuedd

She was all dressed in white, even her body was painted white and her hair colored. All do show purity and innocent. All to prepare her for her upcoming wedding. She let them put on the veil and she cried a single tear. She would not let them see her sad. She was supposed to be happy, glorious and, no, she hid behind the veil and felt her heart racing. It felt like it was going to jump out of her chest. If only it would. Blasted heart!


She feared what was to come; she feared it more than death itself. She knew the stories; she heard the whispers of the women around her. Broken and bruised. She lifted her head high and followed the women out. They lead her to an empty chambers and she heard cheering outside. The men were drunk and she shivered. The king’s men would come, take her and break her and then she would burn with the king. An offering to him on his funeral pyre. Now when she was alone she cried and wondered how fate could punish her so. What had she done to deserve this?! She had been a good daughter, she had made offerings to the Gods. She had done everything she was supposed to.


The door opened and she braced herself. A figure came inside and she clenched her hands. Would fate be so cruel? She sat still until he came up to her. She loved him, she always had loved him and these last few months when he father had been ill they had grown closer. She knew they had no future, him being a prince and all but she cared not. He had felt the same but obviously not enough.
“Hurry!”
She wrinkled her forehead and look up.
“Damn it Sassa, I have not come for that. But they will come soon.” He offered her his hand and she took it. He smiled for a moment and then showed her the way out. Together they ran, the prince and the Handmaiden of Death.


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Haha a HEA ;)

Flash Fiction Friday, 2 in 1, Saturday style

Every Monday Dottie over at Tink's Place posts a picture and then on Friday (Flash Fiction Friday) we post a story to go along with the picture. The story has to be about 350 words, give or take. 


(pic has been removed: stairway)

Mortals and Gods

by Blodeuedd

She knew she was pretty, she was not blind. Her mother had always told her not to be so pretty; it was never good to get too much attention so she tried her best. Some saw through it, the nice village boys, but the most important was that those who could hurt her did not. The Lord of the Castle, visiting men who could take any woman they wanted. She was a product of that herself. Her mother had been a beauty, her father had seen something he liked and took it. Now she was just another village bastard.




(woman in a forest)

But one can hide to a certain point and then it does not work anymore. Her mother was pressuring her to marry the butcher’s son, Angus but she did not know and as she turned 17 her life changed. As she was running to the beach in the clothes the Lord’s son had forced upon her she came upon a stairwell and never looked back. She did not want to be a man’s mistress for 1 month and then be cast aside, broken, bruised and with child. So she had run and she tumbled out in a wondrous world. She soon found a house with clothes, she found food and water to drink, but she never saw a living soul. As days went by she grew scared and no longer ventured outside the house. She cursed those damn stairs that put her in this world. She should just have stayed with him, even if her mother suspected him to be her half-brother. No, no that could not be. The days grew long and one day she did nothing else than shout from the rooftop. But no one came.

As spring came around again she did go out. She looked at the funny mushrooms and she searched for signs. But nothing. So she sat down and cried.

“Why do you cry?”

She looked up and saw a man. A funny man dressed in leather and weird green hair.

“I am alone and want to go home,” she whispered and dared not look him in the eye.

“But you asked to be saved, so you are here. In a pocket of my kingdom. Left alone as you asked for.”

Now she looked up and saw those sparkling violet eyes that showed genuine concern and she knew who he was. The God of the Underworld and gods did not understand mortals and he had done everything she had asked for.

“Why?”

He raised an eyebrow

“I do not understand.”

“Why did you save me?”

He just shrugged and smiled. “Because you asked.” He held out a hand and touched her forehead. “There, now no one will touch you. I marked you as mine. They will think we had a dalliance and when you choose to, then take your own man and if you is the one he will take a chance on my wrath.” He winked and she shook her heads. Mortals were not meant to understand gods. The next thing she knew she stood in her mother’s kitchen where her mother was cooking for her little sister. Home at last.

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I wrote about last week's pic too. And what is up with this story? no blood, nothing

Flash Fiction Friday - better late than never

Every Monday Dottie over at Tink's Place posts a picture and then on Friday (Flash Fiction Friday) we post a story to go along with the picture. The story has to be about 350 words, give or take. 


(pic has been removed: dryad in tree)

The Dryad and the Lumberjack

by Blodeuedd

Trees could be cruel, especially in the Forest of Shadow and Light. But men still ventured there, men with their axes and they tried to bleed the trees who screamed in pain. But men could not hear it; they could not feel the trees grow angry, big and vengeful.

As a dryad Zora felt it all and she did her best to soothe the trees and make them sing as they should. But lately that did not work either and she slept in her tree and tried to forget the world outside. Only when she grew restless she went outside and saw that the trees still fought but that men came in greater numbers. With sorrow in her eyes she watched fallen sisters and knew that to change the world they had to change with it. So she went back to her tree and watched the leaves fall around her, she watched the seasons change until he came. With his axe whistling a tune. The first cut was the deepest and she screamed in pain and the trees shook its roots and dragged him under. But this was the chance so she jumped out and dragged him out. When he lay on the moss, bruised and broken she just watched. Her thigh was bleeding from where the axe had cut and she sang to the tree until it calmed down. Then she cut her horns and trimmed her nails. Her clothes she could not change so she came down from the tree and dragged the man to the shadow of the tree. There she waited.

With a scream in his lips he awoke and she did her best to soothe him and gave him water to drink. He was a good man; she saw it in his eyes as he accepted her help and later how he worried over the wound in her thigh. So she told him that bandits had killed her family and how she had been lost in the woods and mountains for weeks. He took her home with her and later he made her his wife. And she was a good wife, very nurturing and kind. They had a big loving family, a family who all loved trees. He did not think much of that, neither did he think of the strange bald patches they all had at the side of their heads, covered under hairs. Bald patches where horns used to be, horns she taught her kids to file down. Just as she taught them to go out in the world and teach man to love nature.

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Hm, what kind of story did this turn out to be? A message, oh well, that happens.

Flash Fiction Friday, when? on Saturday of course

Every Monday Dottie over at Tink's Place posts a picture and then on Friday (Flash Fiction Friday) we post a story to go along with the picture. The story has to be about 350 words, give or take. 

(pic has been removed: ballerina)

Prima Ballerina

by Blodeuedd

It was not her gift. It was stolen from someone else. She was not a famous ballerina, well, she was, and it was just that it was not her that made it so. Her feet were magic, her body floated through the air. She was famous and she was loved.

Love and fame comes with a prize. The prize was a soul. When Sophie turned 11 she grew tired of the constant struggle, of never truly getting it right. So she made a deal. It was easy really. Her grandmother had been a witch so she just dug out the spellbooks and it worked. Much to her surprise. Maybe she should just have been a witch. But instead she asked to be famous and to be the best dancer in the world. That is where the prize came in and she did it willingly. 3 of the girls in her class went missing over a week. 3 girls who excelled at ballet. She knew what had happened and now 15 years later she was there. Fame, adoration…sleepless night and being haunted. That is not what she had signed up for. To see a face in every mirror, every puddle, everything! To hear their voices and to feel their cold fingers. To dream about them.

She shuddered where she sat, resting and wondering where the hell it went wrong. She was so tired. So very very tired.

“Soooophie.”

She closed her eyes in an attempt to keep the voices at bay but they would not stop. Always, always! She could almost not dance anymore. They whispered and her concentration was at on all time low. Her feet still had the magic but her head and soul was suffering. She had tried every spell possible; she had even called for the demon that she made the bargain with but nothing. She took another sip of her drink.

Alice, Ingrid and Zena. That is what they had been called. She turned around and saw Zena’s face in the mirror. Her long nails tried scratched the surface in an attempt to get out.

So very tired. She took the bottle in her head and started drinking. A few pills might dull their voices…

.................

I was not that inspired this time so it's a bit meh

Flash Fiction Friday again on Saturday

Every Monday Dottie over at Tink's Place posts a picture and then on Friday (Flash Fiction Friday) we post a story to go along with the picture. The story has to be about 350 words, give or take. 

(pic has been removed: throne, woman and ravens)

Daughter of Shadows

by Blodeuedd

Where you doomed from birth? Did you carry the sins of your parents? Did their actions shape you? Did they make you cruel and evil? If you were born of Darkness, did you become darkness?


As the beloved daughter of Pestilence and the Dark God of Shadows (ok beloved was a bit too much, they were there, she was there, that was it), but as this Azariela had pondered over this several times in her life. Was the evil? Her father was the God everyone feared, the God other Gods fought, the God who young heroes tried to take down. He was Darkness itself, he was cruel and unforgiving. Her mother was not evil, she was more a tool of her father’s, but she could still be held in line by others and by prayers. Azariela had no title, she was young and she was her father’s only child. It was not like prophets screamed out in the streets, the Heir of Shadows has been born, but she knew they knew about her. She knew other Gods plotted her demise. But did that make her evil? She had her moments, but she had never killed anyone, maimed anyone or even truly hurt someone. But still she was feared by her father’s lackeys, still she wore black and raven’s flocked to her. Maybe she was evil after all.


She did not really spend a lot of time looking at the outside world. Her mother fled back to her fellow Godlings and was taken in. Pestilence was the subject of the God of Death after all. And Azariela did not see how her father grew more and angrier, how the Demons and monsters prepared for war. How the prophets heralded a new era. How a farmer with a heart of gold would take down Evil and purge the earth. Now she mostly sat in her chambers reading about the world, and trying to decide what to be Goddess of.


But as it always happen the young farmer did kill the God of Shadows and the Gods and humankind rejoiced. And Azariela was brought out in the Big Hall by her father’s lackeys. They placed her on his dark throne and swore allegiance to her. So she sighed and said Let it Be. Her first order was for the farmer to be killed and all his kin slaughtered. 


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I seems to have been a bit philosophical today with my flash. Not much happened really.

Flash Fiction Friday, done on Saturday + info

Every Monday Dottie over at Tink's Place posts a picture and then on Friday (Flash Fiction Friday) we post a story to go along with the picture. The story has to be about 350 words, give or take. 

(pic has been removed: broken glass

Long lost hope by Blodeuedd

She could see the pods through her broken window. They were scattered all over the land, and everyone who went near one was never seen again. At first the army had try to destroy the pods, but nothing had worked. And the pods had exploded in light and millions upon millions of people had simply vanished. It was said that where there were few people no pods could be found. A lot had tried to escape but it seemed that the pods just reacted with the same light when too many people gathered. So now those who were left travelled in small groups and managed to survive. There was even a safe distance you could keep without the pods killing you. The tricky part was knowing when one showed up.

Lissa had been on the run for years. At first she had travelled with her family but her father was killed by looters, her brother by a pod hidden from view and her mother had died from a fever last year. She was the only one left now, in a dark broken world. She tried her best to avoid other humans and the pods but it was hard, she was tired and hungry all the time. She hated running from looters and creepy gangs. Most days she just wanted to lie down and cry, but she kept on running. She still remembered her mother’s voice.

“Promise to never stop.”

And she had kept that promise. With a  sigh she took the window in her hand and dragged it back in. She would try to put it up to keep the warmth inside. One got handy when you were the only person around to do anything. A little digging around the house produced a hammer and nails and she set to work. Always keeping an eye on the pods. They never moved so that was not a problem, but she always expected them to open, for the evil inside to come out and finish the slaughter they had started.

“Hello?”

She dropped the hammer and cursed. She should have been quiet and run instead she spun around and came eye to eye with a boy her own age. She looked at the hammer but then a young girl peaked out from behind him and softly he said.”It’s just us, Sara saw you earlier.” With a trembling hand he gave her a jar of pickles and she decided that for once, for once she would give another human being a chance.

..................

Sci-fi time :)

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A bit of info:

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And today's freebie ebook deal ;)

Free on Kindle and Nook
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Flash Fiction Friday on Saturday (yes I am late again)

Every Monday Dottie over at Tink's Place posts a picture and then on Friday (Flash Fiction Friday) we post a story to go along with the picture. The story has to be about 350 words, give or take. 

(pic has been removed: woman in storm)

The Wedding Day

by Blodeuedd

Even the flowers tried to keep Lorina there as she ran out in the garden. The leaves blew around her and kissed her skin, butterflies landed in her hair, but she continued to run and would not stop. This was her wedding day; the dress lay in a heap on the floor in her tower. Her maidens had screamed after her as she ran out in her shift. But they did not try to stop her, because in the end they did not want to be here either.

She was to be given in marriage to the youngest prince of Rhone. Her country’s neighbor, the one you had to please. But she did not care for pleasing as her nerves took over. Other princesses suffered the same fate, but they did not marry a beast. She stopped and just stood there crying. The youngest prince of Rhone was cursed it said. He was more man than, the sources said he looked like a bull of some sort and, no, how could she marry that?!

“Lorina,” she closed her eyes as she heard her father’s voice. “You are shaming us.”

She dried her tears and picked a flower. “I was just getting flowers for my hair father.” She picked a few more and hurried past her. Her maidens did not look at her when she returned, instead they finished dressing her. A lamb to slaughter.

The wedding vows were not even said by him, instead his brother said them in his place and she thought she was about to faint. What were they giving her to? After the feast that followed they brought her to his chambers and her maidens cried as they undressed her.

“It will be fine,” she tried saying but they would not stop. She was calm now; it was like she had escaped into herself. But when she was lying alone in the bed she started to shiver and as the door open she saw a silhouette in the moonlight and she closed her eyes. She heard him come closer and she tried erasing the horns from her memory. The she felt a hand brush hers and a soft voice spoke.

“Do not fear me.”

She shook her head.

“Please.” His plea was heartbreaking and she opened her eyes.

“How?” This was not the man she had seen. No, this was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

“I am cursed during the day,” he said with such sadness that she reached out and touched his skin. Now he was crying too and her heart opened for the first time in weeks.

“It will be fine”, she whispered and took him in her arms.

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I am stuck with fairy-tales it seems :)

Other participants:

Melissa

Carol

Carole

Flash Fiction Friday on Saturday

Every Monday Dottie over at Tink's Place posts a picture and then on Friday (Flash Fiction Friday) we post a story to go along with the picture. The story has to be about 350 words, give or take.


(pic has been removed: lady and swan)

A river song

by Blodeuedd

Kitsaine’s mother was always sad and cried. Once she had asked why and her mother had only looked longingly at the river and said nothing. When she grew older she asked her relatives but they told her that her mother surely only missed her people. It was said that one day her father just came home with her, a beautiful young woman with skin so white, with golden hair, dressed only in her father’s cloak. Her mother was loyal and hardworking, but loving? Towards her only child yes, but towards the man she married? No, she never even looked him in the eye. When Kitsaine was even older she heard her mother beg her father to let her go home and the next thing she heard was a faint scream as he hit her.

When Kitsaine turned 15 her father started to look for suitors, he did not have to look long as she was fair to look at. But to be some simple farmer’s wife? To toil away and break your back and give birth to 10 children? But that was not to be her fate as the Lord’s youngest son came to ask for her hand. This was unheard of, but he was only a 7th son, and the Lord was poor as dirt. No better than a poor farmer her father used to tell her. But with her beauty maybe the coming generation would do better and it was decided. And so she was married and forgot about her mother’s troubles, until that day she walked by the river and heard the seabirds lament their sorrow. For a moment she thought she was going insane, her body was already bruised and broken as her new husband was no catch so who would blame her if her mind went too? A week later she walked by the same path and heard the birds tell her to find her mother’s skin and then she knew. She told the servant with her that she was going to her parents and the servant followed. There she went straight to her father and asked him the truth. A truth in a lie, she told him that a magician had come by and told her husband how much a skin was worth. Her father had money signs in his eyes and went to catch the skin at once. Kitsaine just smiled and told him that she would get him the money soon. Then when he was walking out she took the big copper pan and hit him over the head. By now the servant was screaming but Kitsaine just gave her a look at went to get her mother. Her mother who cried from joy when she saw her beloved skin. The skin she wore as the bird she was. The skin she had taken off to play in the water as a woman. The skin Kitsaine’s father had stolen and by doing that bound the poor river girl to him.

Kitsaine stood by the river with her mother by her side. The bird looked up and she thought she saw a smile. Then she took off her dress and waded in. She was scared and the water was cold but soon two birds flew away along the riverbed.

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Honestly what kind of bird is that? ;) Anyway I was inspired by old tales again

Friday Fiction Flash on Saturday + ebook deals

Dottie over at Tink's Place has come up with the idea for a Monday Morning Flash Fiction challenge.  Each Monday a new picture prompt will be posted and if you choose to  participate - you post your story on Friday - 350 words, give or take. 

So come on over and join us! It's fun.

(pic has been removed: couple kissing)

Winter and Summer

by Blodeuedd

She was the Summer Princess, fair and true. He was the Winter Prince, cold and harsh. But then the seelie and unseelie courts have always been opposites in every way. The Summer folk liked dancing and kissing. The Winter court liked war and rules. They did not mix as they had nothing in common. Neither did they fight each other as the Winter Fairies would have slaughtered the peacelovers at with one strike.

But every spring and fall they met and gave over the spire of Season. The Summer court was in full bloom when the Winter Court rode in. With unfeeling eyes they looked down at the bright colors and the laughter and frolicking going on. And Summer rolled their eyes at the strict Winter court who all had a rod up their asses.

The Ceremony was long and dull, even to the Winter Court. The priests went on and on. And as always they spoke of the one to come. The Child of Winter and Summer who would rule over both courts and change everything. The child who would take back the Dark Lands from the Sidhe who stole them long ago. It was then the young Summer princess looked over and caught the eye of the Winter prince. She smiled as her people always did and he, for a moment he looked beyond the silliness of her kind and saw her beauty and strength.

During the dinner Summer made her escape to the hills she loved and danced in the pale moonlight. Winter defied the rules and went to explore. There he saw her, dancing and laughing and his cold heart jumped for a moment. He went up to her and looked into her eyes as she stopped and fell into his arms with a laugh. She had never had a Winter Man to her bed and took the chance. For one who liked control he showed it well and it was nothing like the Boys of Summer. Even if it did feel a bit unfeeling he took her where she wanted to go. And without having uttered a word they lay there while the moon looked down upon them. Winter felt a spark starting to grow within her and pondered the consequences. A child of winter and summer. Uniting them both? He knew well that Winter wanted the Dark Lands back, and the Fields of Glory. But now, not now. So he smiled and she looked up with surprise and smiled too. A smile that slowly faded as he took the dagger and plunged it into her belly. Then he left her there, bleeding and alone. That is what he got for defying the rules.

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I meant them to have a kid, be happy and the courts would go to war one day. But hey, those who know my flashes from LJ know very well that I am dark ;)

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Flash Fiction friday

Welcome to another flash fiction Friday, hosted by the lovely Dottie @Tink's Place. Every Monday we get a new picture, and we write a 350ish word story on Friday. Be free to join us

(pic has been removed: elf and panther)

The Elf and the Panther

by Blodeuedd

She was a thing of beauty. He had followed her for days but she kept on slipping through his grasp. She was the night stalker, the creature of nightmares, a Goddess of Death and destruction. She was perfect. At night when he had to stop for a few hours sleep he could hear her in the distance. He did not want to sleep but he knew he would never catch her if he did not rest. He could hunt the next day, though she was not prey. She was something else. Call it fate, call it knowing, damn it all, call it love.

He was deep in the Ryarian Mountains when she cornered him. He had not meant it to happen. He had thought she was further along the path. He stood still and stared into her golden eyes as she growled deep in her throat. She came closer and he held his breath as her tail touched his leg. One move and she would rip his throat off.

“Nice kitty,” he whispered and she stood still. He could see the disbelief in her eyes and he knew he has won this battle, but he has lost the war. As she ran away he did not follow. Instead he went homewards. Weeks of tracking were over. He went home to his village, he talked to his kin and they all told him he had done the right thing.

Kaerin split the log in two and wiped the sweat of his brow. He had been home for weeks now and he feared that his decision has been the wrong one. He should have continued, even though the panther had looked him in the eye and told him to back off. And he had, because he knew that if she did not come then she certainly would not if he continued. But he missed her, he missed the hunt.

He looked up and was startled at once. Before him stood a beautiful woman, dressed only in a black pelt. He had not heard her sneak up on him, then she smiled and winked at him and he knew that he had finally won. You do not force love, you let it come to you. And he smiled back.

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Huh, what is wrong with me? Happiness and stuff ;)

Review: Twice Bitten - Chloe Neill

Series: Chicagoland vampires #3

Genre: It does not feel like UF anymore so UFR

Pages: 355

Published: 2010

Publisher: Gollancz

Source: Library

Merit, Chicago’s newest vampire, is learning how to play well with others. Other supernaturals, that is. Shapeshifters from across the country are convening in the Windy City, and as a gesture of peace, Master Vampire Ethan Sullivan has offered their leader a very special bodyguard: Merit. Merit is supposed to protect the Alpha, Gabriel Keene—and to spy for the vamps while she’s at it. Oh, and luckily Ethan’s offering some steamy, one-on-one combat training sessions to help her prepare for the mission. 

Merit must accept the assignment, even though she knows that she’ll probably regret it. And she’s not wrong. Someone is gunning for Gabriel Keene, and Merit soon finds herself in the line of fire. She’ll need all the help she can get to track down the would-be assassin, but everywhere she turns, there are rising tensions between supernaturals—not least between her and a certain green-eyed, centuries old master vampire.

My thoughts:

I am going to make this short because everything I hoped this series would be fell apart in this book and right now I am just annoyed for having read it.

I am annoyed at Ethan because he is an arrogant jerk and I can't see why Merit likes him, cos he is hot? Aye, but he is a jerk and I want to kick him in the crutch. I am annoyed at Merit because she no longer felt kick-ass, she felt weak and she should have known better. I am annoyed at them together because I honestly could not feel the attraction. They like each other a lot..yes but I no longer feel it.

I am annoyed at the tone too, I should be not be. I like it light, but right now it felt like her saying it is a vampire frat house just is too true. No one is acting like adults anymore, they are kids in one big house. It even felt a bit too YA.

As you can see I was not that happy about this book, and still the writing was so much better than other books that have gotten a higher grade from me. But the difference is that I enjoyed those books, while here the word for the day is annoyed and I am sad. If I can't respect the characters I got nothing left.

Conclusion:

*sad reader*

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My flash fiction for this week

Happy New YEAR I wish you all a great new year and many more good books to read. I am also grateful for all the new bloggers I have met this year, and the old ones that have gotten to know better. My blog would be nothing without you all :D

Flash Fiction Friday #Entry 33

Each Monday a new picture prompt will be posted and if you choose to participate - you post your story on Friday - 350 words, give or take.

(pic has been removed: a Forrest )

 After the Battle/A field of Death

Part 2

(continuation of A meeting in the Mist)

(belonging to the same world as The Prince of Darkness)
(yes I have been in this world before, lol)
by Blodeuedd

A new World

He had found a new respect for nature and nothing had been so majestic the nature across the Lapellan Mountains.  A Mountain Range he never could have crossed if not before. Then he had been a Dragon lord, mighty and fierce. Killing for his own pleasure, taking city after city, being everything he should be. Now he was nothing, but as nothing he had made it across. Many of his people had tried to cross these mountains but all had died at once. No one could figure out what kind of magic that protected the mountains and whatever lay beyond them.

It was still so strange, this new body, of a man dead in battle, but still being he was still him with his own thoughts. He still had the voices of the Gods in his head and they had told him to repent. This he would do, he would fight his former Dragon Brothers and push them back to the islands from where they had come. Little by little, country after country. He was after all a general and he could plan a campaign.

He needed a name, but could think of nothing. He wished that the Gods had taken the memories of his past life from him. How could he ever blend into a society he had loathed, to see lesser beings every day. He stopped as the voices grew higher and saw that he was close to the edge of the woods. But the sight before him took his breath away. A temple to the gods carved from two trees and there in the middle, a woman. The woman for whom he had given up everything, a woman he didn’t even know, a woman that would loathe him just as he had loathed her kind. But as he came closer she smiled, but he knew that it was not at him she smiled.

“Welcome,” Liselle said and smiled. “ I have been waiting for you.”
He stood still. Waited? “Why?”
“You saved me and you gave up everything for me.”
He fell to his knees, waiting for the words to come but instead she told him that the Gods had spoken to her. They had told her that a champion would come, a champion put in a body fallen in battle. He would have knowledge of the Dragon ways and he would fight for them. She had told the people this and they had rejoiced and sworn to fight again. But she had not told them what the Gods also had told them. That the man would be a former Dragon who had not forgotten a woman he once saved. At first she had been scared, but then she too had sworn that she would help this new champion.

“Do you hate me?” He asked and she sat down before him.
“It takes great courage to see the error on ones way, and if the Gods think you deserve a chance then I do too.”
The Former Dragon Lord took her hand and kissed it. The journey before him was long, but he would fight, for the people, the land, and for the woman he wanted as his own.

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Oh look at all these fluffy emotions, I blame Melissa who begged me for a HEA ;) Next week I am so going for blood and gore.

And I found myself back in this world, and I am also intrigued by these Dragon Lords. What are they? Since I have not figured that out, I think they might have had wings, and of course they are really evil.

Check out more
Mel @
My world in books
Ana

Flash Fiction Friday #Entry 32

Amy C over at Romance Book Wyrm and Dottie over at Tink's Place have come up with the idea for a Monday Morning Flash Fiction challenge. Each Monday a new picture prompt will be posted and if you choose to participate - you post your story on Friday - 350 words, give or take.

(pic has been removed: W woman dressed for battle)

After the Battle

(A Meeting in the Mist Part Two)

by Blodeuedd

All was lost. Raven looked down at the massacre, the doom of her people. They had never stood a chance, but they had fought until death. Their blood spilling over the land which they loved. They did not hide or flee, they stood tall before the massive force that came to conquer. She and a few warriors survived and took to the hills. A runner had already been sent to tell the rest that they had lost. The women and children were long gone and now the last of the warriors had to hurry to ensure their safety. Only a fool stayed and died. The land was lost, but the people could still be saved.

She gave the battlefield one last look and turned around. Her cheeks wet with tears. In the sky birds  flew and gave omens about death.
“You all shall find glory in the Halls of The Dead,” she said and nodded to the men. “Hurry! That bastard shall not slay another of the Crow Clan.”

This was it. What more is there to tell? The Warrior princess ran to catch up with her people and they moved to safer locations. But in the end this was not her story. Another stood beneath that hill.

A Field of Death

An entire continent had fallen to the Dragon Lords. Behind them the land lay to waste. Before them mountains stood tall. All this was now theirs.

He took off his helmet and looked at the destruction.  What would they do now? The answer was easy, fight each other. This continent would be ruled by many and he, yes he would stay here next to the mountains. Out there was that woman he had saved some months ago. He could not forget her, and for the first time in years his strict training was swept away by feelings that might be love. He stood in a pool of blood and all he could think of was a woman. For once he was so stirred by emotions that he gave no further orders. The Crows fled and he did not even care.

“My Lord?”
The image of her disappeared and he put his helmet back on.
“Kill those that still stir.”
The soldier behind him bowed and set out to work.


In a moment of clarity, absolute clarity, he saw the error of death and destruction and fell to his knees and prayed to the Gods. Not his Gods of Chaos but to the Gods of the People of the Land. They heard his prayer and looked down at the world before them. Their people had gone to safer lands but the land itself still cried out. So they did what had to be done and the Dragon Lord fell down dead.

“That one is still moving,” a soldier pointed to a warrior near the edge of the mountain. Unaware of what had befallen his Lord. His friend went towards the man who slowly opened his eyes with the voices of the Gods singing in his head.
“Life can be glorious, “ he said and put a dagger in the Dragon’s throat. Then he smiled and ran. Towards the mountains, and the women he had once seen.

After the Battle
Night closed around the conqueror's way,
And lightnings show'd the distant hill,
Where those who lost that dreadful day
Stood few and faint, but fearless still.
The soldier's hope, the patriot's zeal,
For ever dimm'd, for ever crost --
Oh! who shall say what heroes feel,
When all but life and honour's lost?

The last sad hour of freedom's dream,
And valour's task, moved slowly by,
While mute they watch'd, till morning's beam
Should rise and give them light to die.
There's yet a world, where souls are free,
Where tyrants taint not nature's bliss; --
If death that world's bright opening be,
Oh! who would live a slave in this?

-Thomas Moore

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Sometimes a pic is just too great, so I had a hard time coming up with something. So I went and got a poem again. And what did I do, well some reason I went back to that Dragon Lord and Liselle. I always wanted them to meet again and now perhaps they will, and perhaps the Dragon Lords can be pushed back.

Poor red haired girl though, totally messed up her story. Oh well ;)

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