QueenCrimson1994

Chapter Eight - A Dance To Remember As the evening wore on, Lords and Ladies he hadn't seen in years arrived at the Festival, drawn by the news that he had finally, after so many years, found her. Emissaries from the other courts came, some for the first time in centuries. "My Prince." One of the guards from the Palace came toward him and bowed. Thor shook his head. He spun Ashlynn in a loose embrace, far from graceful, but effective nonetheless. Her skin seemed to glimmer faintly in the dark, the power of her changing body already filling her. "What?" Ashlynn started staring up at Thor, eyes wide, lips parted as if she waited for a kiss.

Chapter Seven - A Winter Festival No one arrived the next morning with clothes or breakfast, but it hardly mattered. Ashlynn bathed on her own and though she struggled with the content of her dream, the hot water in the tub relaxed and cleansed her mind. Only days before she never would have allowed herself to relax so, but in the privacy of the bathroom, she was able to admit that the Prince's intentions seemed . . . not honorable, but not as terribly as she might have allowed herself to imagine. When she re-entered her bed chambers, it was not the young kitchen girl who greeted her, but the older woman. She indicated a silver silken tunic

Chapter Six - The Book And The Garden When Ashlynn woke the next morning, it was to the elder servant bringing in a large tray for breakfast. When she noticed her stirring, she smirked and it was almost enough to make Ashlynn refuse to eat once again merely on principle. Although she was aged and worn like a mother, that was as far as the resemblance seemed to go. "We all heard about the Prince Thor's visit to your chambers." She said. "Have you finally accepted your purpose here?" Ashlynn didn't bother to answer. The old crone finally shook her head and let it go. "He's sent you something. He must like you better than I do. It's on the t

Chapter Five - Dinner With The Prince When Ashlynn finished composing herself - splashing cold water over her face, fixing her hair, smoothing out her now wrinkled and well worn gown - and stepped out into the bedchamber again, there was a new assortment of food waiting by the door. True to his word, the prince was there was well. He bowed slightly when he noticed Ashlynn standing at the washroom door, and indicated that she should sit across from him at the small table laden with food. The prince seemed to understand her misgivings and took her hand as she sat. "What can I do to put you more at ease here, little bird?" His voice held no t

Chapter Four - Innocence The first thing Ashlynn noticed was that she was warm, her cheek was pressed against a soft fabric, and her hands were cradled under a pillow. She had slept lightly, every sound rousing her, and she had lay there: staring with wide eyes into the darkness. Twice she had dreamed that the prince was there, once sitting in a stool and watching her intently and once stroking her face with rough, calloused hands. Each time she had ripped herself from her sleep with a sob and the dream had disappeared. With a sigh, missing the familiar weight of her bow on her shoulder, she lurched to the window seat in the wall. It took a

Chapter Three - The Ball At dawn the sun's rays streamed through the window, warming Ashlynn's face. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up on the edge of the bed. The pine floor was cold beneath her feet. She stretched her sore legs and rubbed her back, yawning. Beside the bed was a row of shelves covered with objects she had collected. There were twisted pieces of wood, odd bits of shells, rocks that had broken to reveal shiny interiors, and strips of dry grass tied to resemble dolls. Her favorite item was a small hunk of jewel which matched her eyes perfectly, reflecting with the same golden purple light. The rest of the room was bare, except for

Chapter Two - Marna Valley The sun rose the next morning with a glorious conflagration of pink and yellow. The air was fresh, sweet, and very cold. Ice edged the streams, and small pools were completely frozen over. After a breakfast of porridge, Ashlynn started for home. The rough game trail was faintly worn and, in places, nonexistent. Because it had been forged by animals, it often back-tracked and took long detours. Yet for all its flaws, it was the fastest way out of the mountains. The mountains was one of the few places Ashlynn felt at home. Though the trees grew tall and the sky shone brightly, few people could stay in the mountains

Chapter One - The Hunt Ashlynn knelt in a bed of trampled reed grass and scanned the tracks with a practiced eye. The prints told her that the deer had been in the meadow only a half-hour before. Soon they would bed down. Her target, a small doe with a pronounced limp in her left foreleg, was still with the herd. She was amazed she had made it so far without a wolf or bear catching her. The sky was clear and dark, and a slight breeze stirred the air. A silvery cloud drifted over the mountains that surround her, it's edges glowing with ruddy light cast from the harvest moon cradled between two peaks. Streams flowed down the mountains from st