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The Slave Lady Chapter 35

July 19, 2019 / posted in Chapter Book, Stories / No Comments

Back to Chapter 34

 

The courtyard was barely more than grey with the morning light when Laun was up and doing her morning exercises.  She had left the other two sleeping on the bed and had put more covers over them.  She had suddenly awoken and could not get back to sleep.  There was nothing wrong, with the room or herself, she just was awake.

Laun’s lower back was feeling twitchy.  She had not been doing her morning routines as religiously and her body was telling her about it.  She stretched, using the wall of the courtyard to prop her self up with.  Her legs were stretched and she tried to gently twist to see if it was her spine that needed to be realigned.  Nothing popped, so she went back to stretching and moving to relax things.

She tried to do one of the open hand katas, flowing as much as she could, but again, her back was threatening to go out and she found she was not doing things the way she really needed to be doing them.  She switched to another form and could tell within a few steps that it was not coming out right.

She just let her arms swing as she stood there in the courtyard, her eyes closed as she felt and listened to her body.  She started to move slow and found a few movements that did not seem to trigger her back.  She built on those, feeling the dirt under her feet as she turned, the dry air on her skin as her arms went through motions similar to pulling a bow.

It was not a true form, but she felt her heart beat raise and her breathing deepen.  She needed to keep some of her morning form, even if it was just to focus her mind. »Read More

The Slave Lady Chapter 34

July 16, 2019 / posted in Chapter Book, Stories / No Comments

Back to Chapter 33 - Just introduced to the World of Anachron?  Start with the first book, first chapter, of The Slave Warrior.

 

It was night and Laun was restless.  She felt some better than she had that afternoon, but she was more tired of being in the room than was depressed.

She wore the light tunic still on the end of the bed and put on the woolen slippers.  Gem was asleep in the bed and Laun had not heard anything from either of the watcher holes since she had talked with Del.  Laun made sure she peed before she left the room and went to explore some.

She went partway to the kitchens, but instead of going towards what she knew, she turned the other way down the hall.  It was dark, but there were night lanterns lit at most corridor crossings.  Down the way, there were doors and another crossing, letting her have light from behind her and in front.

Laun stopped at each door and listened.  She decided that if she did not hear anything, she would try to open the door.  She did not hear anything at any of the doors.  Only one of the five doors in that piece of corridor opened.

It was some sort of supply room.  There were stacks of shelves lining the room, a window across from the door letting in some light from a moonlit courtyard.  Laun ran her hands along the surfaces of what was on the shelves.

She felt leather.  She felt something smooth and metallic.  There were buckles and straps.  She pulled and a partially put together warriors harness came off the shelf.  It was the lower harness and it was for quite a tall person.  She put it back and went to another shelf.

She felt her way around finding mostly fighting supplies.  She stood at the window, looking out on yet another neglected courtyard.  There was strong moonlight showing the skeletons of trees against the grey of the night.  She could not see the moon, but she could feel how the light made her feel slightly happier. »Read More

The Slave Lady Chapter 33

July 10, 2019 / posted in Chapter Book, Stories / No Comments

Back to Chapter 32

 

Days had gone by.  Laun now knew the way to the main kitchen without escort.  She also could get to the Library and the front receiving entrance without too many lost turns.  She was trying to build on that, opening doors that would open, looking through windows to know what it was positioned by in the estate.

Laun had switched to wearing mainly just her halter and a loose tunic as she wandered the manor.  She didn’t even bother with slippers, though that could have been dreadful when she came across a broken window in one of the outside enclosed walkways.  It went on her list of things that needed to be fixed, later.

She had started to do just stretches in the dusty courtyard in the mornings.  She did not feel like her body would stand up to full forms and be able to continue to reorganize and clean the manor.  The dust was thick, except for in the area right outside her door.  Laun used the area only for her morning exercise.  She needed green and growing and living things around her. »Read More

The Slave Lady Chapter 32

July 2, 2019 / posted in Chapter Book, Stories / No Comments

Back to Chapter 31

 

“I want it unlocked.”

Laun was not raising her voice.  She was not being threatening.  She was being firm in her request.

The servant was several steps away from Laun and had his eyes on the ground.  “Lady, I have my orders-”

“And you are going to make a pregnant woman sit on her ass with nothing to do day in and day out?”

He opened his mouth and closed it again.  He nodded and had the keyring under his tabard.  He unlocked the door to the courtyard and opened the door.  It took a little effort as it had not been opened for a while.  A wave of outside heat came in and Laun could smell the dust from the courtyard.

Laun smiled.  “Thank you.”

He bowed slightly, looking nervous.  “My duty, Lady.” »Read More

The Slave Lady Chapter 31

June 24, 2019 / posted in Chapter Book, Stories / No Comments

Back to Chapter 30.  Please consider keeping the WebMistress in chocolate by visiting her Tribute Page.

 

Gem had pitying looks from some of the servants as she went to see what could be had for dinner.  She played it up, holding her arm as she was escorted to the kitchens again.  She was glad to have the escort as the building had been added onto so often that it was difficult to keep track of all the levels, hallways and doors from one place to another.

It was a skeleton crew at the estate.  Even with the few servants sent from the Palace, there seemed to be just a few people here and there doing the jobs of dozens.  In the kitchen there seemed to be just two.

Gem came into the kitchen with her escort to see the two people there wrestling with an oversized leg of meat.  They didn’t seem to know which way either of them was going and seemed to be dropping it more than moving it.

“Hey!  The Lady wants dinner.  Is she going to get any?”  The household servant yelled and waved his arms to get the other servants attention.

“We only had a day to get ready!  We still have some of the bread from a few days ago and some preserves, but, if she wants anything else, she is going to have to wait for it like the rest of us.”  The harried servant was smeared with blood from the meat they were manhandling.

“Look,” the servant who had escorted Gem stepped towards the two kitchen people and lowered his voice.  “She has a bitch of a mistress and I don’t want to send her back without something.” »Read More

The Slave Lady Chapter 30

June 21, 2019 / posted in Chapter Book, Stories / No Comments

Back to Chapter 29

 

It seemed empty.  The last time Laun was there, there had been a tent city filling the landscape.

Laun pulled back the curtain and looked out on a grassy set of low hills.  It was peaceful as if there had never been any trouble.  There was even a large pond or small lake glinting in the distance.  Laun could hear geese somewhere close.

There was a small welcoming party from the main house near the entrance marker to the Hawkwell lands.  Laun saw Captain Leon talking to several people in the dark colors before motioning for the group to follow.  The carriage lurched forward and Laun held onto the strap anchored in the wall of the cabin to keep from falling into the footwell.

Laun was helped out at the same place she had been helped out of a carriage a year before.  She was escorted through the same receiving hall with the same murals.  This time, she purposely stopped and looked at them.  Yes, she was a Hawkwell.  Yes, Tressa and she looked remarkably alike, but the resemblance between Laun and Falmir now was even more striking.  She did see that the portrait had been done many years before.  Falmir now had grey in his brown hair and lines between his eyebrows.  Or, perhaps, it had been the year of governing that had done it.

Laun saw familiar things as she was escorted through the halls.  To a familiar room. »Read More

The Slave Lady Chapter 29

June 17, 2019 / posted in Chapter Book, Stories / No Comments

Back to Chapter 28

 

They had only been on the road for an hour on this stretch and Laun was signaling that she needed to stop again.  The carriage was tossing her from side to side and her back was spasming.

It was not just the carriage that had to stop.  There was the cart with her few things and some of the Palace servants.  There were the military officers on horseback.  There was the company keeping pace behind.  Not just Laun.

It was late afternoon and they had stopped four times already.  They had left from the Rosemond Embassy estate directly into the flow of early morning street traffic.  The Capitol City did not rest for long in the night and even at dawn, there were merchants and townsfolk about.  It had been slow going in the city and Laun had asked for their first stop just a few minutes from the outer gate.  They had met the military escort while Laun paced within sight of the King’s City gate, a curt greeting before the carriage had lurched forward again. 

She tried to ride and grit her teeth in the carriage.  She asked if she could ride in the wagon.  She laid in the footwell of the carriage.  Nothing seemed to keep her back from hurting.

This time, they were by a small stream and Laun was trying to pace and stretch to get some relief.  Her feet and legs were fighting her, too.  Her ankles were swollen to the point where she was not sure where her calf really started.  Even with both Gem and Hazalam massaging her, the feet she had did not look like her own. »Read More

The Slave Lady Chapter 28

June 16, 2019 / posted in Chapter Book, Stories / No Comments

Back to Chapter 27

 

Laun had made her way back to the green room.  Most of the things she had collected were already in traveling cases and chests.  She sat and thought.  She wrote only a few messages and gave them to the servant waiting to take them away.  She then wrote a message to Falmir.

“Lord Falmir-

“You have just sent me away.  We may never see each other again.  Not a threat. Not a promise.  It is just the way of things.

“I have need to tell you a few things.  Some may make things clearer.  Some will muddy the waters more.

“Firstly, Bregnan.  He has claimed responsibility for many deaths.  Not just for your coup.  He was the one who poisoned and killed your sister.  He used the same poison that killed Lady Hellon, and almost me.  He is deadly, and I fear he will go after me again to make sure you do not have any hinderances in your reign.

“Second, I was brought up as a slave.  You sent my mother into the hell of disownment, but Salam-Dir was there to take her in.  Lady Hellon knew you were my father and taught me.  Not as much as I should know, but she did not know she was going to die. »Read More

The Slave Lady Chapter 27

June 11, 2019 / posted in Chapter Book, Stories / No Comments

Back to Chapter 26

 

Laun was wrapped up in several layers of light linens against the bright sun.  She did not want to have any clothing on at all, but it was the best she could do without being even more scandalous than she was.

It was the first time in a week she had been outside and to the tent.  It was becoming summer hot and the breeze that went by held the sweaty funk of the city in it.  It was not as warm inside the Palace, but it had become stifling.  Laun wanted some fresh air that did not smell of dying flowers.

It had been novel for her to receive cut flowers as she was recovering.  And then it was a little too heady in the room, the scent overpowering her some times.  And then she had to have all but one or two bunches taken out as the flowers started to wilt and smell of decay.  The scent had lingered for days and was finally too much.

It was a different scent outside, but still not entirely pleasant. »Read More

The Slave Lady Chapter 26

June 7, 2019 / posted in Chapter Book, Stories / No Comments

Back to how Laun got in this condition in Chapter 25

 

The dreams Laun had were odd and vivid.  She was in the Great Hall with her people.  They were all celebrating.  She was not sure what they were celebrating and tried to push through the crowd.  She looked up and saw huge night creatures hanging from the rafters watching them.

Laun watched them back and found she was floating above her people and looking one of the night creatures eye to eye.  They looked at each other and she saw blood dripping from it’s mouth.  It spoke to her and told her of the plans it had to eat all her people.

Laun lashed out and felt her hand go through the night creature.  It turned from solid to nothing as her fist connected.  And then she was falling, but not onto the people below.  They had disappeared. The Great Hall had changed to the river and she was in the river.  The water was above her head and she could not breathe!

She had to breathe!  She struggled and her arms pushed the covers to the side and she sat, coughing. »Read More

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