Disclaimer: Well, world domination is coming along nicely. The bugs in my compost heap are finally obeying me! Well, I ent selling any of this, so I ent doing no more disclaimers wot say I don't own anything you recognise and I REALLY wanna thank DE for the dancing! His Nadraks sure know how to move!
I'M BACK! You probably won't get number 5 and onwards updates as frequently as chappie two though, cause I have to rely on internet cafés from now on.
To my Oh-So-Wonderful reviewers:
Nativewildmage: you know, that was just a spur of the moment thing! I like the way his grammar slips too, but I only decided to put it in at the very last moment! (cringing) Yes, ok. I'll put a cliffie in somewhere! But you're not allowed to kill me when you read it!
Sorceress ShadowRain: so happy you liked it! It wasn't much of a holiday coz I had to do school! MATH!(evil eye) (big Calvert Math book disintegrates)
Zerrin of the Wind: I like music, so I just thought "why not?"! Good power to have, innit?
Tessadragon: (fanning self) Spare my blushes! Thankyou so much!
Eilene: Yay! Glad you like it, G. Shame about the weather. I told you you were gonna freeze! My advice to you is sit in the oven. But not when it's on. By the way, you know our story-game-thing? Can I use the idea/plot/thing to write an original story? Speak to you on the 7th.
To all of youse wot'r confused, Cassuria is the country, and Girchat is the city.
Well, you all reviewed, so chapter three is not called "Verse 24 of Ode to a Small Lump of Green Putty I Found in my Armpit One Midsummer Morning". Instead it is called…
Chapter Three
The Dream and the Drunk
She betrayed me. She left me. She has returned. Now she will pay!
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Their day which is equivalent to Saturday (help please!)
Dreaming
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R
"No!" I scream, tears streaming down my face.
"You must learn to control your power!" he orders sternly
"But--"
"I'm taking you to Winding Circle Temple." He tells me shortly "We leave in one hour. NO ARGUMENTS!"
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Not Dreaming
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R
I shoot bolt upright in bed. Evvy stirs next to me.
"Yes, I like flowers." She mumbles happily into her pillow. Her sleep is obviously not troubled, as mine is.
I give myself a small shake. Stop it, Rosey! You're being silly! You'll have to hang yourself in the well by your own ankles if you keep this up!
But I can't stop worrying and wondering. The knife……………it was obviously that of an assassin, and wolfsbane is expensive here, unless you know where to find it. But why would anyone go to all that trouble to kill Briar? He's never been here before, so he hasn't had much chance to make enemies. Still, it is Briar, so you never know……but even HE can't find someone willing to spend over three gold Sardas to kill him in under a week! There's no reason for that…
Unless…
Unless someone wanted to hurt me through him.
Do you remember what happened last time you were here? Whispers a ghostly voice at the back of my head. I push that voice down to the deepest depths of my mind. It struggles to resurface, but I force it back down again.
The sun is rising, and I need breakfast. Don't worry; everything will be fine with a good meal inside you.
I get up and go to make myself something to eat. Before I dig in, I give thanks, as always. But I find myself praying, not only for the food, but for Briar and Evvy. Please Mila, keep them safe. We don't even know why anyone would want to kill them.
I do. whispers the voice. I do.
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S
It is a market day. I am hurrying through the jostling crowd of every colour imaginable. There are even some unnaturally pale foreigners from as far north as Namorn.
The locals' skin ranges from my golden brown to jet black. We have almond shaped eyes, hazel to black in colour, and varicoloured wavy hair. The farmers wear sleeveless cotton smocks, the musicians, actors and other performers various brightly coloured costumes, the townsmen wear short tunics, and the judges, mages and other high ranking men wear thin, sleeveless, silk robes. The women's clothing is much more elaborate. The farmer's wives and daughters wear simple cotton frocks, the dancers wear scanty costumes of gauze and silk which flutter gaily in the wind, the singers and musicians wear ankle length gowns of various designs, and the high ranking ladies wear whatever pleases them.
I do not look at the market stalls I am striding. As if I could afford any of the overpriced merchandise. But I will soon….he said I was a mage, and mages are rich! Well, some of them…
I want to go straight to his visitor house. I want him to show me how to use my magic. But though I may be rich some day I am not now, and today is a singing day. Besides, Siena, Mirja and the others will miss me. I promised them I would see them every weekend, and I do not break my promises. Not if I make them truthfully. And not to children. I will make sure they have a trade other than pick pocketing when they grow up. I will not stop helping them to satisfy my own desires.
I make my way down the crooked streets of the meroch, or lower city, heading for the Gardens of Dreams. They are beautiful, the pride of Girchat. No, of all Cassuria. I am not here to look however. I am heading to the Meadow of Daisies to meet the Urchins.
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Ten min. later…
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S
I set my basket down on the soft grass and brightly coloured wildflowers of the well tended meadow and sit down to wait. A sharp, high pitched whistle reaches my ears. I look around. There is no one in sight. I give a low whistle back, and sixteen motley girls and boys of about six to sixteen years old melt out of the trees at the edge of the Wood of Golden Shadows. The little ones run laughing and shouting to meet me, while the older kids follow with more dignity. They gather round me, sitting in among the softly swaying daisies.
"Hey disna Shadi!"
"Hey"
"Look, I can talk like high folk, like you teached me!"
"Taught me."
"I knows a new knife trick!"
"You gots to teach me that la'er!"
"I kin dance good now! Just like you does at market!"
"Bin practisin' Rasmti? Reckon you cud do be'er'n me someday if'n ya practise."
I automatically slip into street slang as I struggle to respond to them all at once.
"Do you gots any food?"
I look down at Mirja, the smallest of the group, a pretty chocolate brown nymph with light brown eyes. "Yes, but you gots to read 'me first." I pull a worn old book out of my basket and hand it to her.
"Ok"
She struggles through the familiar words as I help her along. Father made sure I could read at an early age. Our neighbours said it was a waste of time, but Da never cared what the neighbours said. "Ah got betta thins ta do'n worry about wo' a bunch a snooty aud busybodies think o' me!"
"That wiz real good! Soon you'll be puttin' them high folks in court out've a job! 'ere…" I rummage in my basket and pull out a roll of bread and some home made butter and jam. I spread the roll, and pass it to Mirja. She bites into it hungrily!
"Ok, now Rasmuti and Marchata les' see y'dancin!"
The two black skinned fourteen year olds rise and the rest of us start up a beat of three measured claps, then four staccato ones (yes, I know I copied that, but it's so good I couldn't help it!). They begin slowly, their feet carefully seeking out the rhythm. By the end of the dance, however, their feet are a flickering blur as they skilfully perform the alluring moves in the tattered rags they wear for clothes. They conclude with an outrageous strut, then collapse, panting. I hand them each bread rolls thick with jam.
"Soon's I kin get youse costumes you kin go out on th'streets!"
"Where do you think we go now? The trees?" Rasmuti jokes, tearing viciously at the bread with her teeth.
I am helping Hanipu with his high speech, when I notice a new face in the crowd. A girl of about fifteen.
"'Oo a' you, then?" I ask the newcomer
"This 'ere's saicha Evvy." Korau supplies helpfully. I frown. He has addressed her as a mage. "We's friends." He adds shyly. I grin broadly at him, and wink at Evvy, who blushes. He and Evvy are about the same age, and I'm fairly certain that they are a bit more than "friends".
"Well Evvy, youse welcome t'join us. I's 'elpin' 'em find a way they kin work when they's older. Wot you like doin'?"
But she laughs, and answers, "Don't worry 'bout me!" she grins "Weren't you lisnin' to Korau? I's a stone mage!"
"Oh, ok." I turn back to Hanipu, but then I have an idea. "Can you read?"
"Yeh."
"Then kin you 'elp out some o'the little 'uns?"
"Sure."
We continue to work until the noon, then I spread a sheet on the grass and we have lunch. I eat little, letting the famished thieves and pickpockets tuck in. I notice that Evvy also eats little. My liking for her goes up several notches.
When all the food has disappeared into the now full stomachs of my friends I collect the empty plates and start packing up "Alright, now I gots to work. Ylara and Tiu, you wanna come this time? I's singing today."
The two girls nod and help me to pack my basket while the rest of the group fade back into the trees. I catch a glimpse of Evvy and Korau embracing in the shadows, and stifle a grin.
"Youse need to go further back into the trees if you don't want no one t'see ya!" I call to them. They look around startled, and Evvy laughs. Many girls would have taken offence or sulked. I reckon Korau's onto a good thing with her.
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After market
About five pm
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E
I kiss Korau goodnight, and saunter home. Pahan Briar said there's someone he wants me to meet. Dunno who it could be. I wander up the street, lost in thought. I see Ylara as I cross into the tourist district, and I wave to her. She waves back, and continues on her way. She's a pickpocket, so she's probably working.
I set off down the dark back alleys. I know a shortcut to our guest house, but it passes through the unfriendly district of town.
I wonder what Rosethorn was so upset about this morning. She tried not to show it, but there was definently something wro---
A huge hand clamps itself over my mouth, and another grabs my wrists, twisting them back.
"You're a pretty thing then, ent you" a rough voice whispers in my ear.
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After market
About five pm
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S
I am finished for the day. FINALLY
"Hey Tiu, you know where the Disporn guest house is?"
"yeh, 's over in th' tourist district. You'll find it eventually if ya go down th'main road, but there's also a shortcut ya kin take if you turn left down Thieves' Alley, then right at Silverback road."
"K, thanks."
"No prob. Hey, you gonna come round the park later? Me'n Ylara's gonna trade knife tricks."
"Nah, can't. gotta see some saicholl bout something. I'll prolly be out all night."
"Ah, well. See ya tomorrer."
"See ya."
I stride excitedly towards the tourist district, and turn off at Thieves' like Tiu said. Suddenly I hear a muffled scream, and a curse. I run towards the sound, but I am forced to stop after only a few steps. The alley is dark and cool, but the cobblestones are HOT
"Stop that!" I order the stones without thinking. To my utter amazement, they flare hot, then cool. I can't stop to wonder though. I hurry on.
Suddenly I see them. A drunk has grabbed a young girl and is pulling her further down the dark alley. The girl is putting up a terrific fight, but the drunk is stronger than she and has her arms twisted up behind her. Tiny rocks are shooting out of the walls, peppering the brute, but he is too drunk to notice. A terrible rage builds up inside me, a heat so that intense I feel as though a flame will come shooting out of my mouth. I run towards the monster and his prey, determined to stop him somehow.
"STOP!"
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Don't hurt me! I needed a cliffie! Now you have to read chappie four!
By the way, if anyone wants to see the outfits i'm doing drawings of them and sometime i will put them on the internet, so keep checking my profile to see if i have any up.
Isn't that such a cute little Go button? Did I mention that a huge chocolate cake will appear out of nowhere if you click it? (no I did not)
REVIEW! OR ELSE…