Archer: Part 3 - Elendor

Hey!  I'm back with the nest part!

Elendor

“Your Highness?” 

I started.  I realized I had been dozing.  I sat up strait and shook my head.

“Yes, Sir Lionel?”  I asked, brushing hair off my forehead.

“Nothing your highness, I was just going to say you should get some sleep.  You haven’t had a full nights rest in who knows how long.”  Answered the kindly old gentle-knight with a chuckle.

I grinned sleepily.  “Thank you sir.  I might take your advice.”

“You are working hard for you kingdom.  Your father would be proud.”  He smiled. 

I smiled back.  I glanced around the stone chamber and at the large oak table.  I realized how tired I was.

“Very well,” I said, standing up.  “I will bid you goodnight.” 

Sir Lionel stood also and took hold of my arm.  “I wish your father could have seen the wonderful King you have become.” He said gruffly, bowing low.

“You have saved my life from my earliest days, Sir Lionel.  You do not have to bow to me.  If not for you, I would be dead long since. It is I who should bow to you.”  I pulled him up till he stood strait then kneeled before him.

“No sir!  You are my king!  I owe you every allegiance.”  He cried in surprise. “Please, stand!”

I looked up into his imploring face.  I stood them gave him a hug.  “If I could have another father,” I whispered, “It would be you.”

I walked out onto the balcony outside my room.  I stared restlessly out at the Keittian Ocean. 

My thoughts flickered to my earliest memories of a tall man and a beautiful woman smiling down at me, the woman holding my tiny baby sister, and at my sisters 1^st birthday, the smiling faces gathered around us.

There are many faces I recognize, the most vibrant images where of cousin Gordon and Sir Lionel.  He stowed us aboard a ship headed to Keitt.  He was there to help us and comfort us.  He was one of the many people who taught us.

I smiled at a memory of Sir Lionel teaching us how to sword fight.  It was cloudy that day.  We had started practice out in the range and was soon pouring rain.  We ended up in a mud ball fight.  We were all caked in mud.  I’m afraid that it was sir Lionel who had the worst of it.  The mud dried very quickly to his hair and beard once we were inside.  He had to wash his hair more than once to get the grit out.

I walked back into my room, over to the wash basin.  I looked at my reflection in the water.  I stared, the water seemed to shimmer, and then I saw Gordon ridding through a field in Gwindola. 

He was smiling, enjoying his freedom.

Just as Gordon was gifted with tracking and knowing, I was gifted with wisdom and oversight.  I can see people even if we are separated.  I don’t need a mirror or a pool of water to see clearly, unlike those who work with evil.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  The image of Gordon flickered then faded away.  I rubbed my eyes.  Opening them, I thought of the meeting between Gordon and my sister. 

I wish I could be there.  I wish I could have gone and told her myself.

I hope you liked it!

Maddie

Once a Pirate, Always a Pirate: Part Six {by Willow}

 Written by Willow and Assisted by Darrion

 Jack placed the compass into Darren's hand.
 "Here you go, mate. Now, try to want to find the stoney treasure as much as you can."
 Darren squeezed his eyes shut, and the compass' needle spun crazily. It came suddenly to a stop, pointing due East.
 "Sparrow! Darren! Wills!" D cried, thundering down the creaky wooden stairs. "Teeza's ship! It's close! I can see it through the fog!"
 "Oh no." I shoved her aside as I raced to the deck.
 In the distance, I could barely see a tiny three inch by five inch ship bobbing in the waves.
 "Yep, it's there all right." I called down the steps as I pattered down them once more. "Coming from the East too."
 Jack glanced at the compass, then snatched it up and handed it to D. "Why don't you try, lass?" He suggested.
 D smiled smugly as the needle spun. And spun. And spun. And spun.
 Jack plucked up the compass and cleared his throat. "Ahem, well. Maybe you should try?" He held it out to me.
 I shrugged. "Sure."
 Taking it, I stared intently at the little needle. It spun for only about a minute, then stopped.
 Darren leaned over my shoulder. "It's pointing North East." He reported.
 "Lovely, now let's head for that stoney treasure!" Jack smiled cheerily as he headed for the wheel.

"Lovely?" I grumbled. We had been sailing through a rough storm

for about a day. I was wet, cold, and hungry.

  All we had on board was some really nasty beef jerky type stuff, and some gross molding biscuits. I {of course} refused to eat any of the biscuits, and took one whiff of the meat and refused to eat that, too.
 So here I was. Sitting in the Crow's Nest. Freezing cold {probably getting hypothermia}, starving, looking for land.
 A pirate's life for me.
 I was just dreaming of some hot apple cider and pumpkin pie, when Jack yelled at me to switch with Darrion.
 D appeared from below decks, quite displeased with having to sit up in the Crow's Nest in the poring rain. I could hear her muttering to herself that this must be against the law somewhere or something.
 She sent a brown-eyed glare my way as she hoisted herself up the rope ladder, as if I was responsible for her 'torture'. I shrugged.
 Now that I was safely of some kind of solid-ish ground, I needed to calm down.
  Breathe. Breathe. Move your arms... I smoothly began a fighting/exercise routine that was designed to calm you down. It mostly involved dance-like moves and ninja-like flips.
 Okay, you need to flip here.... I arched my arms and pushed off the splintery deck, flipping my body into the air.
  Thunk. The ship hit something hard and stopped with a jerk. I, of course, was still in the air.
 "Oof!" I connected hard with the door of the Captain's Cabin. Rubbing my head, I sat up.
 "We've struck land!" Jack crowed cheerily, trotting down the stairs and past me without giving me so much as a backward glance. I curled my lip. Men.
 "Land?" Both D and Darren each stuck a head out of the below-decks door {D had obviously shirked on the Crow's Nest}.
 "Is the ship alright?" D scrambled past me and inspected the bow with an intense eye. "I heard a big thunk." Darren followed. "We could have ripped the hull apart!"
 I winced, rubbed my head again and stood up, placing both hands on my hips. "I'm okay too, thanks for asking." I rolled my eyes.
 Both Ds looked up vaguely, question marks on their faces.
 "Never mind. Where did we land, anyway?" I asked.
 Jack waved from the rock that he was perched on. "Over here! I found the island! Let us be off!" He waved a be-ringed hand. "Come along now, savvy's. We have a treasure to find!"
To be continued...

 

Also, here are some 'piratey' pictures for you {from Pinterest} 

 

{This is from the first movie-but works for the 4th part of this story:)}

 

{Cool, huh?}

 

    

{An intimidating bridge, to say the least}

 

 

{Pretty cool, am I right?}

{PS, I'm very sorry for taking soooo long-but I was super busy and didn't have a lot of time to do this story, but you can expect the next part pretty soon, I think!}

Warrior Princess

Hey everyone!
I know it's been forever since I posted. I made a few changes on my story, so I'm reposting Chapter 3, but I'm posting Chapter 4 also. Hope you enjoy!

P.S. Everyone on the blog has great stories!





Chapter 3

                Lendra looked toward the city in front of her. She couldn’t believe her eyes, it was so huge! She shook her head in amazement. Growing up in a little mountain village, she had never seen anything like it. Neece stood beside her, smiling at her amazement. Lendra looked at Neece sideways.

                “This is your hometown?”

                A smile went over Neece’s face sort of sideways.

                “Well, now it is. I stay here when I’m not on a mission.”

                “And the King is here?”

                “Oh, yes. The King is wherever you need Him to be.” Neece looked at Lendra. “You didn’t know that?”

                Lendra shrugged. “Well, sort of. I feel like I don’t know very much about the King and the Prince.”

                Smiling encouragingly, Neece patted Lendra on the back. “Well, you’ll learn. I’ll teach you as we are together.”

                Lendra smiled. “Well then, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

                They started down into the city together.

 

                Soon they were surrounded by people, and Lendra was amazed at how Neece navigated the crowds. Eventually they came to a great building, and Lendra gaped in astonishment.

                “This is a huge palace! Does the King live here?” Lendra asked breathlessly.

                Neece smiled at Lendra’s exuberance. “Well, the King is here, but we can’t see Him. We will talk to the Prince, who will tell us of our quest.”

                Lendra nodded. “So are we going to go in and see what we need to do?”

                Neece cocked an eyebrow. “As soon as you’re ready.”

                “I’m ready! Let’s go!”

 

Chapter 4

                                    

                Lendra gasped. “This is… incredible! I can’t believe it!” Inside the palace, flying buttresses supported intricately designed walls as they soared up to amazing heights. Stained glass windows lit the interior with beautiful hues of red, green, yellow, blue, orange, and purple. Beautifully embroidered curtains closed off chambers from the main hall.

                Neece led Lendra to a curtain on the far side of the hall from the door. A winding staircase led to a smaller hall, where a servant came and bowed front of them.

                “You seek audience with the Prince?”

                Neece nodded. “I am Princess Bernice. I have found my companion, so now I need a quest.”

                The servant bowed again. “I will tell the Prince. You should be able to see Him in a few minutes, please to wait here.” He made a gesture toward the chairs along the sides of the hall. A few people sat here and there, but not many, and Neece and Lendra sat down comfortably.

                Soon the servant came back. “You are to see the Prince immediately. Please come with me.”

                They followed the butler up another staircase, through a long corridor filled with wall hangings, and up to a simple wooden door. Lendra frowned.

                “This is the Prince’s room? It doesn’t seem to be as grand as it should.”

                Bernice looked at Lendra reprovingly. “Lendra, the Prince does not aspire to grandeur. He will appear in all of his glory at the end, but for now He shows Himself to us as one of us.”

                Lendra nodded, but she didn’t really understand. If she were the ruler of the kingdom, she would want to be in the most regal robes possible, have the fanciest clothes, and own the most beautiful palaces. True, this was a beautiful palace, but the apartment they were being shown into now was very simply decorated—almost plain. As she was considering this, they went into the chamber. A tall man greeted them with a warm smile.

                “Ah, Princess Bernice! I see that you have brought your companion Lendra with you. How are you?”

                Lendra opened her eyes wide. How had he known her name? Beside her, Bernice bowed, motioning for Lendra to do the same.

                “We are very well, your Highness. As you know, I now have a companion, and we wish for you to give us a quest to do for you.”

                The man, (who Lendra realized was the Prince) smiled thoughtfully. “Ah, yes. You need a quest.” He rubbed his chin slowly, then smiled. “I have just the thing. I want you to go to the castle of Syntafa and free the prisoners that are held there. You will need to cross the Crawdon Mountains, because Castle Syntafa is in the south of Adainia.”

                Bernice nodded, her eyes wide. “You trust us with taking that castle? I am honored, my Lord.”

                The Prince nodded. “You will be able to do it with the King’s help.”

Glitches {Thank y'all!}

Ok, it's decided! It's Glitches {I liked ''You Promised'' slightly better, but that's okay. :)}! I know I'm going off of the Protecters, but I got to a boring part. And it still needs to be done. So I've been working on Glitches more than I should be {I have 5 current stories}, but I thought I should give y'all some more. Hopefully I left you hanging.

One year ago

‘’You Promised’’

It didn’t happen like this. I swear. Everyday I lived without fear, only looking with pity at the poor souls who knew what would happen to them. But I was certain it wouldn’t happen to me. Because the man whom I never knew to tell a lie promised. But so much good that did. Would it all be easier for me to tell you? I suppose. It’s not a story which was weaved to tell, but humans weren’t made for lying. So here goes nothing:

       That man? He was my father. My protecter. The only family member I had left. My mother had been taken, and my sisters and brothers, too. But every month I was checked, they said I wasn’t ready. I was too fragile for ‘’that world’’.  When we watched my mother being taken away, he made a promise. ‘’Kate,’’ he said. ‘’I will never let you go. Remember that. Whatever happens, remember that.’’ Then he hugged me for a long time, and I felt like he would always keep that promise. He hid me, and things normal children need to grow strong he didn’t give me. ‘’They can’t take you if you aren’t healthy.’’ He never let me out. ‘’Playing will strengthen you,’’ he said, giving me a quick kiss and a chocolate. I had a thin and lean body frame, and perhaps that helped, also. I never grew much. I was short for my age, but Father always promised I’d be tall and beautiful like my mother one day. Well, it’s been 9 years, and nothing has happened. My hair is thick, but whether I liked it or not my eyes burn angerly. Nobody would want to play with me, anyhow. I seem to be the image of despicable.

       There’s a beast. One that’s slimy, and rather like an octopus. It lives above the main control room of the Computer House. It’ll wrap a leg around your head, and you will be shocked. It’ll shout out an order, either ‘’next month’’ or ‘’he’s/she’s ready’’. There has never been any other order, that we know of. But nobody knows much about the Computer House. It’s the sort of book you put in History books, not the places you’d want to go.

       I was always to thin, or too short. Or just plain ‘ole not ready. But then there was a day. Father said I was getting prettier. True, I did get a few curious glances, but once they saw my eyes all curiousness vanished. It had chuckled and said, ‘’she looks about ready.’’ It wrapped It’s leg around my head, and my body shuddered. I fell to the ground, shaking. I thought I heard the door open. But maybe not. I was certain this wouldn’t be the month. All the other girls my age were much bigger. ‘’She’s ready. She’ll do as a pretty one,’’ It’s voice sounded out. I was roughly grabbed, and taken blind-folded to another room. The next step of being taken is being transformed. Where ever you go, you go with a job if you’re old enough. Or you’re prepared for your future job. For example, if you’re a McDonald cashier, you’ll need to be pretty. The humans whom have betrayed us will study you and write down what you’ll be on their clipboards. Then they’ll knock you out, and robots will transform you. Whether it’s just a new hair color of a whole new transformation, you’ll never know until the end of the job.

       Let me tell you one thing: it’s painful. When you get less done, it’s not as painful. Sadly, the humans seemed fit to change all of me. My red hair was replaced with carmel hair, my nose smaller, instant redish color to my lips, and my eyes were a mix of green, blue, gray and brown. Then they walk you down a hall, and into a room. The floor is tilted, and it sucks you down into a black hole. You won’t remember anything after that. But the funny thing is, I remembered everything.

‘’KATE!’’ I heard screaming coming up the stairs. I glanced around my all-purple room. Before I thought about anything, I thought, I’ve got to make this more of an teenager room. Besides, I am 14. Then I gasped at myself. Wasn’t I in the Other World just yesterday? I looked at myself in the mirror. I had changed. Things like this didn’t happen over night. I was taller, prettier, and as big as a 14 year old girl should be. ‘’Kate!’’ Mom’s voice came again. But wait . . .  wasn’t Mom dead? I rushed downstairs, and practically flew into Mom’s arms. ‘’I missed you,’’ I sighed. ‘’That’s nice,’’ Mom said, not hearing what I had said. I laughed. Mom looked at me, then handed me a frozen waffle. ‘’Sorry, hon, I’ve got to go. Job appointment,’’ Mom said, kissing me on my forehead.

       I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. Obviously something had changed. But I couldn’t remember what. Whatever I had remembered this morning, I could remember now. I spent all of English class thinking about it. ‘’Kate, if you refuse to listen to me, then I shall report you to the Principle!’’ My short, squeaky Effie-like {from the Hunger Games} squealed. She got up and started wagging a ruler at me. ‘’Now, what is Jane Austen’s most famous book!’’ Ms. Hurk asked, already turning away. ‘’Um… Emma?’’ I asked. ‘’WRONG!’’ Ms. Hurk squealed. She ran to the black board in her high heeled pumps. And so that was how I spent the rest of my year. Every day, listening to Ms. Hurk squealing on about something else. She never liked me. But perhaps that’s because she was a spy for one of them . . . wait, what was I talking about?

Six months ago…

An angry slash. In some ways, I could understand her. She was angry, obviously. The curtains were ripped off of their hooks, half of the wall paper ripped off, all the kitchen knives were gone, the books dropped out of their shelves and the book shelves dragged away, and practically anything of value was gone. ‘’I may have failed, but it doesn’t mean you can do this!’’ She looked like a punk rock star, with spiky dyed red hair, a spiked collar necklace, and ripped jeans with long black boots. ‘’You. Did you help them?’’ She asked angerly. ‘’C’mon, Cinnamon,’’ I say, slowly backing away. ‘’We weren’t supposed to turn out this way. They're angry. It’s okay,’’ I purr. ‘’It’s not!’’ Cinnamon bursts out. Cinnamon curls up with her knees to her chest, crying. It hurts me to see her like this. She has been strong, stronger than I, and it’s normally me when this happens. The families whom don’t know us take us in, and this is what happens. Every time. But it’s the cost for freedom. Only truly, how much of it do we have? 

This isn't the end of ''Six Months Ago...'', but it's all I got. I also don't want to pile you up with too much. How do you like it? :)

~Madeline 

P.S. Just so you know, I may be posting the whole story on here, as well as the Protecters. That's why I gave it it's own label.

Yes, this story is extremely short

Sorry. I finished it on Word, so I'm eager to start another story. That's why this will be rather a bit longer, and then I'll start a much longer one after this.

VOICE OF AN ANGEL: THE REST

Amanda walked shyly up to me while I was eating lunch. ‘’Can I sit here?’’ ‘’Sure,’’ I answer, trying my best to smile. ‘’I was surprised when I got Belle, because I was sure you would get it,’’ Amanda said, staring fixedly at her apple. ‘’I still feel like you should of got it. So, I’m saying this: I know they’ll give you Belle if I ask them to. I don’t mind taking April.’’ Amanda paused for a second. ‘’I just want to know if I really got this part,’’ Amanda said, her eyes blurring a little. I couldn’t help myself—I hugged her {I’m not the hugging type—not all girls want pink ponies}. ‘’I really don’t mind. I never really wanted Belle, anyway,’’ I say.  Amanda looked into my eyes, shocked. ‘’Thanks,’’ she quietly said.

‘’So I’m Dominic,’’ Dalton quietly says, staring at the ground. It was after the announcement, and we were walking home. ‘’And I’m April. What about it?’’ I ask, frowning. ‘’Don’t they get, um, married,’’ Dalton says, staring even harder at the ground. ‘’They do!’’ I almost scream worriedly. This is horrible, I thought. Dalton and I were just friends—I promise. And I wanted to keep it that way. ‘’Well, Mom says next year I can date,’’ I say awkwardly, kidding {I was sixteen}. Dalton stares at me, mouth hanging open. ‘’I was kidding, I was kidding!’’ I practically scream. We part awkwardly at our houses.

That night changed my life.

‘’Dears,’’ Mom says, leaning on Dad. We were eating our favorite dinner—sugar snap peas, mashed potatoes, and chicken {yes, we even like the peas}. ‘’Y’all are going to have a baby brother or sister!’’ Victoria’s mouth hangs open, and mine, too. You might think my mouth was hanging open because of the news. Um, no. It was because Mom said ‘’y’all’’. ‘’You know we aren’t southern, right?’’ Victoria asks, thinking the same thing I was thinking.

          The rehearsals passed quickly. Nobody made any huge mistakes, as we were all fairly good singers. I can’t say I remember any that well, except for the last one:

Amanda was singing one of Belle’s lines, missing all the notes. ‘’For the last time, Amanda, hit the notes!’’ Drama Teacher yelled. ‘’I’m sorry!’’ Amanda sobbed. It was a bad day for everybody—we were all missing up. ‘’Nicole Patterson, please report to the principle’s office,’’ a cool voice came over the loud speakers. Courtney, my understudy, took my place.

          In my head, I counted anything that could be called to the principle’s office for. Nothing. ‘’Nicole,’’ Mr. Mattern said, face stricken. ‘’Your mother is giving birth. Your aunt will be here any second to pick you up.’’ ‘’But my mom isn’t due for at least two months!’’ I said, frowning. ‘’I’m sorry,’’ was all Mr. Mattern said. I walk to the front of the school and put my head in my hands, not thinking.

          ‘’Aunt Maeve says she’s going to buy us ice cream!’’ Victoria exclaims. ‘’Where’s the best ice cream shop?’’  Maeve asks {she’s only two years older than me}, driving nowhere. ‘’Ben and Jerry’s,’’ I say blankly, staring out the window. ‘’That it is.’’

          Maeve and Victoria were playing Scrapple, but I was drawing my feelings out. I drew a tearing heart, two best friends, babies, and ice cream. Yes, I thought, I can officially be labeled mental.

          ‘’Hey, girls,’’ Dad said, sitting wearily on the sofa. ‘’Girls, why don’t you go upstairs?’’ Maeve asks. ‘’No way,’’ I answer, ‘’I’m almost as old as you.’’ Victoria, though, ran upstairs obediently. ‘’Your mother is doing well. The doctors say she’ll live,’’ Dad says, grinning. Maeve sobs a little.

          Later, Dad hugs us all and puts Victoria to bed. I sigh, and go up too. Maeve stays down and watches the latest dance show she can find.  I sleep well, knowing that everything will be alright. After all, it was in God’s hands.

          I wake up early, and hear cries. Victoria, I think instantly, throwing my comforter off, and getting ready to comfort her from a bad dream. But no, those are a newborn’s cries. ‘’Mom!” I whisper as I run down the stairs.

          Maeve is bended over a small, wrinkly and pink baby. With a head full of fiery red hair, and greenish blue eyes. Victoria is there, also. ‘’Why did Daddy bring home a baby troll?’’ She asks, twitting her short strawberry blonde hair. Dad steps out from the shadows, with purple lines under his face. He is unshaven, with half a cup full of coffee in his hands. ‘’Vicky,’’ he sighs, ‘’Mommy is going to be gone for a while.’’ His eyes meet mine, telling me the untold truth. Mom isn’t coming back. My knees  weaken, and I struggle to get to a chair. ‘’Lily wanted you to name her,’’ Maeve sighs, gently kissing the baby on the forehead. ‘’Annabelle, then Lily, after Mom. But we should call her Belle for short,’’ I say, touching Belle’s hair. Her eyes open, and stare unblinkingly into mine. Within her eyes, you can see it. The gentle fingers she’d use as a doctor, the spirit as hope, the loveliness, the beautifulness—she is more like Mom than we’d ever know. 

15 YEARS LATER:

          I was wrong—Belle wasn’t a doctor, but a dancer. She twirled on her toes, and seemed like she was floating when she jumped. Then she decided to become an actress, and then after that a farmer… who knows what will be next for my fiery little sister?

If you're wondering what happened to the play, I don't gather info before writing a story. I know, I'm horrible, but whatever. :P

  I haven't decided what's going to be next, but it'll be exciting. I'm really into Greek Culture {and I have almost 30 WORD pages done of a book}, plus I like Percy Jackson, so I'm thinking there might be something like that. It's currently name-less--Just like my other book. Oh, well. :P

 P.S. Authors, we also have a schedual over to the left. It doesn't have a calendar, but if you've got the hang of your days it's pretty helpful. ;)