I'm Not afraid of Love. (#39 of Iana's story)

The end of Chapter 5 is upon us. I wanted to finish a chapter by the end of the year, and here it is. Iana has finally discovered a means to save her kingdom and to back fight against her enemies. Can you blame her for letting down her guard a little? 

39#   I'm Not afraid of Love

"Are you ready Princess?" Olwen asked as evening came on the last day. 

"As long as it stays windy out," I said listening to the shutters rattle on the windows nearby.

The last ten days had flown by so quickly. Olwen and I sat together in the dining hall, not alone, of course. Aunt Luna was near the fire, her eyes resting. Joli had gone up to bed earlier, and Mother had taken some dinner up to her. I should have gone up to bed too, but I found myself wanting to stay in Olwen's company a little bit longer.

Look no further, Iana's Story #38 has arrived

So much to do. So little time. Ah, but it only feels like that because there is so much to do. If there wasn't, then it would feel as if you had all the time in world. Time slows down when you count each second, trying to hurry it along, but when you are having too much fun, when you are busy preparing for Christmas, why then it runs off and suddenly the month of December is half over.

A simple solution presents itself, has Iana found her answer at last? 

#38 Look no further

"Can I help you Princess?" Olwen asked, pushing at the door with me. "What are you doing?"

"Wait, you'll see, or you'll hear it. Listen!" I told him, pointing upward. 

Day 6 and Counting: Iana's Story #37

The countdown continues, which is appropriate considering the season.
Will Iana be ready to fight when the time comes? Or will it be too late? 

#37 At Day 6: Arrivals and Curses, again

I barely saw Joli the next day. I was too busy and, I think she was avoiding me as well. She could have easily found me in the kitchens collecting lunch for the villagers, or when we collected the roses and locked them away in an iron chest. Olwen kept the key to the chest, and Mother locked the chest in closet and kept the key hidden. That way no one would be tempted by them.

On the sixth day before the Lion and Wolf returned, the first of the summerguards arrived. A"boy" dressed in a long hooded cloak, who fancied herself in disguise with long trousers. She said her name was Ben. 

To Stay or Go (Iana's Story #36)

I keep reminding myself, this is a story, you can't just summarize what's happening. Something dramatic must happen, action, and emotion, and above all keep it short. That always was been my goal, to keep it short and still have something happen. Iana is still preparing for the upcoming fight, but at what cost? 

#36 To Stay or Go

I found Aunt Rosemary standing near the far end of the long table. Several village men sat on one side eating a stew made old potatoes and dried leeks from last years harvest.  I didn't run, but I wanted to. Aunt Clo sat near the fire knitting away, balls of yarn in her lap and all around her feet. Aunt Luna held one of the yarn balls and helped unravel it, all the while telling one of her outrageous stories to Aunt Clo. Aunt Rosemary was counting out seed packets, then placing them carefully in a large bag at the end of the table. I looked down inside it.  She'd packed up her smaller tools, and had a sketch book and several thin journals. I don't know where she put her larger journals. 

I noticed she wore a simple wool dress, sturdy boots and her long brown cloak rested on the bench. Traveling clothes.

"You're leaving?" I asked, trying to keep the tremor from my voice.

What is Necessary (Iana's Story #35)

Where will Iana's resolution to fight lead her? What will happen between her and Joli next? Sometimes I ask myself all these questions, and then I wonder, where is this story going? Does it even make sense? Read on, and let me know.

#35 What is Necessary
I stopped to rest a moment near the chapel door, which was still boarded up until the chapel roof was repaired. That wouldn't happen anytime soon. 

"I can't believe you're doing this." Joli stood further back on the stone steps watching as glass shards fell, littering the ground like snow. "Have you no heart?"

Preparing for Battle (Iana's Story #34)

Previously. Iana's story continues. . .

#34 Preparing

Ten days was not much time. Everyday felt shorter than the next, yet it seemed like those ten days stretched on forever. If not for Olwen we would not have been ready. He was remarkable. No wonder the castle hadn't completely collapsed, what with Mother's firm meticulous control and Olwen capable of filling any role and finishing any task no matter how impossible. He juggled more than a juggler. 

#33 Iana's Story (A Recap Episode)

You might have noticed that I took the summer off, staring in May actually. Now that the end of August is almost here, back to school thoughts roam around my head and its back to the usual.

Not that I'm giving up summer completely. I'm planning one last camping trip this weekend. Hurrah! 

I must also confess, I've been somewhat fighting with Iana's story, and what happens next. Finally its out here, after months of wondering and worrying does this work? It feels so permanent to post it here for you to read. Well, I'll fix it later if I have to. The next scene will come sooner, tomorrow actually, since this one is mostly recap of what's happened. You'd forgotten the story, admit it you need a recap of what's happened.


#33 Iana's Story
We would fight. We must fight. There was no other choice. Giving up, or giving in like my sister Joli was the same as death to me. I refused to do something so stupid, and I had no intention of letting Joli throw her life away. Not even for love.

I told Olwen everything. We stood in a small alcove away from the rooms where I told him what I knew, from the very beginning, from the time I spent in Catha, our life there, until the moment I received Mother's letter demanding our return. If only my last desperate attempts to remain in Catha with Lady Amelia Hildegale had worked! 

#32 of Iana's Story: Troublesome and Strange

I've put up Letter Ten, even though you can't really comment on it Terrwyn. I still wanted to put it up. I couldn't resist. We've revised 42% of the story. Almost halfway, perhaps I should get on with the letter Eleven, then we'd be at halfway. 

In the meantime, I had this already written and I'm finally posting it. After a troublesome argument with her sister, Iana's troubles continues.

#32  Troublesome and Strange
My room was too cold to consider sleeping in it, not unless I covered the window again. I wasn't going to tackle that task on my own. 

The wind howled through the glassless, gaping hole. The night sky was black as a cave, no moon or stars visible out there. I wrapped an extra wool shawl around my shoulders and hurried out into the hall, only to run straight into Olwen. He caught me with one arm. In his other he held a short candle. He wore an alarmed look on his face, and concern in his warm eyes. "I heard a loud crash and then shouting. Are you hurt, your highness?"

He must have been standing in the hall for sometime. How much shouting did he hear? It was dark enough now at least the shadows could hide my blushing. Was it Olwen? I wondered. Olwen and Joli? The thought was just too silly, I dismissed it immediately. "No, I'm fine. A little bruised maybe, but it's no more than I deserve," I told him.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Princess?" he asked. 

Bravely Broken #31 Iana

Iana and Joli. Joli comes from the french word for pretty. Iana is from . . . actually I have no idea. I think I just made it up. The confrontation between the sisters continues below. How easily we say things - or shout things - we don't mean to our family.

Bravely Broken

I waved to Joli from the window, tipping backwards unsteadily. She hauled me inside, dragging me roughly off the sill and down I crashed to the floor. My landing was not elegant, and I would certainly have bruises tomorrow.

"Didn't you hear me knocking earlier?" I asked.

Her face turned from pale to a livid purple, as it does when she is angry or embarrassed.

"Since you weren't answering," I complained. "I had to come around from the outside."

"That's no excuse."

"Sorry, I wanted to talk."

Sisters, Iana's Story #30

I try to keep these posts short, under 1000 words; I aim for around 600-800, although sometimes they come out longer. I make all these plans about what will happen next and then the story expands all of a sudden. Gah. My general rule is, whatever the story wants, the story gets. That's why I had to split Roderick's latest adventure into Part1 and Part 2. Chapter 4 of Iana's story ended with a startling declaration by Joli, and now chapter 5 begins right where we left off.  

Sisters

I looked at my sister, noticing her hands clenched tighter than before. "I will go. Iana can stay," she said as if that decided the matter.

"You can't mean that," I declared.

Part 2, from the Travel Journals (Iana's story #29)

From Prince Roderick's Travel Journals


3 days counting, before April, in the year 217 - Evening

There has been an incident. We might be stuck here longer than we thought. I do not quite know when it happened. It occurred sometime after our visit to the village matriarch.

"Grandmother is resting. You'll have to wait Strangers." The matriarch's granddaughter said, but allowed us to come in to wait. She kept her face turned wore a simple veil over her head, so we only saw her left side in profile. I could see only shadows on the right half. She led us to chairs by the hearth and fetched mugs of something warm and strangely spicey. She said Blind Thomas was allowed to stay only if he didn't play with his lute. Blind Thomas soon left, clutching the lute under his arm, saying he'd be at his usual spot by the well, practicing if we needed anything.

The home of the matriarch was the largest I'd seen in the village of Lost Hope, with a covered porch around three sides of it, while inside was a large stone hearth, and two other rooms besides the main room and kitchen. One room was where the matriarch slept. There was a bed also in the main room. It was occupied by a girl who appeared soundly asleep. We kept our voices low, to not disturb her, until the granddaughter told us, "Don't mind her. She'd can't hear us, or even if she does she won't wake up. She has to sleep during the day and is awake only at night."

"A curse?"

Travel Journals, Part 1 of 2 (Iana's story #28)

I wonder how many fairy tales I can pack into this story. Is too many too many? I think I'm being a little too one sided with Grimm's fairy tales, I need to go out and find others. George McDonald, Oscar Wilde, L. Frank Baum, and from different countries, Japan, India, China, Australia, and Africa. Although those will be more like folk tales. 

Finally, some of the secrets were revealed in the last chapter. Below, Roderick's story continues. The last time we heard from Prince Roddy, he'd finally discovered the cursed village. 


Prince Roderick's Travel Journals, Part 1

4 days of counting before April, in the year 217 -Evening

We arrived yesterday in the cursed village, the Lost Village, or as Thomas the blind tailor calls it, the Village of Last Hope. It was hidden cleverly from the main flow of the Trade River by an embankment of tangled forest and thorny bushes. We followed a small stagnant stream up, pushing aside the overhanging branches. The water so thick with mud and dead

Decisions, Decisions - Iana's Story #27

The previously entry had King Rilan of Winding's Story, and here's the last of chapter 4, just in time for the beginning of spring!

Decisions, Decisions
"But Father," I suddenly cried out. "Now you've spoken to us about the golden flower. You promised that man you wouldn't. You've broken your promise to him."

"It doesn't matter," Father shook his head. He reached down behind his desk and brought forth a plain wooden box. The inside was unlined, and the top compartment held a dried up brown petals, the broken husk from a once beautiful flower. Below it was another compartment, a red glow pushed at the edges as if eager to escape. Father lifted the wooden shelf out, placing the  dried up rose on the desk top and exposed what lay below. It was like the one I'd seen in my dreaming, a beautiful red rose bud. The petals closed up so tightly it made it look more like a seed than a flower, and its red glow pulsed like a small flame on a candle, ready to burst into larger flames at any moment.

"The fire rose," I whispered.

How the Rose Blooms - Iana's story # 26

Iana's father began his tale last time, and now continues.

How the Rose Blooms

"It was like a dream," Father said earnestly, as if begging me and Joli to understand.

My breath froze in me as I heard this, I knew exactly what father spoke about since I'd experienced the same strange dreaming. I looked at Joli to see her reaction. Her face had turned white as ash. She clenched her hands in front. It seemed my sister had experienced it as well. I glanced toward Mother, but she shook her head.

Father was not as lucky as I was, he soon found he was trapped in this new garden. How he got there he didn't know and try as he might he could not return home. He wandered there a time, a pleasure long denied him. He came to a large standing of trees and there he met a man seated beneath it. 

Prince Wandering, Iana #25

Click here for the events from last time; below we finally have reached her father's story.

The Story of Prince Wandering

I looked at my father as he spoke, his words sounded so heavy, each one a giant boulder sinking down to the bottom of a cold dark pond. This was the story he told. I have written it down as best I can remember.

As a young man my father often traveled about his father's kingdom, so that he might see for himself all the land he would one day inherit. His parents, the Good King and Fair Queen indulged his wandering, and soon he was known as Prince Wandering. "Where did you wander today? he was often asked and he would gladly tell them. Sometimes his wandering took him to the forests on the very borders of the kingdom. In those days wandering through the forest wasn't as dangerous, but occasionally he got lost. Once he wandered so far, and got so lost he somehow ended up in the Fire Woods, and he might never have escaped if not for the help of a bright young girl he met there.

A good offer? Iana's Story #24

Actually I'm glad the story is only about midway. There is so much more to tell; so much I haven't been able to squeeze in: Iana's mother and Olwen, other family background, descriptions of Winding, more of the Aunties. And since I missed last week, I'm making a second post. It's fun writing a prequel like this. Although it's still very much Iana's story. From last time, will Iana's resolve remain strong even after the debt collections have made their intentions know? Chapter four continues...
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An Offer

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. The debt collectors intended to take either me or Joli as payment?

"You can't be serious."

"Actually I am, Princess," the Lion nodded, his grin spread so wide I thought his head might crack in half.

"Do you realize what you are asking?"

"Iantheia," Mother hissed, a warning for me to hold my tongue

"It is a great honor for you." The Lion looked at me as if I was being rude.

Resolve - Iana's story #23

I just recently realized the Iana's story is only about one third of the way, maybe a little more than that, but not halfway done yet. It's about time for things to move a little faster, I hope they will now that the two strangers have arrived, the lion and the wolf.

So, let's see where this will lead Iana as the fourth chapter of her story continues.

Resolve

Of course, Mother was already with Father, standing outside the door of his study ready to greet the debt collectors in that precise, perfect way of hers. One of the winterguards or my Aunties must have informed her. Of course, she led them straight inside, treating them like important noble dignitaries. And then, of course, she stopped me and Joli from entering, telling us to return to our duties.

Well, if she expected me to obediently leave, she was in for a surprise.

Sun and Moon, Lion and Wolf. Iana's story #22

The fourth chapter of Iana's story. It began here, and now continues.
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Sun and Moon, Lion and Wolf. Iana's story #22

Olwen escorted the two men into the entrance hall where I waited. It was a draft place. I could hear the wind whistling above me in the rafters. The elegantly carved wood usually gave the wind a sweet musical sound, but today it sounded dry and hollow.

I didn't see any other winterguards inside the hall, not surprising as there were only three old men serving in the castle guard, and Olwen their captain. No other attendants stood beside me, and none of my Aunts hobbled out from the servants quarters to gawk as they usually did when anyone arrived at the castle. Winding didn't receive guests very often anymore. I didn't know where my Mother was, or Joli, for that matter. I was alone to greet these men, the horrible debt collectors who held the fate of our poor kingdom. I straightened my shoulders, raised my chin and prepared to be, at least a little civil.

Why keep all these secrets? Iana's story #21

You may or may not have noticed I've updated the blog, just freshened it up a bit. Feel free to take a look.  Iana's story continues below.

Previously in Prince Roderick's travel journals, and from before, read where Iana's search led here. The next chapter of her adventure now begins.

Why keep all these secrets? Iana's story #21

I couldn't understand why my Father would hesitate. He was the King of Winding. Didn't he want to save his Kingdom? He had within his grasp a power to do that. What was he waiting for?

Returning to the castle from Aunt Rosemary's I had to make my way through the gardens again. Of course this time nothing strange happened. Although I felt a piercing loneliness, as I passed the silent tower and it lingered with me until I reached the part of the castle beyond the bell tower, which wasn't falling to pieces. I could hear voices ahead, from within the servant's halls. My godmothers. From the shrill voice of Aunt Ravelle, to the loud shouting between Aunt Ginger and Aunt Hona, they're both slightly deaf, and my mother bossing people around in that precise way she has. I wasn't alone, not at all with them around. The castle was filled with my Aunties. My sister Joli was hiding out somewhere and my father still locked in his study, hiding away as well. Why would he do that? Why keep all these secrets? Why not share the wonderful life giving flower with everyone? That's what I would have done.

Prince Roderick's Travel Journals (#20 of Iana's story)

Previously from Iana's Story, and where last we left Prince Roddy, and now his search for a cursed village continues.
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From Prince Rodericks' Travel Journals (#20 of Iana's Story)
10th day of counting before April, year 217

The search continues. No village. Only endless weed and riverbank. The weather soured, which gives Leric plenty to complain about. He refuses to leave his quarters. Holing up in the coffin-like bunk would make me ill too. The head space on this barge nonexistent. A child's leg room not a grown man's. I haven't had time to write as much these days, the crew short handed as it is. Perhaps this venture should be abandoned?