Fiction Friday: Lessons fom Kitty #trdc

Red Writing Hood

Your assignment for this week’s prompt is to write a piece that begins with the line, “I could never have imagined” and ends with the line, “Then the whole world shifted.” We’re going to stick with the 600-word limit this week.

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“I could never have imagined…” Emilia’s voiced trailed off softly and she turned her widen eyes to Kitty.

“Oh, yes lass, I speak only the truth as told to me by my grand mum and her grand mum before her.” Kitty’s heart shaped face was earnest; her sparkling green eyes gave no indication of mischief. “They go by a great many names; vampyre, witches, spirits, lycan. They are all of these and none of them at the same time, magical creatures, for sure, lass. They have walked the earth since the beginning of mankind, protecting human souls from the baobhan sith. My mum says their rightful name is Chthonian. They survive by feeding on the life force of a human soul while the baobhan sith devour the soul itself.” She turned her attention back to folding the rough bed linens while Emilia thought over what she had said.

“Feed on the life force? How? What does that mean?” Emilia scrunched her dainty eyebrows in consternation.​ “Do they look into your eyes and steal bits of your soul though them?”

Kitty rolled her eyes and sighed, “Blood, Emilia. They drink blood, but they don’t kill people and they don’t steal bits of your soul. They feed off your soul’s life force, it regenerates in your blood.” She set the sheets aside and turned, hands on hips. “And you wouldn’t know if it happened to you. My mum says if you wake up remembering you had great s-, uh, a great evening with a strange gentleman, you’d been drunk from.” she nodded, as if affirming her own words, and her fiery curls tumbled free from her braid.

Emilia picked at a thread as she carefully weighed her words. “Kitty, how would you know if someone was a Chthonian?” she raised her hand and stroked the side of her neck without realizing it.

Kitty’s laughter tinkled though the empty hall, bouncing off the dreary gray stone walls. “The only way you could know is if they told you.” she tipped her head slightly, in that bird like way of hers. “Or, if you had the Sight. Do you? Have the sight, I mean?”

Emilia shook her head vigorously and tugged another quilt from the pile. She laid the quilt across her lap and ran her fingertips over the elaborate stitching; following along the dragon’s neck, the gold thread gave way to red thread creating a burst of flames from its open mouth.

“What sight? Kitty I don’t understand half of what you say! You’re telling me there are men running around drinking women’s blood and killing them!”

“No, no, no. The Chthonians don’t kill, they just feed off of humans to survive and look for their soul mates. The baobhan sith are the ones who kill people.” Kitty visibly shivered, even speaking of the baobhan sith frightened her, as if she might evoke their wrath by speaking ill of them.

“Suppose this is true, and I’m not saying I believe it,” she cast a knowing glance towards the tiny red head. “What would they want with the likes of me, the Chthonians? Couldn’t they use their magic’s to lure any lass of their choosing? They could have a fine lady, or a princess even!”

Kitty shook her head impatiently, “Ye aren’t listening. They have to follow their destiny, their fate. They are seeking the other half of their soul, their ​mo anam cara.” Emilia gasped and dropped the heavy quilt she’d been folding.

Then the whole world shifted.

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Feel free to critique this! I love all your help and support!

The Red Dress Club: Confrontation

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Rashu approached the willow trees quietly. She looked like a wood nymph standing there among the weeping limbs. She let out a soft sigh and he saw her lip quiver. In her soft grey grown she nearly blended into the early morning mist, and her hands fluttered at her waist nervously.

“Emilia…” He reached out to her, longingly, but let his hand fall to his side. “Please just let me talk to you. I have to find shelter soon.” He looked towards the horizon, willing her to understand.

“What do you want from me Rashu? Why won’t you leave me be? One minute you’re attacking me in the gardens, the next you’re trying to help me with my chores. Every time I turn around I feel as if I’m tripping over you and searching for Tiago.” She looked wistfully into the distance and sighed again. He felt the warmth of her breath across his skin and he locked the sweetness of it away. A small memory for him to bask in later.

“That’s because you’re looking for the wrong Chthtonian. Don’t you know that by now? Don’t you know who we are? Sit with me, just for a little while; I want to tell you a story.”

He saw the uncertainty flash through her eyes right before she settled on the fallen log beside him. Again he tried to file away every detail his hungry senses could absorb. He noted the softness of her small hands against the gnarly tree trunk and the swish of her skirts around her ankles. The scent of her ebony hair; lavender and musk, hung around her like a halo.

“Emilia, this story starts a long time ago. Long before you met Tiago and I. This time.” He pushed on before she could pose any questions. “I know that Kitty and Tiago have told a great deal about the Chthonian. And I’m sure Tiago told you that you were my Mo Anam Cara?” He glanced sideways at her. Her wide eyes had gone even wider and her delicate mouth hung open in a most unladylike way.

She turned slowly and he braced himself for her denial. “What did you do?” she forced each word through gritted teeth, standing and towering over him like an angry hummingbird. “Tiago told me that you had a secret, that you had a secret and you would find a way to use it against him. So, that means that you did something, something that broke our bond and you’re going to try to blame it on him.” He had never seen the lavender of her eyes darken with rage and it confused him.

“You knew? You knew we were soul mates and you pushed me away? Why?” He tried to hide the hurt but it was hard, he was wearing down, it had been so long since he had just held her. His arms felt emptier than they ever had. He was losing hope and ruining any chance of getting her back.

“Let me start over, please?” She didn’t meet his gaze but tipped her delicate chin slightly and he took that as her assent. “Let’s skip the beginning and just get to where things started falling apart. It was just a couple days after the Queen had released your memories. I was over in the next town; I was guarding a young woman named DeeAnn. She is, she was, Tiago’s Mo Anam Cara.” He stopped, letting his words sink in, she stiffen beside him, but said nothing.

“She was sleeping. And,” he stopped again, overwhelmed by the guilt he still felt, even after everything Tiago had put him through. “She was sleeping and I was walking the perimeter of her cottage. Suddenly you flooded our bond with fear, terror and I panicked. I failed to trust my brothers and I acted without thinking. I left her sleeping and when I got to you, you were so upset, you kept going on about the women in green and I stayed with you until you were calm. I should have sent your Guardian to DeeAnn, or trusted him to guard you and stayed put.” He looked to see her reaction, expected her to be as disgusted as everyone else had.

“Are you telling me that your “race” is so inflexible, so uncaring, that they took away your soul mate simply because you left your post? That’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever-”

“They took her, Emilia. They took DeeAnn. Those women in green? They were the baobhan sith. They tricked me and lured me away so they could get to her. I don’t know what they wanted with her. That’s why our bond and all your memories were erased. It was because my actions caused another Chthonian to lose his Mo Anam Cara. I cause our entire race to lose her. That is why Tiago has this enormous grudge against me. He’s using you; he’s going try to hurt us. To get back at me.”

“There is no us,” she spat at him. “You’re wrong!” Her chest was heaving, her face red with anger. “He loves me!” She turned to run away but her grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Even with tears glistening in her eyes she was smirking at him. She looked pointedly at his hands on her arms and it slowly dawned on him. He didn’t feel anything other​ than the creamy smoothness of her skin.

“When Tiago touches me? I feel the blue lightening under my skin, coursing through my veins.” The blood drained from his face and his eyes darkened with understanding. Mo Anam Cara.

And with that she was gone.

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This contribution to The Red Dress Club’s Red Writing Hood meme is a scene from my WIP: The Guardians of the Chthonians: Book 1. Our prompt this week was to write a piece of dialogue. I’m going to call this one a fail because I am far to detaily to stick to dialogue. But I tried!

 

Fictional Friday.

I was really looking for to jumping back into the Red Writing Hood prompts. This week’s Alphabet prompt sounded like lots of fun! But I am swamped here in the Washing Machine!! I’ve got a lot of projects going and I just couldn’t squeeze any extra creativity out of my tired brain! So, instead? How about an excerpt from my book, The Guardians of the Chthonian:

When she came to, she found herself atop a bed much larger than her box bed at home. She had tentatively looked around, taking in the smoldering fireplace, the washing basin across the room and a beautiful tapestry on one stone ​wall bearing a crest she knew all too well. She quickly discovered her door was lock, and the window​ was much too high to jump out of, though she gave it serious consideration.
She washed her face and arms before settling back on the bed. Her head was aching terribly and she slipped into a restless sleep. She dreamed of flashes of green, hooves of some animal, fangs and blood; so much blood. She awoke hours later, still tired and achy, to a frighten bird chirping in her ear. No,​ not a bird, a girl.
“Lass, come on now, you’ve got to be seen by the Chief. Come now, he’s not a patient one. Up you go.”
Emilia eyed the young girl, was she not considered a threat then? Why else would they send this wisp of a child to fetch her. Surely they don’t expect her to be frighten by that shock of fiery red hair? The young girl’s​ green eyes were as big as saucers, and while her voice was agitated, her eyes were full of kindness.
“My name’s Kitty. What are ye called?” she really did resemble a bird when she tipped her head, her curiosity as evident as the sprinkle of freckles across her nose.
“Emilia.”
“Why that’s a pretty name! And fitting too. I’ve never seen a lass as lovely as you!” Kitty was quickly brushing through Emilia’s hair and braiding it loosely, as she washed her face. “That will have to do. Won’t make a difference though. You’ll make your own choice. The others have.” Emilia followed Kitty down a long hallway and a flight of stone stairs, wondering what the girl was referring to.
“Kitty, why are there no guards?” Emilia tried to sound condescending but she couldn’t mask the fear in her voice. ​Kitty stopped and turned towards her. She raised one graceful eye brow. “For you? You’re just a wee lass!” She laughed and continued down the stairs, Emilia right on her heels.
As they entered the great room, Emilia gasped. There were more beautiful tapestries hung here, some similar to the one in the room, others depicting dragons similar to the one’s on her family’s box bed.
The room was full but oddly quiet. As she looked around she spotted many, if not all, of the girls and women from her village. They all looked tired and frazzled. She couldn’t help but wonder where they had been. In a room like hers or worse? And if they weren’t in a room, why was she? ​They were divided into two groups, each lining a wall. In one group stood her best friend, Maggie. Maggie’s expression, like most on that wall, was defiant and angry. Her strawberry ​blond hair was mussed and she kept pushing it ​behind her ears showing how nervous she really was. On the other wall, in a much smaller group, stood Sarah. Sarah lived near Emilia but they had never been very close. This group all hung their heads. Refusing to meet her eye. Confused, she continued up to the front of the room. At the head of the table sat Aiden Keith, chief of Dunnottar. His cloudy ​green eyes surveyed her from a face nearly covered in curly orange hair. She was uncomfortable under his gaze and attempted to distract herself by trying to figure out where his hair ended and his beard began.
“Is the lass deaf than?” his voice boomed throughout the room like thunder. Emilia started, and realized he had been speaking. “I am giving ye a choice,” he stated again. She tipped​ her head slightly, indicating she was listening. “Ye may stay here at Dunnottar, ye will be given worked to do, and will be expected to do it. Ye will be given a room. Ye will not cause trouble and ye will not be lifting ye skirts for my men​. Or,” he looked pointedly at the group of women who were glaring at him. “I will turn you out. You will be free to go.”
Emilia stood, stunned. Why had they not just thrown them in a dungeon. It was a nearly impossible choice. To stay, by choice, and live among the people responsible for her father’s death. To cook their food and scrub their floors as she mourned the life they took from her. Or to be turned out. Set loose in the wilderness, with no protection. No way to provide for herself.
“I will stay.” though she spoke quietly her pained ​words rang out clear through the room.
“Ye​ traitorous bitch! Ye father’s not yet cold in the ground and ye give ye​self to the enemy?” Emilia turned, stunned at the vile hatred that laced Maggie’s words. She had never spoken to her in such a manner! Kitty slipped her hand in Emilia’s and gently tugged her towards Sarah and the others. “Your pa would understand, he would want you to stay safe. Those lasses are as good as dead, especially if the baobhan sith are about.”
“Who are Bobbin She’s?”
“Hush.” Kitty looked around them quickly. “Never mind.”

Feel free to critique, just keep in mind this is from my rough draft so I know it needs a lot of work!