I feel rather ashamed of myself for not posting any snippets since November. But the truth is... I haven't taken the time to write much at all these last few months. I've been working three part-time jobs, sugaring, spending time with my family, sewing, and whatnot, and writing got pushed to a back burner, and I'm still working on making it once again a big part of my life.
But enough of that. I got inspired to begin work on a new story (yes, yes, I know; I tend to think too much and take on too many WIPs at once) about sea creatures, treasures, betrayals, and grudges. And now I'm sharing them with you. Enjoy!
(Click here to visit the blog of Katie, Snippets of Story's lovely hostess.)
If Kianna had had the ability to
disappear, she would have without a moment's delay. The secret
passageways hidden in the walls of her father's manor would have been
perfect to slip away into, but unfortunately, her mother had thought
about that before and had forbidden Kianna to step foot in any one of
them. Kianna could have woken early, stolen down to the stables, and
taken her horse into the hopeless tangle and excuse of forest beyond
the stream at the south side of the manor, but Tildana the maid had
burst into Kianna's bedchamber a full hour before the sun rose,
prodding Kianna out of bed. Kianna could have faked being sick, and
indeed, ill health was upon her in the form of dread and terrible
premonitions, but her mother would hear no excuse.
Kianna would be ready.
Kianna would be willing.
*~*~*~*~*~*
The chair that Kianna was
sitting on was small and wooden, delicately carved on the legs and
back with various sea creatures. The beautiful designs bit sharply
into Kianna's bones, making her squirm. The shape of the fierce shark
was in reality easier on Kianna's back than the multi-limbed octopus.
It wasn't polite, she knew, to slouch in one's chair, but Kianna had
to lean against something, and the shark seemed at the moment the
best animal suited for the job.
*~*~*~*~*~*
“Kianna,
my daughter, I do not know what will become of you.” Athlia lifted
her head to gaze into Kianna's dark eyes. “If you cannot find it in
your heart to overlook the offenses that Nathen has paid you, then I
fear you will continue to hold needless grudges your entire life and
disobey the command of our great Creator, Père, to forgive and
love. Those feelings will make you miserable, and they will control
you, to your utter destruction.”
For
a moment, Kianna stood, stunned by her mother's words. She wanted to
forgive. She wanted to forget and move on. But Athlia could never
understand what Nathen did. She couldn't understand why Kianna could
not forgive him. And the worst part of it was that Kianna could never
tell her mother, to make her understand. She must bear this offense
in her heart, never to let it go, never to forget it, alone until the
day she died.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Evenette,
bored of the conversation she had heard many times before, had
wandered to the window to gaze out towards the ocean a mile from the
manor's fences. The prospect of the great waves splashing up against
the cliffs was a grand one, and Evenette and her sister never tired
of watching the foam of the ocean dash itself against the rocky shore
of Pennin. The rocks held many secrets, as they both knew well,
shards of broken vessels torn by the stone teeth of the coast, craggy
caves promising the mystery of unknown depths.
The
water itself was a mystery, as neither girl had ever been able to pin
a true color or pattern to its manner. Blue mixed with green, and
green mottled itself with gray, so that the waves never truly stayed
the same hue for a full minute. The ocean held a great attraction for
the Beléine sisters, though according to their mother's
orders, they admired its strength and beauty from a distance.
God bless!
