Leila and Marya walked home together, laughing over everything and nothing. They were stopped just outside the gate by a stone-faced soldier. “What is your business on the Governor’s estate?” Marya looked him up and down. “We live here.” “You’re not staff, please turn around and leave.” She spoke a little slower. “No. We live …
Marya dashed from the bakery, skipping across the road to where Leila was waiting. "Did you hear? It IS going to be the Prince. We're going to have a royal governor." Leila replied. "Lady Oren told us when she came into the shop today. She's decided to leave the island, something about old ways and …
A New Order Raoul sat back in his chair and surveyed his office with pride. It was exactly as it should be; a wall of bookshelves with important-looking tomes covering every inch, a sideboard along the opposite wall for when he needed refreshments for his important visitors and his desk in the middle of the …
They had reached the little stone wall separating the cottage's front garden from the path, now little more than a walking track, and found the place pleasantly busy with people cleaning, building, and planting. Leila was enchanted. She’d never seen a place quite like this little stone cottage, sitting alongside two others in a fold …
In spite of Marya’s best efforts, she hadn't been able to time a day off to coincide with one of Leila’s until spring was in full riot across the island. Leila woke to a brisk knock on her door, with Marya calling through the boards. “Come on sleepyhead, we have things to do today.” She …
Bianca snorted a laugh, Leila thought it was as much at Dani's expression as Tareya's pronouncement. Her reply, though, was mild. "I'm afraid you won't find any shops with pre-made clothing in Port Watch. It's never caught on here." Tareya's face fell. "Oh." She brightened. “Oh well. Papa said it wasn’t seemly for me to …
Leila turned back into the shop to find it all but empty of customers, and Bianca watching her with a raised brow. Her breath caught. Had she overstepped herself? She should have left Mistress Gilder to Bianca’s practiced attentions. “For such a quiet, shy little thing, you have quite the silver tongue.” Leila swallowed and …
Leila was up early the next day. She washed and slipped into her brown dress, this time with the cream bodice beneath. It would help her fade into the background a little, what with the shop's wood panelling within and cream paint without.Juanita was already in the kitchen, lighting the stove and pulling food for …
She dropped by the bakery on her way back, making her way to the counter, where Marya smiled and chatted and took orders and payments. Leila thought she looked like she'd been working there for years, rather than a day or so. When she reached the counter, another girl gave her a vague smile. "What …
The very first section was drawn from an exercise to write without punctuation. It'll need some added in the edit, but I like the breathlessness it gives the paragraph. Memories People were running everywhere scattering and screaming and crying and bleeding as he watched in helpless terror while his arm continued to move the leaden …
The DNA of Stories 