Gina crossed the café and submitted to her mother's brief, cold embrace before sitting at their allocated table and giving her order to the hovering waitress. She took her time getting settled, playing what she secretly called 'the silence game' with her mother. As always, her mother lost. "I was surprised to see you with …
My name is Arianna Goldbest, or possibly FitzMichael. I'm a stain on the family, a dishonour to the name, for I had the temerity to be born out of wedlock. One might presume my parents should be the ones to shoulder this terrible burden but they're not here. Mother, devoted parent that she is, retired …
Yeah so me and Daniel were grabbing lunch at Mrs Gregson’s café and there was this really pretty girl at one of the tables. Super glamorous too, you know? Saw her eyeing me up when she walked in, then she sat just one table over, so I gave her a bit of a smile and …
Raoul shifted in the plastic chair and wondered what the hell the princess was up to. The CCTV feed he’d hacked into gave him a clear view of the café she was sitting in but no clue as to why she was there. It had been a well planned escapade, that much was true. And …
Ari kept to the shadows as she moved through the streets of the lower town. It was easy enough, this wasn’t the rich end of town, with its wide avenues and gas-lit street lamps. Here, a neighbourhood was lucky to boast a single, guttering lamp at the edge of whatever square held the communal well. …
Jane Wilson puttered around her kitchen, putting the dishes on the draining board away, wiping the already clean counters and worrying. Her husband, Greg, coming in for a mid-morning cuppa, eyed her warily. “You sure you want to do this, love?” Jane nodded. “Even if it’s not her, there’s going to be a connection. Sofi’s …
I shift uncomfortably in my seat, the fake leather juddering and squeaking beneath my legs, the waistband of jeans I’d bought from a generic chain catering to people my age two days ago are inching down my hips again. How do people get comfortable with this? Yes, I know I’m spoilt, a world of privilege …
She looked Lyra over and gave a single nod that somehow managed to combine approval, relief, and commiseration. She set the box on the bed and opened the lid. Folded inside was the dress. Or more accurately, a fine linen under-gown, an over-gown in silk lighter than a breeze, shoes and a belt. Lyra shed …
I'm going to use the next five Wednesdays to post the same scene from different points of view. It's a fun exercise, and you learn a lot about the characters in the scene. The prompt: Princess Sofia-Anna of Bulgavia is in Wittleup Princess Sofia-Anna of Bulgavia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She’d managed to get …
Professor Jones grinned and pumped Mikkel’s hand enthusiastically. “Such a pleasure to finally meet you.” Mikkel murmured something suitably similar in reply and glanced around him, the hallway of the Archaeology Building seemed unusually dimly lit. Professor Jones grimaced. “We seem to be having some trouble with the electricity, or maybe the wiring, this morning. …
The DNA of Stories 