After another twenty minutes or so of conversation, during which Anaria was conscious of being kindly but thoroughly questioned and assessed, Ingrid and Samuel made their farewells and the household settled in for the night. The next morning, following Sarah's instructions, Anaria gathered fresh clothes, donned the previous day's outfit and joined her in the …
Anaria smiled gratefully at the burly forester, it was nice to not be seen as the one at fault for a change. Still, old habits run deep and she stepped in to defend her father, "Sebastian is a toad, but I'm afraid it was my behaviour that goaded father. I was very rude to a …
Anaria felt Liam leave the bed the next morning and reluctantly decided to follow suit. This was her life and she needed to get on with living it. She started sorting though her bag for fresh clothes, surprising Liam when he came back through the door moments later with a large jug of water and …
It was a relief to see lights and buildings after the hours of nothing but trees. On the other hand, buildings meant people and she was in no state to meet anyone. Liam's family lived elsewhere, she knew that much from the day's conversation. Tonight she would be meeting the senior forester, John, and his …
Anaria sat quietly for the first part of the ride, thinking through the events of the past night, it hadn't even been a full day and her life had been turned upside down several times over. Eventually though, her ever-curious brain took control. Her questions started slowly, but soon came thick and fast. The compost …
Anaria looked around, puzzled, "It's not terribly messy, surely it can wait until the caretaker arrives." "We are the caretakers and it's simple manners to make sure the next cold, tired little town girl through that door has enough wood for the fire and dry blankets to sleep on." She flushed and mumbled, "I don't …
Anaria came to as a chill breeze hit her side, where the reassuring warmth of the forester had been a moment earlier. She blinked at him blearily as he came around the cart to lift her down. She struggled a moment. "You're going to be cold and stiff after that ride, it's no trouble to …
Finally, the dance wound to a close and she darted back across the square with boots and umbrella, for the rain had set in with a will. Supper was informally served in the large front room, facing directly onto the square. The plates were cleared and Anaria turned to her mother. "Please may I have …
New story starting today. I did a CityLit course on telling and retelling fairy tales and thought I'd give the less-well-known story of King Thrushbeard a go. I would also like to make very clear that the opening of this story (in italics) is lifted directly from one of my all-time favourite 'new' fairy stories, …
The DNA of Stories 