The Dagger (1)
Year of the Lilies
Torrid Season
The Cabin
Altsas
Mavli
I DON'T KNOW IF I'M DEAD OR ALIVE. I can't tell the difference. I'm body is numb and unfeeling but I'm breathing and my heartbeat is strong. The tears have dried up on my face, the tight sensation is the only evidence that I have to proof that there were tears. I'm certain my eyes are bloodshot and swollen from crying and from the slaps I had received. The taskmaster rolls off my body and rises to his feet. I can't see him properly, I don't want to. My vision is blurred and cloudy because I have made it this way.
I hear the rustling of his clothes as he pulls them on. I lie unmoving on the ground. I'm supposed to be hurting, I'm supposed to be in tears but I don't cry and I don't feel th
The Dagger (2) Year of the Lilies Torrid Season The Streamlet Altsas Mavli I AM NOT ONE TO LOSE CONTROL, but I do when I see him. The onyx ring burns the ring finger of my left hand. An unknown emotion charges my insides. "Cirok." It can't be. "What are you doing here?" My fingers are trembling, my heartbeat is frantic. Something I can't decipher flickers in his eyes. "Aren't you glad to see me, Mavy?" I wince at the sound of the nickname. He takes a shaky step forward, his eyes don't leave mine. "I was looking for you, I was so glad when I saw you." I can't stand t
The MareYear of the LiliesTorrid SeasonThe StreamletAltsasMavliI LAY SPRAWLED BENEATH HIM. Totally vulnerable to attack, he stands staring down at me like the angel of death. His lips are curled into something crooked and twisted.The plead escapes my lips before I can help it. "Cirok. Please."He surprises me, throws the dagger beside me. It's blade is still coated with blood — his blood. "Rise, Mavy. I have not come to hurt you."My blood is pounding in my ears, my heart is galloping like wild stallions. But I rise shakily like a young calf, his eyes don't leave mine, they gleam like a dark jewe
The MobYear of the LiliesTorrid SeasonThe HutAltsasIslaIT'S LATE IN THE EVENING when the goldsmith returns home. Mye runs into his arms, clearly very happy to see him. He scoops her up in his arms, throwing her up and catching her again. Her bubbly laughter bounces off the walls, reverberating in the house. His overall is dirty and stained with grime, and his yellowed teeth flashes as he grins at his daughter.Mistress isn't exactly pleased to see him, her conte is as indifferent as can be. She does send me a chilling look. Maybe she is still angry that he criticized her cooking earlier."Go make some soup for your master," she snaps.
The TornadoYear of the LiliesTorrid SeasonStreets of AltsasAltsasIslaI'VE NEVER BEEN MORE PETRIFIED IN MY LIFE. I can't believe that I'm in the middle of a wild mob. A hand flies through the air and lands on my jaw, giving me a teeth shattering blow. I taste blood.Another hand slaps me hard across the face and my eyes sting with tears. Zaps sizzle in my veins reminding me of who I am; reminding me I've healed enough to unleash my power upon these people so I can be free again.I will myself, probing inside me to allow the power inside me to break free. A sharp pain erupts in my stomach as someone punches me hard. Grunting, I fall to my knees and a hard blow sends me reeling as someone hits my back
The CellYear of the LiliesTorrid SeasonDungeonAltsasIslaMY HEAD THROBS AND MY BREATHE SMELLS FOUL. I'm totally disoriented and chained to the wall of this stone prison, this leaky cell of the dungeon. Though tomorrow is New Year's Eve, the new year marks the beginning of a new season — the Floral Season but the air is still thick with humidity of the Torrid and my skin is sticky and clammy with sweat.Next to me is a bowl of a creamy watery broth and though my tummy churns and grumbles, I won't give in and eat that disgusting looking broth. It has a sour stench, and it seems like it has been here since the last prisoner. The spoon that lodges in the broth is coated with white crusty something, just lo
The MakeoverYear of the LiliesTorrid SeasonSomewhere in the PalaceAltsasIslaTHOUGH I WON'T BE MEETING with the King till tomorrow (says Namir) I'll undergo a cleansing and makeover today. I stare at him blankly as he said the words. This most be a joke.Namir led me through various passages and corridors and a dozen flights of stairs to this room. I can hardly remember the way here. He gestures for me to sit on a human-sized cushion, the soft cushion sinks under my weight. I feel like I'm sitting on a cloud. I let my fleeting glance run around the four corners of the room; it is quite big, bigger than our hut back at home, it has a dresser, a cupboard, a ceramic bathtub in the middle of the room, drums of water, a stoo
The PresentationYear of the RosesFloral SeasonLysia's bedroomAltsasLyzaTHE GIRL THAT STARES BACK from the shiny surface of the mirror is plain. Behind her is the maid that gently combs her coily tresses into submission.I'm the plain girl staring back from the shiny surface of the mirror. I'm the only unattractive and undesirable princess. I'm the unpaired, unmarried princess of Altsas. I'm the albino daughter of King Tus III. I'm the little sister of Prince Kyan. I'm Princess Lyza."Lyza?" My maid, Rosa cuts into my thoughts. "What's going through your mind, dear?" She asks softly with a motherly tone. I've always regarded Rosa as
The DanceYear of the RosesFloral SeasonLysia's bedroomAltsasLyzaIT'S MIDNIGHT. I can already hear the hum of the happy crowd from the hall many floors beneath my bedroom. Rosa has managed to coax me into an ecru gown made out of satin. The hems are blood red and Rosa has fastened a matching blood red veil to my hair."What's the point?"'I moan. Rosa gives me a puzzled look. "What's the point of the kohl to line my eyes and the henna on my skin?"Rosa stares at me with something like pity in her eyes," Lyza—"I caught in immediately to stop her. "No one will ever want me, Rosa. I