Abigail and Grayson were five years old the first time he had secretly used his magic on her. Despite her earlier claims that she had never fallen out of a tree, she did just that on the third day of his visit. She had finally convinced him to join her in the branches when the one she was sitting on snapped, and she fell to the ground hard. She was more in shock than anything and hadn't yet realized she was hurt. He ran to her. "Abby! Are you okay?" Abigail looked like she was trying to decide whether or not she needed to cry, when she looked up and him and decided tears were the right way to go. "Grayson, it hurts," she cried. "What does, Abby?" "My arm," she cried. He looked at her arm, and she did have a sizable scrape down her arm. Fortunately, she hadn't fallen far - Grayson didn't know if he was strong enough to heal broken bones. "Come here, Abby," he said, helping her stand. "Where can we go to get you cleaned up?" "The barn," she sniffled. "It's right over there
The year they were nine, Abigail had thrown herself into the prince’s arms upon his arrival, as she did every year. This year, instead of saying "You're here" like she did every year before, she nuzzled into his neck and said, "I've missed you," very softly. He was flustered but pleased by this new reaction to his arrival. "I've missed you, too, Wildflower," he replied softly, rubbing her back. "Come on," she said, grabbing his hand. "It's starting to rain. Let's go inside. I have your gift waiting, and Hannah is making us tea." He followed her willingly, but not before grabbing her birthday gift from his bags. She had given him a painting she had done based on the way he had described Eswen Keep to her in his letters. While he didn't care much for his home, he adored the painting simply because she had made it. Even his father admitted it was a good likeness. Funny enough, he had gifted her art supplies. Upon opening them, she had again flung herself into his arms, declaring him
They stayed in Lydisia for about a week, deciding to go back to the village to see Celina, Thomas, Laurie, and Aryk. The older sorcerer had decided to settle in the village for the time as a protector. You never know when a sorcerer is needed. Word of the Duchess's injury had reached even here, and the others were waiting patiently to see if she would remember them. "I... remember this place..." she said. "We danced here... did you propose to me here?" she asked Grayson. "I did," he replied. "As we were dancing." She smiled at him. The whole trip there, she had been remembering bits and pieces of their lives.They had bypassed Knocklean. It was too soon to bring back those memories. It was too soon for both of them. The last thing he ever wanted was to remember the times he almost lost her.She had Grayson help her off her horse as they arrived in the village. She stood there for a moment and looked around. "I gave birth to the twins here.""You did," he smiled. "This is where I c
I Like You Not Molly sat in the back of the class with her head down, trying to concentrate on her work. The boy next to her, Chris, was shooting rubber bands at the side of her head, while she diligently ignored him. “Hey Smelly Molly,” he hissed. “Why don’t you go home and cry? Oh wait, do you even have a real home?” He snickered and high fived the others around him like he had just made an award winning joke.Yes, Molly’s family was poor. It was just her and her mom, and her mom tried really hard. She didn’t have the best clothes or shoes, and sometimes there wasn’t always food for breakfast. Molly knew how hard her mom worked as a secretary and was thankful for all they did have. She was fairly new to the school, having moved there at the end of the last school year. A few of the kids had seen where she lived, in a little grouping of houses just outside the town, and had informed the others she lived in a shack. Ever since, her classmates made fun of her for being poor, dirty, a
King Tobe walked the halls of the castle. It was the darkest hour of the night and he was chasing sleep through the hallways of the castle as if it were a lover using hide and seek as foreplay. He had had neither sleep nor foreplay in so long he’d forgotten what both felt like. The loss of his wife, Queen Aylese, a year ago had left him wretched and haunted – a ghost of a man that even the goddess of rest avoided.As he wandered the halls, he took a mental roll call of the night guards. He had seen many of these men as infants on the breast, and now he rented their lives to protect his. The irony that there was not much left of him to save not escaping him.Jacob. Brantley. Matthew. Jamil. He named them all in his head as he passed them. Grayson. Thomas. Eryk.“Who are you?” His roll call had been interrupted by a new face.The young man looked confused, almost hurt. The King knew all of their names, but he had forgotten him. “Weston, your grace,” the young man bowed.“You don’t belon
Put It On My TabAncient Greece“Tavern keeper!” Anthony called out as he walked through the door. “A bottle of your finest wine! Today is a wonderful day!” The tavern owner, Xander, eyed the newcomers suspiciously. “Coin first. Then wine.”“Of course!” Anthony slapped down a handful of coins and looked around the room to see if anyone noticed him. No one did. No one had noticed or cared when he came in, either. The tavern keeper counted the coins without picking them up. Muttering something about idiots not knowing what things cost, he turned around and grabbed a bottle from behind the bar. “Here.”“A man of many words, I see!” Anthony laughed. “It’s a beautiful day to be alive!” He tipped the bottle and his hat to Xander. “I will take my leave and enjoy my life!”As soon as the door closed, Xander heard the man wretch. “This wine is disgusting! The rich have awful taste.” Xander chuckled to himself and continued wiping the bar.1354Xander wondered what he had done to spend anothe
"I never want to make them with anyone else," he replied. She pulled him into a deep kiss, and he responded immediately. He lifted her off the ground by her bottom, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. "Excuse us," he said to Thomas and Celina, who were dancing nearby. He remembered there were tents nearby they could use. Thomas laughed, "I'm glad some things haven't changed with you two." Celina smiled at them. "Me too," Grayson agreed. "She's too beautiful to resist." Abigail buried her face in his shoulder. "How many children do you have now?" Celina asked."Five," he answered without explanation. He carried her off of the dance floor. He carried her over to one of the tents along the edge of the dance floor. He set her down on the ground when they stepped inside, but only long enough to make sure the door to the tent was closed. He turned around then and grabbed her hand, pulling her to his chest roughly. She cried out in delight when he pulled her into a rough,
After a few days in the village, they decided to head back to Odel. They missed the children and were both tired of traveling. Abigail was reaching the point in her pregnancy where she was getting nauseous frequently, and she just wanted to go home. Grayson sent word ahead for the children to be sent to Odel. They would officially announce Abigail’s pregnancy when they got home. He looked at his beautiful wife as they said goodbye to the others in the village, once again thanking the gods for her. "Ride with me?" he asked. "One of the guards can lead your horse." "Of course, Grayson," she answered. "Are you okay, my love?" "I just want to hold you," he answered. "I'm feeling particularly thankful for you today." She smiled lovingly. She sat in front of him on the horse like she did when they last left Knocklean. She leaned her head against him and enjoyed the view of the countryside. It was getting close to Palesun, but they still had the colors of Withergreen in the trees."I