Chapter Day

I'm a writer. I write. Poems, stories, a couple of novels that got fifteen pages in and were scrapped because the storyline was bleh and I lost interest. I've never been published. I've never tried to be. But I do write. I also share some of my writing online. I've made a wonderful online friend who shares my passion for the written word, and who spins the most incredible stories.

The website I use to publish some of my writing is www.booksie.com It's free to join and you can pretty much post anything you'd like to, though for obvious reasons, plagiarism is a bad idea. The Booksie community is alive, inspiring and makes for a wonderful group of people to share your works with.

http://www.booksie.com/underxyourxspell is where you'll find my above-mentioned friend. If you're interested in reading some amazing fantasy novels, short stories and poems, I highly recommend having a look at her site.

http://www.booksie.com/Rhapsody is my page. I've mostly got poems up and have removed the unfinished 'stuff' because the longer it sits without being updated, the more irritated I get with myself. I still have all of the stories and I do intend to finish them, but irritation is not something I'm looking to cultivate in my life at the moment, so I refuse to concern myself with them at this point in time. I have, however, started a challenge that is hosted by Spell.

The Music and Magic challenge (http://www.booksie.com/fantasy/miscellaneous/underxyourxspell/music-and-magic-challenge), and other challenges hosted by various authors on Booksie, are wonderful ways to inspire creativity and new ideas if - like me - you tend to run out of air a quarter of the way through a story. This challenge is two-fold for me. The first is, obviously, the challenge itself. The second, is a personal goal I've set.

I intend to post the story not only on Booksie, but also on this blog. Reason being: I want to finish it while putting my best work into it. The other two novels I managed to finish were reminiscent of the type of writing that is referred to as 'easy reading'. In other words; not so great but it killed time. They were rushed, sloppy and had plot holes bigger than the pages they were written on. They irk me. So, I need to prove to myself that I am capable of writing a well thought-out, and completed, and hopefully well-written novel.

The idea is to post every chapter here, as I complete and post them on Booksie; on a weekly basis. So without any further ado, may I present Chapter One of Finding the Spirit's Soul:

“Ili! Hurry!” A girl’s young voice echoed through the vaulting halls of the passage, bouncing off the cool marble and rebounding back towards its owner as an identical voice answered.

“You know I can’t run as fast as you, Ari. Wait for me!”

“Hurry!” A frantic hand gesture urged Iliana on as Arianna paused halfway down the corridor to wait, hopping impatiently from one foot to another. Panting as she reached her, Iliana rested a hand against a pillar, glaring at Arianna.

“What’s the big deal? Why are you in such a rush, Ari?” Twin sets of blue eyes met as Arianna leaned forward to whisper something that caused Iliana’s eyes to widen with surprise and then dawning delight.

“Well why didn’t you just say so? Come on!” Grabbing her sister’s hand, Iliana led the way down the passage, dragging her giggling twin after her.

***

A rising crescendo of drums began to build, the sound of marching feet creating a quick counterpoint to them as a yell came from a tower high above.

“The king approaches! Open the gates!” The call echoed from one tower to the next, making its way down to the gate-keepers who made haste to push the carved oak doors wide, allowing access to the main courtyard.

From within a shaded archway, two pairs of eager eyes scanned the gathering crowd of servants and nobles who waited to welcome their monarch home. As the first footmen of the retinue entered, the girls rose on tiptoe trying to see past the adults.

A large bearded man entered next, his bright blue eyes hidden by a frown, one hand resting on the hilt of the jewelled dagger at his side, the other gesticulating widely as he spoke to the smaller man accompanying him.

As voices swelled in welcome and the noise of the drums faded a high-pitched shriek echoed, heads turning in surprise as the girls emerged from their hiding place, racing to be the first to reach the man.

“Daddy!” Dodging between legs, Iliana threw herself into the arms of the laughing kind. Arianna held back her eyes fixed on the man next to him; blue irises darkening as her pupils dilated and she began to tremble. Her father; finished greeting his other daughter turned to her, concern creasing his brow, the question on his lips freezing as the younger twin went pale, her knees giving way beneath her as she crumpled to the ground.

***

The soft murmur of voices filled a room that was otherwise occupied by an expectant hush. Purple hangings were pulled back from a wide bed, the small, still form of a child just visible within its depths.

To one side, Iliana stood with her father, her tiny hand clasped gently in his as they anxiously watched the áswín –healer – bathing Arianna’s forehead with a soft cloth. Turning from the bed, the áswín nodded to his assistants, passing one the cloth and lightly touching the other on the shoulder before he walked around the bed towards the king and princess.

“My lord, it seems the princess Arianna has suffered no ill effects from her fainting episode; however, it is most important that she be sent to the Crystal Palace as soon as she is recovered. She has need of guidance and training that her current teachers are unable to provide.” The man spoke quietly, his gaze filled with a kindness that all of his kin possessed as he told another father that he would have to give up his child’s safety and care to strangers.

“No! You can’t! Daddy, you can’t let them take Ari! Please don’t let them take her!” Clutching her father’s hand in both of hers, Iliana stared up at the king, her crystalline eyes filled with tears as she pleaded with him.

Crouching, the king placed both hands gently on his eldest’s shoulders, meeting her drenched gaze with a solemn one of his own.

“Iliana, if there were another way to keep your sister safe, to keep her home with us, you know that I would take that path in a heartbeat. We have no choice ki-lán. Your sister needs to be taught to control herself and no one here can do that.” As Iliana began to sob, he gathered her into his arms, smoothing her bronze curls with a hand that trembled slightly before he released her, turning back to the áswín. Nodding once, he took Iliana’s hand as he led her from the room.

“It is done.”