MeiLin Miranda's Blog, page 64

"Scryer's Gulch" episode 35 is live

An Invitation:

Tony Bonham's first thought when he woke the next morning was that he'd overslept. His watch, the treasured reminder of his mother, had not chimed the morning alarm as it usually did. He sat up, yawning; something furry had crawled into his mouth to whelp during the night, and he poured and drank a glass of water to drown it. The smell of coffee approached down the hall, probably on his man's tray. Won't he be surprised to see me still abed, Tony thought heavily.

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed. No, he won't be surprised. The morning fire had been lit in the grate, so Graham must have been in already. Disconcerting; the Bonham men had the habit of sleeping with one eye open, and yet Tony had slept through Graham's entry. Had he really drunk so very much last night? But there on his dresser next to the water glass sat the near-empty cut crystal decanter of brandy; it had been full at the beginning of the night. He'd drunk more than he'd thought, apparently. At least it had served its purpose; he'd gone the night ghost-less, or if he hadn't, he'd been too drunk to notice.

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"Lovers and Beloveds" chapter 4.4 is live

In which we meet the unfortunately named Edmerka:

And so the Princess found herself bundled off far to the west to her stepmother's family, strangers all. "At least she's only sulking," Olka said to the captain of Edmerka's escort. "How much longer?"

"We should finish the journey late tomorrow," he answered.

But as they approached their destination the next day, the Princess caught sight of a Traveler encampment, its bright caravans in a half-moon to one side of the road. She cried, "Stop! I wish..." To roam the world like that, she thought. Free, stopping where you wished when you wished and moving on in your own time, never bowing to anyone else's demands. With that kind of freedom, it wouldn't matter whether anyone loved you or not. The caravans spoke of all that. "I wish to have my fortune told," she said.

"Oh, Your Highness, whatever for? They're frauds and liars. You won't learn a thing," said Olka. "Besides, we're almost to your mother's people."

"She is not my mother, and you will stop!" said Edmerka. The captain called a general halt. Edmerka climbed down from the carriage, and marched into the camp, Olka and the captain trailing reluctantly behind. "I wish to have my fortune told," she announced to the raggle-taggle band by the fire.

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"Lovers and Beloveds" chapter 4.3 is live

In which a story begins:

"What kinds of things?" said Temmin, curious. "What could you possibly tell me other than the names and dates? That's all anyone seems to care about."

"I can tell you what kind of men your ancestors were, because I knew them. And I can tell you the stories of the women."

"Who cares about that?" said Temmin. "Women have nothing to do with the running of the kingdom and never have--I'm sure Mama doesn't!"

"Even if you believe the women of your family truly had nothing to do with ruling, they still influenced their men, and how their men treated them speaks volumes about who those men were."

"If the women were so important, why aren't they in the histories?"

Teacher gave a thin smile, and slid an ancient-looking book across the table, neither large nor small, covered in leather dyed Tremontine red; it was the old book from the lectern in Teacher's library. In dull gilt lettering on its front and spine were the words, An Intimate History of the Greater Kingdom.

"They are in this one," said Teacher.

Temmin opened the book. "It's blank," he said.

"Once upon a time," intoned Teacher. Words blossomed on the page. Temmin pulled his hands away from the book in astonishment, and the words vanished. He looked up at Teacher, who said, "It is all right. It cannot hurt you." Temmin hesitantly took up the book, and Teacher began again...

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"Lovers and Beloveds" chapter 4.2 is live

In which Temmin consumes mass quantities, to no avail:

At breakfast, two members of the family were animated and talkative, two were sullen and withdrawn, and Temmin stood alone in the middle, looking anxiously round the table. Harsin and Ellika were both in fine spirits. The King beamed at Temmin, a mildly unnerving development. Ellika remained her usual ebullient self, even when she burned her tongue on her coffee. Sedra and Ansella, on the other hand, were not; Sedra looked alternately glum and resentful, stealing glances at both Temmin and her father over the top of a resolutely isolating newspaper, and Ansella kept her eyes down, answering questions with a frozen smile and as few words as possible. Temmin thought he would never understand his family.

He covered his own nerves about the upcoming lesson, and stalled for time, by eating as much and as slowly as possible. True, he was hungry--he was always hungry--but eventually he'd eaten all the soft-boiled egg and toast even he could hold, along with a great deal of bacon, tomatoes, and coffee cut with cocoa. Nothing for it but to return to his study, and face Teacher. "Don't worry, son, you might even enjoy yourself," said his father as he rose from the table. Temmin gave a weak smile, and dragged himself up the stairs.

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"Scryer's Gulch" episode 34 is live

The Ghostly Convocation:

The graveyard was always the last stop on Aloysius's annual tour, to visit his own grave and to see the other dead of the Gulch; even those not buried in the graveyard came down out of the hills and mine shafts to commiserate with old friends--for the dead were all congenial one with the other--and greet the new spirits, passed on since the last Halloween. Not all the Gulch's dead stayed on in spirit form, but plenty had, and the place was hopping.

The graveyard had three sections: one for the Methodics; one for the Enthusiasts; and one for everyone else except the Chinese. The Chinese had their own place, where they'd bury their bodies until they were just bones. Chen Bing-wen, the most respected among the camp's Chinese, would then oversee their removal to San Francisco, where they'd be put on a ship to make the sad return journey from the promised land to burial at home. But even the Chinese spirits would congregate in the main graveyard, mostly talking among themselves but still nodding and friendly to the dead folks, white and black and native, congregating among the tombstones.

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"Lovers and Beloveds" chapter 4 begins

In which there is groveling and extreme embarrassment:

Temmin's eyes went wide, and he plunked down on the green velvet couch. "Jenks, I saw the most amazing girl I have ever seen in my life." At the valet's inquiring look, he continued, "I can't get her out of my mind, she's perfect, she's even prettier than Elly! Nothing like the other girls--no fiddle-faddle. She even wore her hair loose instead of all fussy on top of her head! Her name is Allis Obby."

"Not the Embodiment of Neya?" said Jenks.

"Yes! D'you know her?" said Temmin.

"Your Highness, everyone knows her," said Jenks. "And did you dance with her?"

"Twice! And I walked her in to dinner. Oh, Jenks," he said, throwing himself down on his back, "I can't stop thinking about her!" Or her brother, he said to himself.

"Oh, dear," said Jenks.

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"Lovers and Beloveds" chapter 3 ends...

...With a hangover, and tea time:

Temmin drank off the contents of an offered glass in one gulp. "Merciful Amma, that Fennows is a pain!"

"You thought Lord Fennows interesting enough to get drunk as Farr with him last night," said Jenks as he took the empty glass.

"What else was I supposed to do with him! He wouldn't leave me alone, and kept prattling on about Ellika--I think he wants to marry her, Jenks."

"So I've heard from a number of sources, sir."

"Can't let that happen," said Temmin. "I'll go straight to Harla's Hill before I'll have that man as my brother-in-law." Jenks said nothing; he put Temmin's picked-at breakfast outside the door to be taken to the kitchens, and returned to the bathroom. "Oh, don't be like this! I'm sorry, Jenks! I feel horrid, and I'm acting horrid, and I can't help it!"

"Yes, sir, you can," said Jenks. "More will be expected of you now you're an adult. Adults do not take out their petty illnesses and complaints on others, no matter how poorly they're feeling."

"Yes, they do," said Temmin. "They do it all the time!"

"Well, they shouldn't."

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"Lovers and Beloveds" chapter 3.2 is live

In which an unexpected kinship is revealed:

"A by-blow!" shouted Ansella.

"You've been at the Keep all of three days, and your dramatics are already boring me! What now?"

"A by-blow, a bastard," she said. "You promised me! You promised me no child would come out of all your whoring!"

"I prefer the term 'engagements,'" said Harsin. "And no child has come of any of them."

"That you knew, apparently!"

"Annie, you attack me in my ignorance," said Harsin, sitting down. "Please enlighten me."

Ansella trembled, her fair brows low. "Do you perhaps remember in all your 'engagements' a maid at Whithorse named Tellis Ambler?"

"Tellis Ambler? Tellis..." said Harsin, rolling the name around his mouth as if calling up the memory of a wine.

Ansella let out a disgusted breath. "It would have been about the time Temmin was born."

"Ah!" he said. "Oh, yes. I remember her."

"You have a daughter. Her name is Mattisanis."

"Do I!" said Harsin with a surprised smile. "Is she as pretty as her mother was? What's she like?"

"She's a maidservant, is what she's like!" said Ansella. "Until this morning, she worked at Meadow House for my mother!"

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"Scryer's Gulch" special Halloween ep 33 is live!

Aloysius on the Town:

The Prakes' back parlor smelled of popped corn, doughnuts fresh from the fryer, hot cider and excited children. Harry Lockson had so much popcorn stuffed into his front pockets that he crackled when he sat, and the doughnut he'd carefully wrapped in his hanky and stuffed into his back pocket for later had mashed itself into a sticky mess that would have Mrs Lockson fretting to herself in the morning.

Two apples on strings hung from the ceiling, just in front of Georgie and Jamie's faces. The two boys were competing to see who could eat his apple down to the core first, hands behind backs; the other children cheered them on madly. The apples gyrated wildly on their strings with each bite. Georgie was this close to winning when suddenly a voice whispered in his ear: "BOO!"

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"Lovers and Beloveds" chapter 3 begins

In which there is a deck of cards:

Temmin danced every dance until the Obbys went home, even though Allis had no spots on her card left; most of the dances involved changing partners, and he made sure he danced in her group. He racked his brain for clever things to say when they partnered, failed, and settled for staring at her every chance he got over the shoulders of his partners. More than one young lady told her maid later that though the Heir was handsome, he was unpardonably rude; you'd think he'd never seen an Embodiment of Neya before!

Temmin himself remained oblivious; the only person he saw was Allis, though he noticed her brother more and more. While Issak usually danced in different sets than his sister, he sometimes ended up next to Temmin, or even dancing with him in the figures where the sexes broke apart. Each time they met in the dance, Issak's effect on Temmin grew, and Issak seemed to sense it. A close pass brought their faces within inches, and Temmin swore Issak nearly kissed him. It should have displeased him, and he wondered why it didn't.

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