Kristi Cramer's Blog: Bounded in a Nutshell, page 7

Review of Ting Tang Tony, by Kat DeSalle & Kristin Leigh Jones

I liked Emily, she seemed very down to earth and real, and I liked her honesty. I liked Tony, his generosity and loyalty to his friends. The writing was pretty solid for most of the book. It started off on a good track, but...I thought it would be funnier.

Not so much gushing about how great Emily was -- and don't get me wrong, I could see why he liked her -- and how tiny she was. Not so much fretting about how tiny his d!ck was. The way he was carrying on, I was imagining it was the size of a peanut or something. I was expecting a lot more hilarity, and I just kind of got bored about 3/4 of the way through. Wasn't at all sure I would finish, just out of a lack of interest. I couldn't get worked up about whether they would end up together or not.

Slight spoiler, here: I had to wonder why he didn't tell her sooner. I mean, he flies her out, they spend a great day together, all while he knows he's going to take her to an event filled with his former coworkers...and he only thinks to expect trouble when they are at the gate? Just strikes me as dumb. 

One other quibble I had was he was supposed to be so smart with his money, but he was renting a Lamborghini and this fantastic condo, bailing out his friends and footing the bill for lawyers... He was throwing his money around like a showoff, not someone who is managing their money in advance of a long retirement.

Probably about 3 stars. It was okay.

Review of King, by T.M. Frazier

I'm not sure what I think about this book.

I pretty much loved Doe. She's a fighter. She says what's on her mind. She's truthful, and she's trying to make decisions that will protect the woman she no longer knows herself to be. I do question her reaction to King. I find it hard to believe she would get turned on in the circumstances she was in.

I did not like King, for the most part. He was a dick for most of the book, with occasional bursts of sweetness that almost seemed to come out of the blue. It almost works with him falling in love with Doe and feeling the need for change after coming out of prison, but I don't think we spent enough time in his head to really know why he changes back and forth like he does. It's kind of like he's two characters--one when we are in his head, and a different one, the dick, when we are in Doe's head. I do get it that some people put on a good front, but I don't know, something was just off for me, a little undeveloped, maybe? Regardless, he was a complex guy, but I just didn't like him. Doesn't mean I didn't like the story.

Preppy was loveable in the way a twelve year old hyperactive boy is adorable, but he also kinda creeped me out, at least in the beginning. I was a little shocked by the arc of his storyline. Again, no spoilers, but after all the fuss in Frazierland about him, I was very surprised.

I did like Bear. He was sweet, loyal, and sexy-cool. I'm interested in reading his story.

I know I am pissed that I didn't realize this was a two part story. It's my own fault for not reading the full blurb. I was invited to Frazierland by a friend and was impressed by the Fandom and bought the book based on the buzz. But there is a helluva cliffhanger and what it is, I didn't buy. It was out of the blue and seemed contrived to me, it didn't add up. I don't like to give spoilers so I won't say what I didn't buy. Maybe it will be all right in the sequel, but as of the ending here, I can only shake my head.

I'd probably really give this 4 stars. I liked it, it drew me in, but I didn't quite love it. I will probably read Tyrant, to find out what the full story is with Doe, and see if King can redeem himself. I will likely read Lawless to get Bear's story.

Oh, and this book could use a good editing. It started out pretty strong, but as the story went on, I got distracted on more than one occasion by wrong word choices and other errors.

Chapter 6 - A True Prince (A Serialized YA Historical Fantasy)

Behind the wall, Edward sighed heavily. This was not what he had expected at all. Aslynn was to have gotten a lecture, or maybe a beating, not this classroom learning about posture. It would have been fun if Aslynn had resisted, but she was going along with it.He shifted position and his foot kicked the wooden frame of the secret door. He cursed and shut the peephole cover, which snapped closed more loudly than he intended. Panicked, he listened for a moment, hoping the two in the room hadn’t noticed.“What was that?” the queen asked sharply.“A rat, in the wall.” Aslynn’s voice was calm. Edward suspected she knew who had made the noise, but he was glad for her silence. It would not do to be caught here, now.“Come on,” Edward whispered, turning around only to find Katrona gone. In haste, he picked up the candle lantern and hurried back to the playroom.         ***Sebastian straightened from cleaning stalls when he heard the king call his name. He pushed the apple cart out of the way and stepped out into the aisle, brushing loose straw and dust from his trousers and sleeves. “I’m here, Majesty.”“Ah, Sebastian,” King Isaiah said, approaching him.Sebastian noted he was dressed to ride, and set aside his pitchfork. “Nomad is still turned out, sire. I’ll go catch him for you.”“In a moment, my boy.” Artemis bounded up and nuzzled her great head under the king’s hand, begging shamelessly for attention. The king laughed and obliged her. “How is Artemis’ training coming?”“Artemis, sit,” Sebastian ordered. The mastiff dropped obediently to her haunches, though she still wiggled like she was ready to go in ten directions at once. “Most of her mistakes are from youthful excess, sire, but she has the makings of a fine war dog. At least that’s what Master Jabari says.”“She’s improved greatly since last I saw you work with her. There could be a future for you in training my dogs.”“Thank you, Majesty. I’d like that.”The king reached out and ruffled the boy’s short hair. “By the way, I do remember that yesterday makes it fifteen years since I found you in the sea.”“Yes, sire.”“I want you to know I have not once regretted that day. It would please me if you accepted this.” The king slipped his hunting knife and its sheath from his belt.“Oh, Majesty,” Sebastian said, reverently taking the gift. “Thank you. I will wear it with honor.”King Isaiah smiled. “Come, let’s find that horse of mine.” As they turned together and headed for the pasture, the king dropped his arm across Sebastian’s shoulders.As a lowly stable boy, Sebastian knew he should feel uncomfortable at such a gesture coming from a king, but he never did. King Isaiah had always taken an interest in him, and the king was generous with his praise and attention.But Isaiah cleared his throat awkwardly, now. “I meant to ask you.... Aslynn was upset last night—by something I’ve asked her to do, I’m afraid. I take it she stayed with you?”“Yes, sire,” Sebastian answered, not surprised the king knew where his daughter had gone.“Good, good. I know she is happiest staying under Master Jabari’s roof, with you. I wish she was happier in the family wing, but…well, she and my lady do not get along well. With these lessons, I’m hoping they will come to know each other a little and arrive at some kind of truce.”“I’m sure that it will work out, Majesty,” Sebastian said, not believing his own words for a moment.“Yes, I imagine so, but I worry about what will happen before it works out,” the king said with a rueful laugh.***“That was some storm the other night,” Meedo said, pulling a stool up next to the old salt who sat at the bar, nursing a pint of stout ale. He had been watching the man all afternoon and he seemed to be a sailor with a story to tell. A story he felt could have some relevance to the lad’s mystery. “Are there many such storms in these parts?”“They don’t call this Fair Haven Port for naught, mister.” The sailor didn’t even look at him, and Meedo knew he would have to play this one carefully to get his story.“But not all are as bad as this last storm, are they?”“Oh, no. Most are worst. Storm season is just rolling in.” The old man did glance over this time. “If you be a sailing man,” his tone suggested heavy doubt, “you’d best head south for quieter waters. The Bonnie Isles in fall are no place for a land frog like yerself.”“I’ll take your advice, then, Captain. As soon as I have finished my business here. Tell me, if this last storm was not the worst, what was the worst that you recall?”The old man was silent for a moment, and Meedo feared he’d taken the wrong approach. Then the old salt sighed.“That would be the Great Storm of '13. Fifteen years ago it’s been, almost to the day. Ain’t a man in these parts don’t remember that night. Wind like the Devil’s breath, and rain enough to drive a ship beneath the waves with its fury. And the sea—oh, lad, the sea was possessed of Satan. She wrought destruction upon everything she touched that night, and in her fit she touched many.”The old man’s head sagged between his shoulders. “In that one fell night, I lost both my daughter and my granddaughter.”That the old man still grieved for his daughter touched Meedo, but that she and her child were lost on the same night Sebastian was found struck Meedo as more than coincidence. He waved the barman over to refill the sailor’s cup. “How did it happen?”“T’were the storm that killed her, but my bonnie lass had been taken months before. We didn’t know where, but we knew why. My daughter told me of a woman who wanted to hire her to nurse a child, but my Sabine did not feel right about the woman and told her no. She told me this, and how she suffered great guilt over this woman’s poor child. That very night, she and her daughter disappeared. The next time we saw her, she was floated ashore on the tide, her wee daughter still locked in her arms. Ah, it pains me still.”“Did she tell you about this woman? Who she was, or what she looked like?” Perhaps this was Sebastian’s mother.“Not enough to track her down—believe me, when my Sabine vanished, I tried. My crew and I turned this port upside-down to no avail. And then we found her, washed ashore after that cursed slave frigate was eaten whole by the Devil’s Jaw.”“The woman was not on the slaver?”“No, though drowning would have been a just fate for her.”“Captain,” Meedo said, “what if...? Did you never wonder what became of the child your daughter was asked to nurse?”“A ruse only, to get my Sabine away.”“And the babe the king found after the storm?”“I told you, my granddaughter died—”“No, a boy child was found alive by the king, to be raised by the swordmaster.”“Sebastian?” The captain turned to Meedo with laughing scorn. “What tales has that boy been spinning?”“I had it from a reliable source,” Meedo insisted. “Sebastian was found after the same storm that took...that you speak of.”“Stranger,” the captain said, his voice a mixture of pain and despair. “That could well be true. I crawled into a bottle the day I buried my two bonnie lasses. I’d already buried my wife, and a blessing too, or she’d have died of a broken heart at this. I swear I stayed drunk for nigh on a year.” He paused, eyeing Meedo. “Most folks don’t bring the subject up.”“It’s not many folks who get washed over the Devil’s Jaw to be rescued by Sebastian and the Princess herself,” Meedo said dryly. “I owe the lad a favor, and he wants to know who his parents are.”“If that woman bore him, he’s twice blessed to be rid of her.”“That may be, but if she didn’t bear him, she’s the only link we have to his parents. If she were the lad’s mother, why would she be after a nurse?”“Who knows? She’s accursed?” the captain said bitterly.“Perhaps, but then why did they all turn up on the slaver? Listen, Captain, please tell me what your daughter told you about her.”The old man sighed and closed his eyes. “It’s many years and drunken nights away, but I still remember. Sabine said she was dark. Hair like raven’s wings, charcoal skin, eyes with no color, only black. She wore a cloak made of white wolf fur.”“Is that all?”“Sabine said she was hard to look at. Her darkness was inside, as well. Soulless, that’s what Sabine said.”Meedo sighed. “I suppose it is too much to hope for a name.” The captain shook his head sadly, and Meedo clasped his shoulder. “Perhaps it is enough. Thank you, Captain. Barkeep.” He placed a gold coin on the counter. “Keep him in ale as long as that lasts.”“But, that’s a week’s worth, even for him,” the barkeep protested.“Then feed him once or twice as well. Gentlemen....”Meedo walked into the street and took a deep breath of the sea air. He had a little more information now. What he needed was to get the lad and take his measure.Then, perhaps, he would learn more.***Aslynn was reading the book she was supposed to be balancing on her head when Queen Tawnia came back into the room. She had left hours earlier with the admonition that Aslynn wasn’t to let the book fall until she came back.Aslynn had lasted all of twenty minutes—and that long only because she really was trying.Refusing to jump guiltily to her feet, she rose slowly and placed the book atop her head.Tawnia gestured for a servant to enter and place a bundle on the desk, then positioned her hands on her hips and glared at Aslynn. “Well, milkmaid, I can see you have been diligent in your practice.”“It’s boring,” Aslynn said. “I assure you I could balance this on my head all day. Look, I can even walk around the room without dropping it.” She proceeded to float around the room, taking broad, smooth steps and swinging her arms as if in time to music. The book did not fall.“You look like a clown. Perhaps the milkmaid has aspirations of becoming the court jester?”Aslynn stopped abruptly and the book slipped from her head, falling to the floor with a thump when she did not try to catch it.Tawnia smiled. “I have something for you. Claudia....” She gestured to the maid, who held out one of the items from the bundle. “I had these made for you. You willwear them.”Aslynn stared in disbelief at the torture device being offered to her: a petticoat made with wire hoops. It brought to mind a portable iron maiden.“I won’t...,” she began.“If you want to move forward, you will. Wear them, or we will sit here, you and I, with a book on your head, day after day, until you do. The choice is yours.”“Move forward to what?” Aslynn asked, her imagination running wild. What could be next? Hobbles? A neck brace?“Well, at supper tonight, you could learn how to eat like a lady, instead of a milk maid.”Aslynn’s stomach growled audibly, reminding her she hadn’t eaten all day.“And then tomorrow, if you manage to walk across the room like a princess, we may begin dancing lessons.”That should be enjoyable, Aslynn thought, though she was sure the queen would take most of the fun out of it.“I have recruited young Lord Wingfield to be your partner. I understand he could use some polish, too.”“But this?” Aslynn couldn’t help asking, trying not to shrink away from the servant.The queen sighed. “It is in everyone’s best interest that you learn quickly, Aslynn. This will help.”“If I survive,” she muttered.“Speak up, milkmaid,” the queen admonished. “Or better yet, don’t speak at all. A man likes better the woman who knows how to be seen and not heard.”Aslynn nearly bit her tongue off to resist commenting that the queen did not follow that bit of advice.Queen Tawnia frowned, as if reading her thoughts from her expression, and Aslynn smiled prettily—an earlier lesson—and kept her peace.“This garment,” Tawnia said, pointing to the item in the servant’s hands, “will restrict your steps to a demure pace. This,” she held up another garment, a blouse with more metal devices, “will restrict your arms from swinging. And this...,” she pointed to a final item, “will keep your back straight. Claudia will assist you in putting them on. Every day.”***Tawnia watched as Aslynn, assisted by Claudia, struggled into the posture modifying garments. They really were drastic measures, but given the girl’s age, they would be necessary for success.And success was necessary for the plan forming in Tawnia’s mind. There was a duke on the other side of the island, an older widower. He was harmless enough to meet the king’s approval, and it would get the brat out of her hair. With the girl trained, the problem would be half-solved.As to her other problem, she had an idea of what to do with the boy, too. All she needed was the right person to contact, and this time if a storm came up, the queen would be certain he went down with the ship.***The docks were humming with activity—sailors and fishermen coming in after a day at sea, or getting ready to set sail on the evening tide—and it wasn’t hard to find directions to the little white sailboat with the broken mast.“Hello, the boat!” Sebastian called as he approached. The boat only rocked on the waves. Meedo was not there to answer the hail. “Permission to board, Remini?” he asked, not feeling foolish in the slightest. As if in response to his request, the boat drifted closer to the dock, and he hopped nimbly onto the deck.He didn’t know what he was expecting, but nothing out of the ordinary happened. Remini had no secret message to impart to him.Stepping down into the cabin, Sebastian found it had been cleaned and was now tidy as Mother Bette’s kitchen. He spotted the chart table, and Meedo’s grease pen and wax notepaper.A note would have to do.“Sir,” he wrote, his hand clean and precise. “If you need anything, send for me at the castle stables. I’m glad you are safe.” He signed his name and carefully stowed the pencil back in its nook so it would not be lost in weather.Then, realizing he was effectively standing in a man’s bedchamber without his permission, he hurried back on deck, glad to see Remini had not drifted away from the dock.With a pat on the boat’s rail for goodbye and thanks, Sebastian jumped down and headed home, hoping he wouldn’t be late for supper.As he made his way through the busy streets of the port and up the broad cliff side avenue to the castle, he wondered how Aslynn was faring on her first day at becoming a lady. He almost wished he could have seen it.If he knew his friend at all, he thought he could imagine the fireworks between the two royals. And if by some chance Aslynn had managed to behave, he had no doubt she’d be in a foul mood this evening.Perhaps it was just as well that they hadn’t been able to arrange how they were going to meet. He was one of few who could put up with the princess when she was in a bother, but it didn’t mean he really liked to.Adam was standing in the barracks doorway when Sebastian came through the main gate of the keep proper, and the young heir waved him over.On his way across the small courtyard, Sebastian spotted his foster brother, Jared, lounging outside the other building—the one for single guardsmen.Mother Bette and Master Jabari’s nineteen-year-old son Jared was Aslynn’s cousin through his mother, and his looks were a fascinating blend of his father’s dark hair and skin—though not as dark as his father—and his mother’s green eyes. Wiry muscles stood out from his short-sleeved tunic as he worked a whetstone across the blade of his sword. He had a little more bulk than his father, and there was no mistaking the power contained in Jared’s compact frame. With the training he’d had all his life, he was destined for a high rank among the guards.They exchanged friendly nods before Sebastian returned his attention to Adam. “Good evening, my lord,” he called out, just because he liked making his friend blush.“Sebastian, come inside.” Adam was agitated, and didn’t rise to the bait this time.This barracks building—built to house married soldiers in less peaceful times—was empty now except for Adam’s things, and the huge room echoed with their footsteps.“Ugh. Don’t know how you stand sleeping in here,” Sebastian said.“Not as cozy as your loft, I agree. Now you know why I spend so much time up there.”“And all this time I thought it was my ghost stories.”“Hmm, those too. 'Bastian, I have a problem.”“I thought so. Speak up, old man.” Adam was two years his senior, and it always amused Sebastian when Adam brought a problem to him. But then, Adam’s problems usually involved Aslynn.He was not disappointed in that notion.“The queen wants me to partner Aslynn in dancing lessons.”“So dance with her.” Sebastian knew what the problem was; he just enjoyed torturing his friend.“You think I can’t dance—I can. But...to have her in my arms. And after last night....”Sebastian frowned. “What happened last night?” He had been so tired when he got back...what had he missed?“Nothing happened last night. Only, I almost told her, 'Bastian.”“Told her what?”“How I feel. It was on the tip of my tongue, and she was listening. Then you came back and the momentum was gone. What if I just blurt it out, in front of the queen?”“Just be yourself and dance with her, if you really can dance. You’ll be charming. Trust that.”“Easy for you to say. You’re not in love with her.”Sebastian laughed. “Well, my love struck fool, did you happen to think of a way to meet with her?”“Only for dance lessons. The queen is being quite strict. I understand there’s to be a guard outside her door tonight, and a maid of the queen’s choosing sharing the chamber. I can pass along a message if you like.”“Well, if you find a moment when the queen can’t hear you, tell her Meedo is safe, but he wasn’t aboard to talk to. That’s really the only news. Tell her to watch her toes.” Sebastian grinned.“Mytoes, you mean.”

Chapter 5 - A True Prince (A Serialized YA Historical Fantasy)

Tawnia lowered the spyglass and backed into the darkened corner of the courtyard as Sebastian crossed over to the stables. She had not been able to hear the conversation in the loft, but she had seen enough, using all her skill to enhance the shadows seen through the glass. This coming and going through windows and the presence of the Wingfield heir were problematic, but what demanded her complete attention was the fact that Isaiah was right: Aslynn and the boy shared the love of siblings—it was in every motion, every touch they shared. And she had seen in the boy what she hadn’t noticed before: traces of magic—white Ley—blurred her Sight when she searched for Truth in him.“Why did I never notice?” she asked herself. “How could I have been so blind?”She realized she had hardly laid eyes on the boy since he was brought to the castle. As a stable servant, he was not allowed in the inner rooms of the keep, and she rarely left them. Oh, she had seen him from the window from time to time—enough that she knew his figure from a distance—but the thought that he might be other than he seemed had never entered her mind.Now she was quite certain the inconceivable had happened. The king’s firstborn boy-child had never left the kingdom. If the truth of his heritage and the circumstances leading up to his current situation ever came out, not only would her son cease to be the heir apparent, but her life would most likely be forfeit. Even if he wasn’t the true heir, she had to get rid of the boy, just to be certain.“How?” she wondered aloud. “How did this happen?” Someone had taken great pains to cast a spell strong enough to disguise the boy—a spell that had lasted fifteen years. The sheer complexity of the accomplishment was more than even her understanding of the workings of magic could grasp. Ley, by its nature, was impartial—neither good nor bad. The energy, effort, and maintenance required to bend it to one task for so long would require advanced skill.... It gave her pause. For the first time since she became Queen of the Bonnie Isles, Tawnia felt afraid.***Silently, Sebastian made his way to the stable door and pulled. It glided open without sound thanks to the lubrication he’d given the hinges before dinner. True to her training, Artemis was a silent shadow beside him as they passed through the door.Inside, horses whickered greetings to him. He wished he could get one of them past the guard at the gate, but a horse was not why he’d come to the stable.He opened his horse’s stall, pushed the beast to the side, and felt under the straw for the trap door’s handle. It gave when he tugged, and lifted to reveal a hole, gaping in the darkness. He swallowed hard before dropping inside, landing on hard-packed dirt only dimly seen from above—dark, enclosed spaces were not on his list of favorite places. On his left, just where they’d left them, he found flint, a striker, two candles, and a lantern.After they had discovered and explored the tunnel all those summers ago, it had been Aslynn’s idea to leave the items in case they ever needed to use the passage. He hadn’t ever really expected to use it in earnest.Striking the flint, he sparked a flame to one candle and mounted it in the lantern before pocketing the other. After urging Artemis inside, he closed the hatch.Dark and damp from the recent rain, the stone passageway made him think of what it must have been like in that sea chest. He was glad he didn’t remember it, though when he was in places like this, he knew something in his soul remembered.Artemis whined—a soft, short sound—and Sebastian realized the animal was picking up his fear. “It’s all right, Artemis,” he said, petting her under the chin. “I’m just being an idiot. Let’s get this over with.”He hurried along the tunnel, wanting to get through as quickly as possible. He had a long way to go to make the beach by high tide.As he neared the end of the passage, the air felt fresher, sweeter, and smelled of the sea. Not long after that he saw branches and leaves in the lantern light: the bush shielding the tunnel’s exit. Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief, and Artemis happily bounded out through the leaves.He carefully doused the candle lantern and set it aside, along with the spare, flint, and striker, then pushed his way past the branches into the open night.The moon was low, but it still gave off enough light for him to see, so Sebastian headed for the sea cliffs at a ground-eating lope. Even at that pace, it took an hour to reach Lookout Cliffs. Once there, he checked his landmarks—the stone formations hard to make out in the waning moonlight—and began making his way north along the coast, careful to stay well back from the edge of the drop off.Recognizing the jutting point of land warning sailors of the Devil’s Jaw at last, he searched the expanse of beach below him for any sign of the stranger’s boat. All was dark; no lanterns shone in the darkness and the moonlight only reflected on waves washing at high tide levels. He saw nothing of the whitewashed hull of the boat, Remini.It appeared he had missed high tide and Meedo had gotten the boat afloat without him.“Well, saves me a trip down the cliff trail,” he said aloud. “I’ll check at the port in the morning.” In a way, he was relieved. It had been a long day.With one last look at the beach and crashing waves, he whistled for Artemis and started the long trek back to the castle.***“I meant to ask,” Aslynn said, her voice breaking the heavy silence. She hadn’t spoken a word since Sebastian left, and Adam had begun to wonder if her anger extended to him, as well.Master Jabari had checked on them and gone quite a while ago, but he had stayed awake, lying on his side, watching her shadowy form, wondering how he could comfort her.“About what?”“How your ride went.”“Oh, that. Well, I completed the course, but Master Jabari said I didn’t ride aggressively enough.”“Meaning you didn’t fall off?”Adam decided she wasn’t mocking him. “Only once.”“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” she said softly.“I had the horse on the wrong lead approaching a barrier. He balked and slipped just enough in the mud, and down I went.”Aslynn chuckled. “I fall off at least twice every time. Usually on the water jumps. For some reason, I just can’t co-ordinate them right, so I end up taking a swim.”“That I’d have to see to believe,” he said with his own chuckle.She was silent, and he realized that after today, her opportunities to ride would be few and far between.“I’m sorry,” he said.“It’s all right,” she whispered. “It’s something I’m going to have to get used to. When you think about it, I’ve been very lucky to have had so many years of freedom.”“That’s your stepmother talking.”“No, that’s reality.” She sat up, her face outlined in the faint light coming through the window. “Not many men have need of a woman who can ride and hunt but knows nothing about managing a household.”Adam wanted to go to her, to hold her, but he made himself lie still, watching her.“I have avoided thinking about marriage for too long, but I don’t see any way around it, short of running away. It’s coming whether I want it or not. So, I will learn from her, if only for the means to leave here one day. I only hope I learn enough to please a good man.”“Some men marry for love,” he heard himself say, before he could bite his tongue.She sighed. “I’m afraid love will have very little to do with it. My father will not marry me off to a cruel man, at least not knowingly, but I am the daughter of a king. I doubt the men who will ask for my hand will have much interest in love. Alliance, dowry, favor, yes. But love? There’s not much hope.”Adam did sit up this time. She seemed so lost, so lonely. He reached out to touch her cheek gently, and she turned toward him, her face in shadow.His heart pounded in his chest so loudly he thought she surely must hear it.“I—”A sound at the window interrupted him, and the moment was past, lost to him with Sebastian’s return.***Aslynn did not turn immediately when she heard the sound at the window, wishing Sebastian had better timing. Adam, whose friendship seemed so different to her than Sebastian’s, had been about to confess something. Maybe something she desperately wanted to hear.But she could not bring the moment back. Adam’s fingers, with one last gentle touch, fell away from her face, and he turned to watch Sebastian climb through the window.She turned, too. Sebastian had removed his shirt and his hair was wet. “Is it raining again?”“What?” he asked, hauling himself up and nearly collapsing before the window. “You’re all wet. Is it raining again?”“No. I stopped at the trough to wash up. It’s a long way to the cliffs and back on foot.” Heaving a sigh, he stretched out. “Ah, I’m done for.”“To the cliffs and back?” Aslynn repeated. “You didn’t come back from the port?”“He was gone when I got there.”“Gone?”“All these questions. The tide was in, the boat was gone. I saw no sign of wreckage, though it was hard to tell in the dark. I wager Remini got him back out and Meedo is sitting in the Queen’s Arms, having himself a stout ale.”“Sitting where?” Adam asked, confused.“It’s a pub down on Water Street,” Aslynn supplied, hoping Adam wouldn’t ask how she knew that.“I’ll go down to port tomorrow and make sure....” Sebastian was slumping lower and lower down the window frame, and his words ended in a mumble. He’d fallen asleep on the spot.“Poor 'Bastian,” Aslynn whispered. “Help me get his boots off and him into bed.”“Then I must go, Princess,” he said. “Morning will be here all too soon, and dawn had better find me in the barracks.”Aslynn could not help feeling disappointed by Adam’s retreat, but she did not let it color her response. “I wish the sun would not rise on tomorrow, but I am glad I will be seeing you again so soon.”***“Let me look!” Edward demanded.“Shh,” Katrona hissed. “Mother will hear you. Besides, nothing’s happening yet.”“But it was my idea....”Katrona only needed to look at him in the thin candlelight. Her brother shivered and subsided in his protests immediately. She smiled—the small, secret smile she had learned would throw people off—and turned back to the peephole.Edward only wanted to see Aslynn get in trouble, but Katrona wanted to watch her mother.The queen was pacing the room, looking far more agitated than a mere lesson should warrant. Perhaps this attack of nerves had more to do with whatever precipitated her visit to their suite yesterday and the questions about Sebastian. Not for the first time, Katrona wondered what, exactly, the queen had figured out about Sebastian. Something had given her cause to arrive, breathlessly demanding to know about Aslynn’s relationship with the boy. Katrona felt horrible about not telling her mother the Truth, but she hadn’t been able to bring herself to speak. Now, if Mother figured it out for herself, she might also suspect her own flesh had betrayed her by lying. That sin weighed heavily on Katrona’s heart.Katrona did not know why Aslynn’s twin was unknown. She did not know why she herself had never told anyone about it, except that the spell of disguise cast on Sebastian was of white magic strong enough to last all these years with no one the wiser. So strong, in fact, Katrona had little doubt that it had taken the life of the one who cast it.Such a casting was nothing to disrupt lightly; for all she knew, Sebastian’s life—her own brother’s life—had been in danger, and that danger might return should his identity be discovered.And if that were so, Katrona wanted to know from whom and why.Watching the queen now, Katrona began to suspect there might be more to her mother’s apparent attack of nerves than just Aslynn’s lessons.“How can it be?” Tawnia asked the air for the tenth time. “What could have gone wrong? Who saved him?”With all the guilt it revealed, that was the question Katrona had dreaded hearing.“Oh, Mother,” Katrona whispered, her heart sinking. “What have you done?”“What?” Edward whispered loudly.Sometimes she felt one hundred years older than her brother.A knock sounded on the door and Queen Tawnia composed herself before opening it, gesturing grandly for Aslynn to enter.Aslynn stepped into the room with her head high and shoulders back, trying, it seemed, to look regal, but succeeding only in looking ready for battle.Katrona smiled. Her sister was always ready for a fight when dealing with the queen. It was an attitude Katrona had always admired, but it would not serve Aslynn today.With a sigh, Katrona stepped back and let Edward crowd in, audibly purring with delight at what he expected to see. Her brother was too intent on petty things. He would make a terrible king, unless he grew out of it before King Isaiah died.In a moment of clarity, she added together her mother’s desire to see her son on the throne and whatever dark thread linked her mother to Sebastian’s secret. The sum wasn’t pretty. Sebastian was Aslynn’s twin. He was the true heir, and if that were known, Edward would not inherit. Katrona knew Queen Tawnia’s greatest purpose in life was to see Edward on the throne.“What a tangled web,” she whispered. She was now stuck with deciding on a course of action. Should she tell what she knew, and if so, to whom? Or should she just wait and see what would come of it? It was no small thing to accuse the queen of kidnapping and dealing with slavers. Even harder to accuse her own mother. There was much to be considered, much to be learned, before she took any action. She had a gut feeling she would have to choose sides in the wake of the events unfolding.She left her brother with the candle and made her way back to the family wing in the dark. It would unnerve Edward to consider how she managed without light, but it was a simple trick, really. She had long ago memorized all the passageways. Now she counted her steps and doorways, trailing her fingers along the stone walls until she reached the one she knew would be the playroom. Feeling for the peephole, she checked the room before lifting the catch. After she was sure all was clear, that Miss Claire still snored in her chair by the window, she slipped through the door, closing it silently behind her.***Aslynn wanted to turn and face the queen as she walked around her, giving her a critical once over, but she held still. Today it was Tawnia’s show, and she would try her best to be "good".The queen began her lesson.“You walk like a boy, my dear. Your posture is much too aggressive. This is where we will have to begin. Good posture is the cornerstone of grace. Without it, you may as well be a milk maid.” Tawnia grabbed Aslynn by the chin and pulled it down. “You hold your head like you’re ready to spit. Keep your chin level, and don’t tilt your head. Your shoulder position is good, though you needn’t thrust them back quite so far. Your stance is too broad, put your feet together.”Aslynn took all these directions and modified her posture. It seemed ludicrous, but she held back her comments, reminding herself it really would help...somehow.“All right. That will do for starters. Now, walk to the chair.”Aslynn took a step but stopped when she heard Tawnia’s heavy sigh. “What?”Tawnia grabbed her chin again, pulling it level, and this time Aslynn couldn’t help but pull away. Tawnia grabbed it again and forced Aslynn to look her in the eye. “Your good posture disappeared as soon as you moved. Assume it again.”Concentrating, Aslynn put her shoulders back, but not too far, put her feet together, and leveled her chin. “All right,” she said, trying to behave. “Where did I go wrong?”Tawnia smiled primly. “Too long of a step. To walk gracefully, you must think of the act of moving rather than the objective. Flow smoothly from step to step. Your body should not shake with the force of your step, your head should not bob up and down, and your arms should not swing so wildly. You are—or will be—a lady, Aslynn. A princess. Keep that in mind as you walk.” She paused a moment. “Wait.”
The queen strode to the bookshelf and pulled down a heavy tome. “This will do nicely.” Standing on tiptoe, she set the book on top of Aslynn’s head—not gently—and balanced it there. “Do not let the book fall, Aslynn.”

Chapter 4 - A True Prince (A Serialized YA Historical Fantasy)

As they approached the castle in the gathering darkness, Aslynn slowed her horse. “'Bastian?”“Hmm?”“I don’t think we should tell anyone about Meedo and Remini.”Sebastian grunted. “And how do we explain what we’ve been doing all day? Hmm?”“Tell part of the truth. Say we were looking for a gift from the sea and we lost track of time.”Sebastian reined in his horse. “Why don’t we tell about finding him?”She frowned. “I don’t know why, but I think it’s important that we don’t.”“Still....”“Do you remember when we were nine and you had gone riding without permission? Your horse threw you, leaving you stranded miles from home with a broken ankle?”“How can I forget? Dark was falling and it was getting cold. If Master Jabari hadn’t found me...but why bring that up now?”“I never told you, but it was me who told Master Jabari you were in trouble.” Her friend started in surprise, but she didn’t give him a chance to respond. “You know I don’t believe in magic, but I knew you were in danger. I have that same feeling now...and it has something to do with the stranger. I don’t want to say anything until I know more. Please.”He nodded. “I don’t understand, but I won’t tell, for you. Now, let’s just go home. Whatever punishment I get, I hope they don’t send me to bed without supper. I’m starved.”“Me, too,” she said. “Breakfast was a long time ago.”In the courtyard, they were lighting the torches as Aslynn dismounted and handed her reins over to Adam, who had appeared out of the shadows. Sebastian dismounted and headed for the stables.“'Bastian,” she called, and he looked up. “Luck,” she said. He lifted his chin and rolled his eyes to show what he thought his chances were.“Your Highness,” Adam said, looking at the ground.“Yes?”“The queen was asking after you this morning. She was, um, pretty—”“I can imagine,” Aslynn said, resting her hand on his shoulder. He shifted uncomfortably at her public familiarity. Touching him had never mattered before, but now she removed her hand, feeling uncomfortable, too. Seeing his face and remembering their easy laughter the night before...somehow the gesture had become important. Intimate. She cleared her throat. “And?”“And not an hour ago, the king sent word that when you came in, I was to escort you to him immediately.”Aslynn frowned. “Was he angry?”“I didn’t take the message, Your Highness. If you care to wait, I’ll take the horse to Sebastian.”“Thank you, Adam.”“Your Highness?”She stopped in the act of turning away. “Yes?”“I...we were concerned, Princess. You had been gone so long.”Aslynn smiled at the young lord’s gesture, and he blushed. “Thank you, Adam.” She watched him lead her horse into the stable.“There you are.”Aslynn didn’t turn around at the sound of Prince Edward’s smug voice, just kept watching after Adam, knowing it would infuriate her half-brother.“Look at me when I address you,” he said imperiously.She turned slowly and glared down at him. “Oh, it’s you,” she said flatly. “Aren’t you out past your bed time?”“You’re in trouble, Aslynn. I just wanted to be the first person to tell you.”“Oh, Eddie!” she chided, knowing he hated the nickname. “Listening in the secret passageways again?”Edward’s fair complexion darkened with an angry blush. “You mock me now, Aslynn, but when I’m king—”“I hope I’m not around to see the day you become king,” she said sharply.The boy jabbed a finger at her, and Aslynn slapped it away. “Careful what you hope for.”“Go away, brat,” Aslynn hissed. Edward scampered away, laughing.Adam cleared his throat. “Your Highness?”“Yes,” she said, taking a moment to close her eyes and banish her anger. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”Inside the castle, the smell of dinner cooking—roast pig, if she was not mistaken—made a hearty temptation, but Aslynn didn’t want to keep her father waiting. She strode with purpose down the halls to his study with Adam in tow like an obedient puppy. She wished he could walk at her side, like a friend, instead of some kind of attendant beneath her station.“Ah, Aslynn,” her father said when the herald announced her. He appeared tired, and though he was dressed for dinner, he had been writing carefully on the parchment in front of him, still working when he should be relaxing. He had a warm smile for her, however, as he began to gather papers together. “I see you’ve made it back.”She entered the room with Adam behind her. “I’m sorry I’m late, Father. We lost track of time. It won’t happen again.”“That’s right,” Queen Tawnia said, stepping into the study from an inner chamber. Decked out in her finest dinner gown, she looked regal and very...queenly. “It won’t happen again.”King Isaiah’s sigh was that of a man facing a painful task. “Please, let me handle this.”“Handle what, Father?” Aslynn turned away from the queen to look at her father, a feeling of dread growing in her belly.“There will be some changes, Aslynn. It’s time you began to take on the responsibilities of a princess.” The king sat back in his chair. “My lady will begin teaching you tomorrow.”Tawnia stepped around the desk and stood in front of Aslynn. Knowing the diminutive queen hated looking up at anyone, Aslynn drew herself up to her full height, and the queen frowned. Emphasizing each word, she began. “There will be no more running around the kingdom like—”“My lady!” her father said sharply. “I asked you to let me do this.”Tawnia turned away without looking at him and moved back behind the desk. Aslynn took a step forward. “No more riding?” she asked. “Father? No more swimming, no...?”“Aslynn,” the king said reasonably, “such things will not help you become a lady.”“Then I don’t want to be a lady.”The king sighed again. “You must learn.”“At the expense of my freedom?” she asked, pressing her point.“Some things preclude personal freedom, Aslynn.”Aslynn couldn’t believe what he was saying. When she spoke, her voice was heavy with horror. “Don’t you think the punishment far outweighs the misdeed, Father?”“This is not punishment, Aslynn.” The king’s voice rose slightly. “It has nothing to do with today.”“It has everything to do with today. It’s all because I didn’t go to that bloody luncheon of hers.”“Aslynn!” The king’s palm slapped firmly on his desktop. “I will not have you speak to your mother in such a way.”“She’s not my mother!” Aslynn exploded, abandoning caution. “I hate her!”The king’s expression hardened. “Nonetheless, you will become a lady, and you will do as the queen says in order to learn.”“I won’t!” she said through gritted teeth.“Aslynn, don’t make me give you an order.”The princess could not stop the sob that escaped. “You just did.” She turned and fled the room, past an astonished Adam into the halls beyond.***Adam wanted to follow the princess, but he had not the freedom to leave as she did. He waited as Tawnia put a hand on the king’s shoulder and said, “You have done the right thing, my love.”The king stood, shaking himself free of her hand. “I have broken her heart. But you’re right, she’s far too willful. I fear no man will have her unless she learns to behave responsibly.”“What if she doesn’t come tomorrow?” Tawnia asked.“She will come.” King Isaiah turned to Adam, who still stood in the doorway, uncomfortably awaiting his dismissal. “Adam, escort the princess to the queen’s sitting room at the ninth hour tomorrow. You may go.”Relieved, Adam turned to go, but not before he heard the king say to his queen, “Let her have this one last night of freedom.”***Sebastian accepted his plate of beef pasty pie, unable to believe his luck. Master Jabari had only asked him if the princess had gone up to the castle, then told him dinner was ready and he should wash up quickly.“Thank you, Mother,” he said, waiting until she was seated before starting to eat.“Did you find anything?” Master Jabari said.“Where?”Master Jabari chuckled. “On the beach, boy. You were looking for a gift, were you not?”“Oh, that. Well, there was a lot of wrack, but we sort of got side-tracked from our search.” He didn’t want to lie, and hoped Master Jabari let it rest at that.“Pity. It would have been something if you’d found some clue to your past out there. It would have been fitting to find something today.”“Pish posh,” Mother Bette said. “Don’t go getting the boy’s hopes up like that.”Sebastian dreaded the onset of one of their arguments—the kind where it was as though he wasn’t there. He ate quickly, angling to be excused early.“How is that getting his hopes up?” Master Jabari asked. “He didn’t—”Just then, the door burst open and Aslynn sailed through it and straight up into the loft without saying anything at all. They all got a look at her tear-stained face.“She can’t have eaten,” Mother Bette said in the silence that followed her entrance and swift retreat. Master Jabari stood to close the door.“Will you fix her a plate, Mother?” Sebastian asked. “I’ll see what’s wrong.”Mother Bette quickly fixed another plate of pasty, and he carried it and his own up the ladder into the loft.Aslynn was not by the window, her usual place of solace. He found her curled up on the pallet she used when she slept in the loft with him, a scrap of tattered cradle cloth wrapped in her fist. Sebastian was surprised. She hadn’t sought its comfort in years.“Aslynn?” he said softly. “I brought you some food.”Her response was muffled. “I’m not hungry.”“Yes, you are. I’m sure whatever upset you also kept you from dinner. Eat, and then tell me what happened.”She accepted the wooden fork and scooped up some of the pasty. With a laugh at least half a sob, she said, “I can’t resist Aunt Bette’s cooking.”It was a long moment of silence while each of them cleaned their plates. Sebastian could see she had calmed down enough to talk about whatever it was that upset her, though he couldn’t count on her staying calm once she started talking about it.“What happened?” he asked.She laughed, though there was no humor in it. “My stepmother has decided I am to learn how to be a lady. No more riding, no more swordplay, no more...going outside, I’m sure. I’ll no doubt be kept in that dungeon she calls a sitting room, doing needlepoint and quilting for the rest of my days.”“Is it really that bad?”“When was the last time you saw Tawnia sit a horse? Come to that, when was the last time you saw her outside the Great Hall? I don’t think she has seen direct daylight in years. I’ve watched her and her ladies in waiting, and I vowed I would never, ever become like them. Now, my father is ordering me to my doom.”“You always were good at dramatics, Aslynn,” he said, gently teasing, reaching out to smooth a strand of her hair into place.“You weren’t there. She finally got to him, Sebastian.”“What do you mean?”“I mean, ever since I can remember, she pushes him whenever there is something she wants. And he always gives in, but never when what she wanted affected me. Tonight...tonight he ordered me to submit to her so-called training.” Her hands made a small, helpless motion. “She got to him at last.”“I had no idea he—” he started, but she interrupted, completing his sentence with stronger words than he had intended to use.“Is spellbound? You think it’s easy to admit your father is under the thumb of a witch? I know they’re only rumors, but I can’t believe Father would just submerge like he does without some...influence. I thought if I refused to believe in magic, it would somehow stop it, but even refusing to believe in magic hasn’t helped.”“You can prove she’s a witch?”Aslynn sighed in frustration. “Of course I can’t prove it. I wish I could. She and Katrona.”“Katrona? She’s just a child.”“People say she’s a witch in training.”“Since when do you believe what other people say, Aslynn?”She gave him a small smile. “You do have a way of catching me out when I’m acting like a—”“Royal pain,” he finished for her, and smiled.She smiled back. “You’re right. Katrona is strange, but she’s nothing like her mother.” She paused, then added in a note of despair. “What am I going to do without you to keep my feet on the ground?”The sound of the window opening caused them both to turn as Adam climbed into the darkened room. He approached them and squatted next to her pallet.“I’m not going back there tonight,” Aslynn said, resolute.“I’m not here to take you,” Adam assured her, giving a small smile. “I would have used the door.” He hesitated, then, “Your father said you...you could have this one last night.”“That’s how he put it?” Sebastian asked. “‘One last night’?”“You see?” Aslynn said, sounding defeated. “So much for my dramatics.”“What are you going to do?” Adam asked.“Do? The only thing I can do, I suppose. Take my medicine and hope she loses interest in her pet project.”“You’re going to let her win?” Adam’s question echoed Sebastian’s. Giving up didn’t sound like the princess he knew and loved.“No, Adam. I’m not just going to give up the things I love. But if I refuse to let her instruct me, I might as well declare war on her. I don’t think I’m up for that. I’ll just have to think of something.”Sebastian took her hand. “Don’t you mean we will have to think of something?”Aslynn smiled.“I have envied your freedom, Princess,” Adam said, eyes lowered to hands that twisted the end of his belt. “And I truly grieve to see it taken away from you in such a manner. Let me help in any way I can.”She took his hand in her free one and squeezed. “With two such brave warriors on my side, how can I lose?”***Adam hoped his hand would not betray him by trembling in her light grip. He wished he could confess to her how much her friendship meant to him, but he didn’t think he could stand it if she laughed, thinking he was not serious.“Sleep on it tonight,” Sebastian said. “We’ll come up with something.”“But I have to attend the queen tomorrow. What if we cannot meet again?”“We’ll find a way, I promise, Aslynn. But right now, I have to go.” He stood up.“Oh! The tide.” Aslynn also stood. “I’m coming, too.”“Where?” asked Adam, confused by the sudden change of subject.They stared at each other, and then the princess held her hand out for Adam’s. “Promise me you will not tell anyone?”Adam rose and once again put his hand in hers, wondering what secret she and Sebastian shared, and happy she would consider including him. “I promise.”“A boat washed over the Devil’s Jaw in last night’s storm,” Sebastian said. “We rescued the captain and I am going to go help him get the boat back out to sea to bring it in to port.”“We,” Aslynn stressed.“That’s where you were all day?” Adam asked, then felt supremely intelligent. “I mean, what’s the big secret?”“The boat is unusual,” Sebastian began. “It’s—”“The man is more unusual,” Aslynn interrupted. “He told me he is going...,” she hesitated.“Yes?” both Sebastian and Adam prompted.She cleared her throat. “I think he’s quite mad. I don’t want you to get your hopes up, 'Bastian, but he said he intends to clear his debt to us by finding out where you came from.”Sebastian was very quiet, and Aslynn’s voice sounded small as she said, “I wish I hadn’t told you.”“Do you think he can?” Adam asked her. “Find out, I mean?”“He said that’s what he does. But he’s mad. He had a tiny boat out in that storm and he claims it’s magic.”“Doesn’t matter,” Sebastian said flatly, going to the window. “He needs help. That’s all I’ll let myself believe.”“I’m coming, too,” Aslynn said.***“No, you’re not.” Sebastian put a hand on her shoulder, admiring her determination, but knowing she could not go. “You know Master Jabari comes up to check on you when you stay here. If we’re both gone, then the whole castle will be turned on its ear to search for you. If you think things are bad now, it will be far worse after that.”“But what if they find you gone?” she asked, putting her hands on her hips.“They won’t.”“Oh? Why not?”“Because Adam will be here, sleeping in my bed, keeping you company.”Adam made a startled movement, and Sebastian could imagine the young man blushing scarlet. He almost laughed. When the time came for him to fall in love, he hoped he wouldn’t have as rough a time of it as the young Wingfield heir. Aslynn, on the other hand, was silent. She was most likely furious with him.
“Don’t wait up for me.” Before either of them could say a word, he slid out the window and onto the pantry’s rooftop, where he made his way down to the edge and dropped into the dooryard.

Chapter 3 - A True Prince - (A Serialized YA Historical Fantasy)

So I was supposed to post a regular blog post today, but I got nothin'. There's so much reality going on out there--and not much that's happy--that I decided I'd just post another installment of A True Prince. Enjoy--and if you haven't yet read from the prologue, you will want to backtrack at get caught up.

Chapter Three
Aslynn watched, holding her breath with her heart in her mouth, as Sebastian made his way to the boat. She fell to counting each time he bobbed atop the crest of a wave.He was nearing the boat, but it would be a close call. Sebastian would need the incoming tide to get the boat—and himself—back to shore. From what she could see, the mast was broken, making sailing impossible, but at least it was small enough to row.Her horse shifted beneath her, and she absently soothed him, stroking his neck and humming a little song her nursemaid had always used to comfort her.She didn’t breathe properly again until she saw Sebastian haul himself aboard. Waving to show he was safe, he then turned around—no doubt looking for survivors or a way to bring the boat to shore.It was bigger than it appeared, Aslynn decided. He was not going to be able to row it in against the tide.Just then, something on the shore spooked the horses. At the same time Sebastian’s horse pulled loose from her grip on its reins and trotted a few lengths down the beach, her horse snorted and danced beneath her. His gelding was too well-trained to go any further, and hers responded to the pressure of her knees telling him to stay while she searched in surprise for the cause of their fright.Artemis nosed around some rocks sitting right at the tidemark, and she frowned, wondering what the dog was after. Then, one of those "rocks" moved. Puzzled, Aslynn dismounted and went to have a closer look. When the "rock" groaned, she realized what it was.Artemis had discovered a survivor of the storm, probably from the boat Sebastian just boarded.As she drew closer, she could make out the shredded clothing, gray-white skin, and head, all covered in seaweed. That they had not noticed the body before was not surprising. It looked like something rooted in the sand, part of the beach.Aslynn checked on Sebastian. He was still on the boat, trying to rig up a sail.The man on the beach groaned again, and she moved quickly to his side. “Get back, Artemis.” She put out her hand, and the dog obediently backed off and sat down. Kneeling in the sand beside the stranger, she gently pulled seaweed away from his face.“Hello,” she said. “It must be your lucky day.”The man coughed up some seawater, and Aslynn helped him sit up. “Funny,” he rasped, “I don’t feel lucky.”Aslynn pulled off some more seaweed, wondering where he was from. His accent was like none she had ever heard.“My boat?” he asked, his voice sounding more like a croak.“Sebastian is trying to bring it in. See?” She pointed out over the waves, and saw Sebastian was in trouble. The boat drifted further out to sea, the tide turning before he had a chance to bring it in. He was moving frantically about the boat, trying to paddle it toward shore. She stood abruptly. “Sebastian!”***Sebastian pulled hard on the makeshift paddle, but it had no effect against the out-flowing tide. He looked over his shoulder at the Devil’s Jaw and saw he was moving out fast, closing in on the water frothing over the jagged stones. He was going to have to swim for it.Dropping the useless paddle, he made a quick search of the boat for anything unusual. There was nothing on deck—everything not tied down had washed overboard. Below, in the small berth and even smaller galley, personal effects lay scattered all about: clothing, dishes, chess pieces, a sea chest.Sebastian tried to open the sea chest, but it was locked. The whole thing was too large to try to swim to shore with. He searched for something to break the lock.The boat lurched wildly, sending Sebastian spinning. Picking himself up, he stumbled for the companionway and climbed back on deck. The Devil’s Jaw was just off the port bow. Prize or none, it was now or never to get off the boat.The boat lurched again, fighting the current. Sebastian again surveyed the Jaw. He was moving away from it, back toward shore. Turning , he saw Aslynn had dismounted and appeared to be shouting at him. He waved at her, unsure what was happening. Was it a rogue tide of some kind?The boat moved swiftly for the strand, and he leapt to the tiller to steer around the rocks. Whatever was carrying the boat, it was in a great hurry. In no time at all, the boat had grounded. Sebastian jumped off and pulled it as high as he could above the tidemark. Then he turned and ran to where Aslynn stood on the beach.“What happened?” they asked each other at the same moment, and laughed.Aslynn turned and gestured to the sand at her feet and for the first time, Sebastian noticed a man lying there.“Who is he?” Sebastian asked.“I don’t know. That’s his boat, though. He woke up long enough to ask about it, then when I saw the tide had turned and you were almost on the Jaw, he...I don’t know. Next thing I knew, you were coming in, and he was out cold.”“Well, let’s get him to the boat. We can get him dried off and see how badly he’s hurt. Come on, Princess, give me a hand.”***Queen Tawnia swept into the king’s study and propped her hands on her hips. “Well?”King Isaiah lifted his gaze from the parchment he was studying, his brow wrinkling in puzzlement. “My dear?”“Your daughter.” The queen tried her best to be patient with the man, but he was obviously distracted by whatever trash he was reading.“Is she all right?”“She and that stable brat aren’t back yet.”The king looked out the window at the afternoon light. “It’s not dark yet, and she’s with Sebastian.”“You’re not worried?”“Some,” the king admitted.“Well?”Isaiah sat back in his great chair, a frown creasing his brow—a brow still bearing the lines of old grief, no matter how hard Tawnia tried to ease them. “I don’t mean to question your motives, my dear, but since when do you concern yourself with where Aslynn goes and when she comes back?”“Since I decided it is high time she started acting like a lady.” Tawnia stalked up to the desk and glared down at Isaiah. “She’s nearly sixteen. Even if she's not to inherit, she should still behave like she's royalty.”“She is royalty, Tawnia. Nothing can change that.”Tawnia sighed in disgust. “She runs around all day with a commoner, just after an awful storm, misses an important luncheon, embarrasses me, and fails to return, yet you just sit here, reading a...a...,” she glanced at the paper on his desk, “a pig list.”“The fall butchering is important.” Isaiah sighed. “I worry, my dear, but not enough yet to send out a search party. And I trust Sebastian.”Tawnia tried another tactic. She leaned over the desk and reached out to run a finger under the lapel of his housecoat. “Aslynn’s reputation is important, too, my love. What will she have to fall back on when you and I are gone? Would you have her rely upon Edward’s good will, knowing how poorly they get along? If she doesn’t know how to be a lady, where can she go? Who will care for a woman who cannot act like a woman, like a lady?” Tawnia ran her hand down Isaiah’s chest. “I can teach her, take her under my wing, be sure she has what she needs to be well cared for.”“But…,” Isaiah faltered, and Tawnia knew she was making headway at last, “but she is happy now.”“She will be happy as a lady, too. Have faith in me.”The king sighed, running a hand through black hair flecked with gray. “Very well. I will tell her tonight, when she returns.”The queen kissed the king firmly on the mouth, then straightened with a smile. “You won’t regret this, and one day, neither will Aslynn.”***“I think he’s coming around.” Aslynn quickly poured some drinking water into one of the cups from the galley and held it to the man’s lips. “Drink, sir. You need the water.”The man took a sip of water, coughed, and drank a little more. “I...thank you.” The man gazed around, eyes focusing slowly. “Where am I?”“On your boat.”“My Remini? You saved her?”Sebastian chuckled. “Near as we can figure, you did, sir. I was just a passenger while the boat came ashore herself. Aslynn was with you when you asked after your boat, and then you passed out.”“Sebastian thinks it was magic.” Her tone spoke volumes of what Aslynn thought of that notion.“Help me sit,” the man said. Aslynn moved a pillow behind his back as Sebastian supported his move. “It was magic, my friends, but not mine. My Remini has a mind of her own sometimes. She got me past the reef, but she could not keep a poor sailor such as myself on board. She certainly would not have wanted to wreck on the reef once she knew I lived.”“The boat sailed herself over the Devil’s Jaw?” Aslynn said in disbelief. “I cannot credit that.”“But you saw her come in with your own eyes,” Sebastian protested. He was always amazed at how easily Aslynn could dismiss magic with so much evidence of its existence in life—especially his life.“I saw something, but—”The stranger’s coughing fit halted their argument.“Oh, sir, more water?” Aslynn asked, offering the cup.“Thank you, missy. You’re a kind lass.”Sebastian bristled at the stranger’s breezy familiarity. “She’s not a lass, she’s—”“Aslynn,” she cut him off quickly. “My name is Aslynn. And this is my best friend, Sebastian.” She shook her head. “We need not trouble him with who we are,” she said earnestly, and Sebastian got her point. No need to advertise she was the king’s daughter. Not while they knew nothing about this man.“My name is Meedo,” the stranger said. “I owe you my life, lass. And, my boy, I owe you for sparing my Remini.”“What were you doing out in that storm?” Aslynn asked.“As poor a sailor as I am, I also have a poor weather eye. It took me by surprise.”“But you said the boat was magic.”“Remini can’t tell me when a storm approaches, only try her best to bring me safely to port.” Meedo studied his surroundings for the first time. “Ah, the place is a mess. My sea chest?”“Here,” said Sebastian, thumping it with the flat of his hand. “Still locked.”“Good lad. We’re not at sea?” he asked, seeming to note for the first time the boat was not rocking on the waves.“No. Your Remini ran herself aground. I think we’ll be able to re-float her on the next tide, but you’ll need to put in at port to fix the keel and mast.”Outside the boat, Artemis began barking—not at danger, more like a warning.“The horses,” Sebastian sighed. “I’ll be right back.” He clattered up the companionway and they listened to him cross the deck and leap to the sand, whistling for the horses.“He’s a brave lad, your Sebastian, to go after the boat like he did. Brave, but foolish.”“Not so foolish. 'Bastian is at home at sea as much as he is on land. I think he truly is a child of the sea.”“Why would you say that, missy?” Meedo asked.“Fifteen years ago today, he washed up on this very beach in a sea chest not unlike yours, Meedo. No one knows where he came from.”“A mystery?” the stranger said thoughtfully.“It bothers him, not knowing who his family is. Sometimes I think knowing I love him, that his foster parents love him, is not enough.”“Family has a very strong pull, Aslynn. For a young man his age, it would be a powerful pull, indeed. He is just coming into his sense of self, becoming a man. Knowing one’s roots helps one feel anchored, centered, more in control.”Aslynn sighed. “I wish I could help him. I told him I’d move the earth if I thought it would help, but—”Meedo chuckled. “You won’t have to move the earth, but I believe you could, Princess.”“How did you know...?”“Some things I know. One is the name of King Isaiah’s daughter. Other things I can find out, like your Sebastian’s mystery. That is what I do. Perhaps solving his mystery will discharge my debt to the pair of you. Open my sea chest.”“But it’s locked.”Meedo smiled. “Try it.”Aslynn put her finger under the latch and it sprang open. Surprised, she regarded the stranger a moment before lifting the lid.“The velvet sack. Give it to me, please.”Aslynn shifted a few items around until she found a scrap of black velvet. Digging her fingers around it, she found a drawstring top, and pulled. The sack was heavy with whatever was inside—something round. She handed it to Meedo.“Aslynn!” Sebastian shouted from outside. “You’d better come out here.”“I’m sorry,” she said to Meedo, scrambling to her feet. Something in Sebastian’s voice sounded funny. Worried. She climbed on deck and searched for Sebastian. He was mounted, just off the prow of the boat, watching for her. “What’s wrong?”“The time,” he said gravely.She gasped, looking up at the sky. “How did it get so late? Father will have my hide for a rug!”“You mean my hide.” His smile was strained. She knew there was a very real possibility of punishment for him.“What do we do about Meedo?”“I’ll be fine,” Meedo said from on deck behind her, causing her to jump. He was shaky on his feet, but he stood on his own. “When the tide re-floats us, Remini will get us to safety. Look for me at Fair Haven Port. There is still the matter of my debt to you.”“I’ll come back by high tide, if I can,” Sebastian said. “I pulled her up pretty high. You’ll need help getting her afloat.”“Until I see you next,” Meedo said as Aslynn dropped to the sand, and Sebastian handed her the reins to her horse.She mounted and waved to him, then Sebastian whistled up Artemis and they rode off along the beach.***Meedo lifted the velvet sack, loosened the drawstring, and shook its content out onto his palm. The crystal ball glittered, even on this cloudy day, and Meedo knew the nearest Ley line had been drawn to the perfect sphere, lending its ethereal power to the object. Good. The proximity of the mystical power source would give his search better odds of succeeding.Balancing it between his thumb and first two fingers, he held it up so the two retreating figures were reflected in it, upside down.Feeling the Ley enter his fingertips where they connected with the sphere, he let the power infuse him. “Show me,” he commanded.
Slowly, the image righted itself, and then grew larger, focusing in on the lad. Only, it wasn’t the lad—it was the girl. Meedo shook his head. No. It was the lad, just different somehow. “A mystery, indeed."

Review of Smitten (Dawn of the Dragons Book 2) by Vivienne Savage

A great installment in Vivienne Savage's dragon-universe. There was a great story here, with good character development, and a few twists that I didn't see coming.

I love how these books and characters have evolved from the early stories that were more about the sex, to these deeper, highly engaging and entertaining dramatic stories that still have some steamy sex in them.

If you like a good PNR, don't hesitate to try Vivienne's books. If you start at the beginning, know that they just keep getting better and better.

Chapter 2 - A True Prince - A Serialized YA Historical Fantasy)

Sebastian quietly closed the hatch to the loft and joined Aslynn by the un-shuttered window. He could almost laugh at his foster mother’s ideas. He and Aslynn in love?

She was his best friend.

The rain falling outside the loft window made a continuous rattle on the tile rooftops, not the usual soothing charm of a fall storm. He could see his dog, Artemis, standing outside the kennel’s shelter, looking up at them in the window. He wished Mother Bette would let him bring the mastiff inside, if only during poor weather.

“It’s a good storm,” Aslynn said, turning to look at Sebastian. “What were they talking about?”

He shrugged. There was no reason not to tell her. “Mother wondered if you and I would fall in love, and Father told her it wouldn’t matter. We could never marry, because I’m nobody.”

She frowned at him; he suspected more for the last words he spoke than the first. “That really bothers you, doesn’t it? Not knowing where you’re from.”

Sebastian nodded morosely. “I always thought that someday someone would step up and say, ‘Hello, I’m your father’. And he would have some fantastic reason why I was on that slaver ship, like I was stolen by pirates, and it has taken all this while to track me down. But it’s been fifteen years. Even if my parents haven’t given up hope, I’m about to.”

“Oh, 'Bastian.” Aslynn opened her arms, and he scooted closer to accept her hug, resting his head against hers. “If it’s any help at all, I’ll make you a promise. You have been my best friend for as long as I can remember, and I will move heaven and earth to help you find your parents. I’ll think of some way to do it, if you promise to never leave me alone here, with my awful stepmother and her awful, awful son.”

“I promise,” Sebastian whispered into her ear.

“As for falling in love with you...well, that would be like...,” she fumbled, at a loss for words. Sebastian released her and smiled down at her.

“Like falling in love with your brother?”

“Exactly. I love you, 'Bastian, but I don’t think I could ever be in love with you, if you take my meaning. You’re too much of a good friend to ruin it by falling in love.”

“Amen,” he said, thinking he couldn’t have said it better himself.

She sighed and shifted so that she rested against him as they gazed out at the storm. “This is the place I love best to be,” she said candidly. “Away from the Great Hall and my stepmother. Away from Edward and Katrona. Away from people who expect me to be simple-minded and biddable. I love it here, sitting with you.”

Sebastian smiled to himself, gratified that she felt she could say anything to him. “I love having you here.”

Outside, the storm continued to rage.

“What’s this?” Adam said, popping his head over the sill of the window as he lifted the glass pane up and out of his way. “Getting cozy?”

Aslynn laughed as they scooted back to give him room to climb in. “Took you long enough, Adam.”

“Long enough to decide if I really wanted to go out in this rain,” Adam said, hauling himself into the room and shaking the rain out of his short, blond hair. “I really should have gone to bed. The course is going to be even more difficult after tonight’s storm.”

Sebastian knew what he meant. The equestrian training course Master Jabari had designed, with its swinging targets, varied jumps, and changing obstacles, was hard enough even in ideal conditions. But Adam had confessed to Sebastian that he found it very hard to resist even the slightest invitation Aslynn gave him, however lacking in etiquette the invitation might be.

“You’ll do fine,” Aslynn said. “Master Jabari would call it 'reality training'. In battle, you won’t always have a good night’s sleep and dry ground under you.”

Adam laughed, and bowed to her before sitting down to lean against the window frame. “How can I fail to be motivated by your inspiring words, Princess? You could send me into battle any time.”

“Oh, please,” she said, reaching out to tweak his booted foot. Then she shifted position so her head lay cushioned by Sebastian’s shoulder and her legs draped across Adam’s legs. “I like this,” she declared, “being with my friends, breaking the rules. What a scandal it would be if word got out that Princess Aslynn was sleeping in Master Jabari’s loft with a common stable boy and Duke Wingfield’s son.”

“Common, am I?” Sebastian asked, turning to tickle her. She howled and tried to kick at him. “Don’t just sit there, Adam, grab her feet!”

Through the floor, they could hear Mother Bette shouting at them to settle down, and Sebastian shook a finger at Aslynn to let her know she was getting off easy.

“I’d better go,” Adam said, scooting for the window. “It really would be a scandal if I’m caught here.”

“But you just got here,” Aslynn said, reaching out to touch his arm. Sebastian saw him hesitate, on the verge of staying even though his common sense told him he needed a good night’s rest.

“Goodnight,” Sebastian said, giving his friend an out, then he laughed. “Coward.”

“I lack your bravery, stable boy,” Adam said in his courtliest manner. “I dare not take on the princess twice in one night.”

They all laughed, but before he could slip out the window and onto the pantry roof, Aslynn leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“What was that for?” he asked, surprise coloring his tone.

She giggled. “For a friend. Goodnight, Adam.”

The smile Sebastian saw on Adam’s face looked practically giddy before he ducked his head and disappeared into the rainy night, leaving the two of them alone.

“In the morning,” Sebastian said thoughtfully, “let’s go look for a gift from the sea.”

“Sounds splendid,” Aslynn replied.
***
“Where is she?”

The shrill voice, followed by a door slamming, made every servant in the room flinch. No one needed to ask to whom Queen Tawnia referred. Princess Aslynn had gone willful missing—again. No one knew where to, this time.

“Drat the child! She knew I needed her today.” Tawnia had planned a society luncheon, one the princess had been told she was expected to attend, dressed and behaved like a princess. Rumors flying about court suggested the queen could not control the king’s firstborn; she had expected to quell those rumors today. “First the cursed weather, and now this!”

The queen stormed back out of the room, heading for the king’s private chambers.

“I’ll make a lady out of that little brat if it kills her,” she muttered to herself as she picked up multiple layers of her skirts to walk faster.

“Her Majesty, the Queen.” At the door of the king’s office, she paused only long enough to be announced, then she pushed past the herald and stopped, almost breathless, in front of the giant oak desk where King Isaiah sat, parchments spread before him.

Belatedly, she realized how unladylike her behavior was, and how she must appear to her husband.

“Yes, my dear?” the king said. She took a moment to collect herself. His kind brown eyes gazed out at her from under black hair peppered with gray, his chiseled features composed and patient. Though two years her junior, Isaiah both looked and acted far older than his thirty-eight years.

“It’s Aslynn, of course,” Tawnia said primly. “The child is missing, and she knew—she knew I was expecting her to attend today’s luncheon.”

“She’s hardly missing, my dear. She left at daybreak with Sebastian.”

“And you let her?”

“She’s safe with Sebastian.” Unperturbed, Isaiah moved one sheet of paper from in front of him to a stack on the left side of the desk before turning his full attention to her.

“But my luncheon—”

“Will come off perfectly well without her.” Isaiah rose and rounded the desk to put his hands on Tawnia’s shoulders. She resisted the urge to tiptoe in order to appear closer to his height. “She said it was important.”

“More important than her reputation?” Tawnia narrowed her eyes at him. “How long do you intend to allow her irresponsible behavior to go on? She’s nearly sixteen, too old to be gallivanting across the countryside with a young man alone. People will talk.”

“People always talk, Tawnia. She’s just fifteen, and she’s happy when she’s with Sebastian. I can’t take that away from her.”

Queen Tawnia pouted, though inside she wanted to curse. The only time Isaiah denied her was where his firstborn daughter was concerned. It didn’t matter how often she renewed the spell, he had never bent to her will when it came to Aslynn.

“Well, when her heart gets broken over this silly boy, don’t say I didn’t warn you. You realize they can never marry.”

Isaiah actually chuckled at her. “Those two share the love of siblings. I don’t expect that will change any time soon.”

“Siblings?” Tawnia repeated, struck by a horrifying thought.

“Yes. If you saw them together, you would see what I mean. Those two could not be closer if they shared the same blood.”

“Oh,” was all Tawnia could say, her mind racing to review everything she knew about Sebastian. “Oh!” Why had she never considered it before? It was by no means certain, but if it were true.... She had to find out. “If you want to let her ruin my luncheon, very well. But mark my words, no good will come of letting her ruin her reputation.”

“My dear, neither will be ruined, I assure you.”

“Mark me well,” she repeated before turning to leave the room, head high. Once she was out the door and around the corner, however, she picked up her skirts and hurried to the children’s suite in the family wing.

She remembered the day Isaiah brought Sebastian home from the sea. She had been distracted, channeling most of her energy to the business of crafting her spell on the king, and hadn’t paid much attention to the brat squalling in the swordmaster’s arms.

She had been frustrated; it had been five months and she still had very little results from her efforts. The king had proven to have a very strong will, which would have been fine for a woman who didn’t mind years of waiting for him to stop grieving and choose her for a wife. Tawnia, however, was not a patient woman. Tapping the Ley line alone had been insufficient. Tawnia had to resort to building a collection of personal items to focus the energy more closely to her will.

She had taken very little interest in the child. He was a big, strapping boy looking at least nine months old, and the princess was very petite, only a little over five months. The sea brat had blue eyes, light brown hair, and a pale complexion, unlike the princess, or the king—or even the dead queen, for that matter. It hadn’t seemed likely at the time. But was it magic?

“Edward!” she called as she entered the suite. “Katrona!”

Her children came running. The boy, just thirteen, was stout and healthy, with golden hair and skin like his mother, filled with confidence borne of getting his own way. The girl, only ten, was quiet and serious enough to give even her mother the quivers. Her black-haired, pale daughter possessed a much stronger sensitivity to Ley energy, and Tawnia was already grooming her to take advantage of it.

“My darlings!” she said, bending to plant a firm kiss on each waiting forehead.

“Mother! Miss Claire said you weren’t coming today.” Edward glanced over at the portly governess, as though accusing her of lying to him.

“I hadn’t planned on it, son, but now I have an important question to ask you. Just how much time does your sister spend with Sebastian?”

“Half-sister, Mother. You said to always remember that. Can’t we talk about something else? I—”

“Edward,” Tawnia said sternly. “How much time?”

The boy pouted, but answered obediently. “All the time. She says no one cares what she does because she’s not to inherit. I am. And every minute she can she’s down at the stables or riding with him. She even spends the night there, sometimes.”

Tawnia frowned. She’d had no idea her stepdaughter had run so wild. No wonder there were rumors. The girl was behaving like an absolute hussy.

“Katrona, when you look at Sebastian in Truth, what do you see?” Her daughter was much better at Truth-seeking than she. The gift of accurately discerning the greater Truth versus personal beliefs—personal truth—was a vital skill Tawnia sadly lacked.
Princess Katrona was silent for a long time, seeming to search her memories. Finally, she spoke, her voice eerily adult. “A mystery, Mother. A child of the sea.”

“That’s all?” Tawnia said, her tone conveying her doubt.

Katrona didn’t answer, and the Queen studied her a moment longer. Could her daughter be withholding information? The idea died before it was ever truly a thought. It was impossible.

“Thank you, my darlings. Run and play.” Her children had given her something to think about, but she would have to see the princess and the sea brat together to be sure.
***
"Do you see anything?” Aslynn asked, standing up in the stirrups to see better over waves still cresting at storm heights.

She and Sebastian had been riding since dawn, but by midday they had only found normal sea wrack amid the rocks of the strand. Now they were nearing the rocky headland where the Devil’s Jaw sat submerged in dangerously shallow water, waiting to snap up any ships that sailed too close.

Soon, they would have to either turn back or dismount and continue on foot around the headland. Both had worn sturdy boots in case they ventured onto the rocks. Artemis ranged far and wide across the strand, checking in now and again before racing off to investigate some new scent.

“There!” Sebastian called over the crashing surf.

“On the Jaw? I don’t see it.”

“No, closer in. A small boat—a sloop. Must have had an awful ride in that.”

“I see it. Who would be fool enough to have a boat that size out in a storm? Can we get to it?”

“She’s adrift.” Sebastian checked for familiar landmarks at the tidemark. “Tide’s still coming in, I’d say, but it’ll turn soon. We’ll have to hurry. She may have come over the Jaw safely, but she’ll not go back out the same way.”

“Do you think there are any survivors?”

“Well, Princess, you’ll have to wait until I get back to know.”

“But—”

“No buts, Aslynn. The king would have my head if I let you go out there.”

“It’s not fair!”

“I know it. But it’s also not safe.”

Aslynn sighed. He hoped she would see reason. “Besides,” he said, after a moment, “someone needs to stay with the horses.”

“Very well, but if you have trouble, I’m coming after you.”

“Then I shall endeavor not to have trouble,” he said, and bowed to her.

“Go, 'Bastian,” Aslynn said imperiously. “Before I decide you go too slow.”

“Bossy brat,” Sebastian muttered as he dismounted.

“What did you say?” she demanded.

He smiled at her over the back of his horse. “I said you’re a bossy brat!” Then he added, breaking into a full, jaunty grin. “Aslynn!”

She laughed with him while he quickly stripped off his boots, coat, and shirt. He’d worn short breeches on the off chance he’d need to wade into the surf for a prize.

“Right,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. “Here I go.”

“Luck!” she called to him as he entered the surf. Then, softer, “Be careful, and come back to me.”

Sebastian was a strong swimmer—a skill acquired through long hours spent swimming in the sea and a lack of fear. Not to say he didn’t respect the sea, but he always figured if the sea had wanted him, he would have drowned fifteen years ago.

He swam in the cold water with confidence now, checking his position against the sloop at every cresting wave. There was no doubt in his mind that this boat—or something on it—was important to him. It was too much of a coincidence that it should blow in on the anniversary of the very same night as the shipwreck that had cast him ashore. 

Chap 2 - A True Prince - YA Historical Fantasy

Sebastian quietly closed the hatch to the loft and joined Aslynn by the un-shuttered window. He could almost laugh at his foster mother’s ideas. He and Aslynn in love?

She was his best friend.

The rain falling outside the loft window made a continuous rattle on the tile rooftops, not the usual soothing charm of a fall storm. He could see his dog, Artemis, standing outside the kennel’s shelter, looking up at them in the window. He wished Mother Bette would let him bring the mastiff inside, if only during poor weather.

“It’s a good storm,” Aslynn said, turning to look at Sebastian. “What were they talking about?”

He shrugged. There was no reason not to tell her. “Mother wondered if you and I would fall in love, and Father told her it wouldn’t matter. We could never marry, because I’m nobody.”

She frowned at him; he suspected more for the last words he spoke than the first. “That really bothers you, doesn’t it? Not knowing where you’re from.”

Sebastian nodded morosely. “I always thought that someday someone would step up and say, ‘Hello, I’m your father’. And he would have some fantastic reason why I was on that slaver ship, like I was stolen by pirates, and it has taken all this while to track me down. But it’s been fifteen years. Even if my parents haven’t given up hope, I’m about to.”

“Oh, 'Bastian.” Aslynn opened her arms, and he scooted closer to accept her hug, resting his head against hers. “If it’s any help at all, I’ll make you a promise. You have been my best friend for as long as I can remember, and I will move heaven and earth to help you find your parents. I’ll think of some way to do it, if you promise to never leave me alone here, with my awful stepmother and her awful, awful son.”

“I promise,” Sebastian whispered into her ear.

“As for falling in love with you...well, that would be like...,” she fumbled, at a loss for words. Sebastian released her and smiled down at her.

“Like falling in love with your brother?”

“Exactly. I love you, 'Bastian, but I don’t think I could ever be in love with you, if you take my meaning. You’re too much of a good friend to ruin it by falling in love.”

“Amen,” he said, thinking he couldn’t have said it better himself.

She sighed and shifted so that she rested against him as they gazed out at the storm. “This is the place I love best to be,” she said candidly. “Away from the Great Hall and my stepmother. Away from Edward and Katrona. Away from people who expect me to be simple-minded and biddable. I love it here, sitting with you.”

Sebastian smiled to himself, gratified that she felt she could say anything to him. “I love having you here.”

Outside, the storm continued to rage.

“What’s this?” Adam said, popping his head over the sill of the window as he lifted the glass pane up and out of his way. “Getting cozy?”

Aslynn laughed as they scooted back to give him room to climb in. “Took you long enough, Adam.”

“Long enough to decide if I really wanted to go out in this rain,” Adam said, hauling himself into the room and shaking the rain out of his short, blond hair. “I really should have gone to bed. The course is going to be even more difficult after tonight’s storm.”

Sebastian knew what he meant. The equestrian training course Master Jabari had designed, with its swinging targets, varied jumps, and changing obstacles, was hard enough even in ideal conditions. But Adam had confessed to Sebastian that he found it very hard to resist even the slightest invitation Aslynn gave him, however lacking in etiquette the invitation might be.

“You’ll do fine,” Aslynn said. “Master Jabari would call it 'reality training'. In battle, you won’t always have a good night’s sleep and dry ground under you.”

Adam laughed, and bowed to her before sitting down to lean against the window frame. “How can I fail to be motivated by your inspiring words, Princess? You could send me into battle any time.”

“Oh, please,” she said, reaching out to tweak his booted foot. Then she shifted position so her head lay cushioned by Sebastian’s shoulder and her legs draped across Adam’s legs. “I like this,” she declared, “being with my friends, breaking the rules. What a scandal it would be if word got out that Princess Aslynn was sleeping in Master Jabari’s loft with a common stable boy and Duke Wingfield’s son.”

“Common, am I?” Sebastian asked, turning to tickle her. She howled and tried to kick at him. “Don’t just sit there, Adam, grab her feet!”

Through the floor, they could hear Mother Bette shouting at them to settle down, and Sebastian shook a finger at Aslynn to let her know she was getting off easy.

“I’d better go,” Adam said, scooting for the window. “It really would be a scandal if I’m caught here.”

“But you just got here,” Aslynn said, reaching out to touch his arm. Sebastian saw him hesitate, on the verge of staying even though his common sense told him he needed a good night’s rest.

“Goodnight,” Sebastian said, giving his friend an out, then he laughed. “Coward.”

“I lack your bravery, stable boy,” Adam said in his courtliest manner. “I dare not take on the princess twice in one night.”

They all laughed, but before he could slip out the window and onto the pantry roof, Aslynn leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“What was that for?” he asked, surprise coloring his tone.

She giggled. “For a friend. Goodnight, Adam.”

The smile Sebastian saw on Adam’s face looked practically giddy before he ducked his head and disappeared into the rainy night, leaving the two of them alone.

“In the morning,” Sebastian said thoughtfully, “let’s go look for a gift from the sea.”

“Sounds splendid,” Aslynn replied.
***
“Where is she?”

The shrill voice, followed by a door slamming, made every servant in the room flinch. No one needed to ask to whom Queen Tawnia referred. Princess Aslynn had gone willful missing—again. No one knew where to, this time.

“Drat the child! She knew I needed her today.” Tawnia had planned a society luncheon, one the princess had been told she was expected to attend, dressed and behaved like a princess. Rumors flying about court suggested the queen could not control the king’s firstborn; she had expected to quell those rumors today. “First the cursed weather, and now this!”

The queen stormed back out of the room, heading for the king’s private chambers.

“I’ll make a lady out of that little brat if it kills her,” she muttered to herself as she picked up multiple layers of her skirts to walk faster.

“Her Majesty, the Queen.” At the door of the king’s office, she paused only long enough to be announced, then she pushed past the herald and stopped, almost breathless, in front of the giant oak desk where King Isaiah sat, parchments spread before him.

Belatedly, she realized how unladylike her behavior was, and how she must appear to her husband.

“Yes, my dear?” the king said. She took a moment to collect herself. His kind brown eyes gazed out at her from under black hair peppered with gray, his chiseled features composed and patient. Though two years her junior, Isaiah both looked and acted far older than his thirty-eight years.

“It’s Aslynn, of course,” Tawnia said primly. “The child is missing, and she knew—she knew I was expecting her to attend today’s luncheon.”

“She’s hardly missing, my dear. She left at daybreak with Sebastian.”

“And you let her?”

“She’s safe with Sebastian.” Unperturbed, Isaiah moved one sheet of paper from in front of him to a stack on the left side of the desk before turning his full attention to her.

“But my luncheon—”

“Will come off perfectly well without her.” Isaiah rose and rounded the desk to put his hands on Tawnia’s shoulders. She resisted the urge to tiptoe in order to appear closer to his height. “She said it was important.”

“More important than her reputation?” Tawnia narrowed her eyes at him. “How long do you intend to allow her irresponsible behavior to go on? She’s nearly sixteen, too old to be gallivanting across the countryside with a young man alone. People will talk.”

“People always talk, Tawnia. She’s just fifteen, and she’s happy when she’s with Sebastian. I can’t take that away from her.”

Queen Tawnia pouted, though inside she wanted to curse. The only time Isaiah denied her was where his firstborn daughter was concerned. It didn’t matter how often she renewed the spell, he had never bent to her will when it came to Aslynn.

“Well, when her heart gets broken over this silly boy, don’t say I didn’t warn you. You realize they can never marry.”

Isaiah actually chuckled at her. “Those two share the love of siblings. I don’t expect that will change any time soon.”

“Siblings?” Tawnia repeated, struck by a horrifying thought.

“Yes. If you saw them together, you would see what I mean. Those two could not be closer if they shared the same blood.”

“Oh,” was all Tawnia could say, her mind racing to review everything she knew about Sebastian. “Oh!” Why had she never considered it before? It was by no means certain, but if it were true.... She had to find out. “If you want to let her ruin my luncheon, very well. But mark my words, no good will come of letting her ruin her reputation.”

“My dear, neither will be ruined, I assure you.”

“Mark me well,” she repeated before turning to leave the room, head high. Once she was out the door and around the corner, however, she picked up her skirts and hurried to the children’s suite in the family wing.

She remembered the day Isaiah brought Sebastian home from the sea. She had been distracted, channeling most of her energy to the business of crafting her spell on the king, and hadn’t paid much attention to the brat squalling in the swordmaster’s arms.

She had been frustrated; it had been five months and she still had very little results from her efforts. The king had proven to have a very strong will, which would have been fine for a woman who didn’t mind years of waiting for him to stop grieving and choose her for a wife. Tawnia, however, was not a patient woman. Tapping the Ley line alone had been insufficient. Tawnia had to resort to building a collection of personal items to focus the energy more closely to her will.

She had taken very little interest in the child. He was a big, strapping boy looking at least nine months old, and the princess was very petite, only a little over five months. The sea brat had blue eyes, light brown hair, and a pale complexion, unlike the princess, or the king—or even the dead queen, for that matter. It hadn’t seemed likely at the time. But was it magic?

“Edward!” she called as she entered the suite. “Katrona!”

Her children came running. The boy, just thirteen, was stout and healthy, with golden hair and skin like his mother, filled with confidence borne of getting his own way. The girl, only ten, was quiet and serious enough to give even her mother the quivers. Her black-haired, pale daughter possessed a much stronger sensitivity to Ley energy, and Tawnia was already grooming her to take advantage of it.

“My darlings!” she said, bending to plant a firm kiss on each waiting forehead.

“Mother! Miss Claire said you weren’t coming today.” Edward glanced over at the portly governess, as though accusing her of lying to him.

“I hadn’t planned on it, son, but now I have an important question to ask you. Just how much time does your sister spend with Sebastian?”

“Half-sister, Mother. You said to always remember that. Can’t we talk about something else? I—”

“Edward,” Tawnia said sternly. “How much time?”

The boy pouted, but answered obediently. “All the time. She says no one cares what she does because she’s not to inherit. I am. And every minute she can she’s down at the stables or riding with him. She even spends the night there, sometimes.”

Tawnia frowned. She’d had no idea her stepdaughter had run so wild. No wonder there were rumors. The girl was behaving like an absolute hussy.

“Katrona, when you look at Sebastian in Truth, what do you see?” Her daughter was much better at Truth-seeking than she. The gift of accurately discerning the greater Truth versus personal beliefs—personal truth—was a vital skill Tawnia sadly lacked.
Princess Katrona was silent for a long time, seeming to search her memories. Finally, she spoke, her voice eerily adult. “A mystery, Mother. A child of the sea.”

“That’s all?” Tawnia said, her tone conveying her doubt.

Katrona didn’t answer, and the Queen studied her a moment longer. Could her daughter be withholding information? The idea died before it was ever truly a thought. It was impossible.

“Thank you, my darlings. Run and play.” Her children had given her something to think about, but she would have to see the princess and the sea brat together to be sure.
***
"Do you see anything?” Aslynn asked, standing up in the stirrups to see better over waves still cresting at storm heights.

She and Sebastian had been riding since dawn, but by midday they had only found normal sea wrack amid the rocks of the strand. Now they were nearing the rocky headland where the Devil’s Jaw sat submerged in dangerously shallow water, waiting to snap up any ships that sailed too close.

Soon, they would have to either turn back or dismount and continue on foot around the headland. Both had worn sturdy boots in case they ventured onto the rocks. Artemis ranged far and wide across the strand, checking in now and again before racing off to investigate some new scent.

“There!” Sebastian called over the crashing surf.

“On the Jaw? I don’t see it.”

“No, closer in. A small boat—a sloop. Must have had an awful ride in that.”

“I see it. Who would be fool enough to have a boat that size out in a storm? Can we get to it?”

“She’s adrift.” Sebastian checked for familiar landmarks at the tidemark. “Tide’s still coming in, I’d say, but it’ll turn soon. We’ll have to hurry. She may have come over the Jaw safely, but she’ll not go back out the same way.”

“Do you think there are any survivors?”

“Well, Princess, you’ll have to wait until I get back to know.”

“But—”

“No buts, Aslynn. The king would have my head if I let you go out there.”

“It’s not fair!”

“I know it. But it’s also not safe.”

Aslynn sighed. He hoped she would see reason. “Besides,” he said, after a moment, “someone needs to stay with the horses.”

“Very well, but if you have trouble, I’m coming after you.”

“Then I shall endeavor not to have trouble,” he said, and bowed to her.

“Go, 'Bastian,” Aslynn said imperiously. “Before I decide you go too slow.”

“Bossy brat,” Sebastian muttered as he dismounted.

“What did you say?” she demanded.

He smiled at her over the back of his horse. “I said you’re a bossy brat!” Then he added, breaking into a full, jaunty grin. “Aslynn!”

She laughed with him while he quickly stripped off his boots, coat, and shirt. He’d worn short breeches on the off chance he’d need to wade into the surf for a prize.

“Right,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. “Here I go.”

“Luck!” she called to him as he entered the surf. Then, softer, “Be careful, and come back to me.”

Sebastian was a strong swimmer—a skill acquired through long hours spent swimming in the sea and a lack of fear. Not to say he didn’t respect the sea, but he always figured if the sea had wanted him, he would have drowned fifteen years ago.

He swam in the cold water with confidence now, checking his position against the sloop at every cresting wave. There was no doubt in his mind that this boat—or something on it—was important to him. It was too much of a coincidence that it should blow in on the anniversary of the very same night as the shipwreck that had cast him ashore. 

Chapter 1 - A True Prince (A Serialized YA Historical Fantasy)

Chapter One - Year of Our Lord 1628
Out at sea, a storm gathered. Clouds darkened and grew in number, towering high against the blue sky that still held above Lookout Cliffs.Two young riders sat atop the seaside cliffs, watching the weather build. A large brindled mastiff ranged the cliff’s edge near them.“The storm is coming this way,” the boy said, shifting his athletic frame in the saddle to turn to his companion. “Looks like a wild one. If we hurry, we can make it back before it hits, Your Highness.”The young girl, a raven-haired beauty only half a year away from turning sixteen, sighed heavily, and did not look at the boy. “Sebastian, how many times must I tell you that you may call me Aslynn?”“I know that I may, Aslynn,” the boy said, saying her name with all the sass he could muster. “But my backside is still sore from the last time I slipped and called you by your name in front of Master Jabari. Imagine if I should address you so in front of the queen?”“You never see the queen. And besides, you forget I told Master Jabari it was all right for you to be familiar with me.”“You miss my point, Princess. If I should slip at court—”“It hardly matters to most, ’Bastian. They all look to Edward more than me. No one cares about the princess when there is a future king in my half-brother.”“I care,” said Sebastian, with the air of making an obvious point in a case the two argued on a regular basis. “As does your father, and Master Jabari and Mother Bette.”“I know.” Aslynn’s dark eyebrows drew together as she wrinkled her button nose. “But, I don’t care about being a princess, Sebastian. I want a friend who will call me Aslynn.”“And tell you when you’re being a brat?” He turned in the saddle to whistle up the dog. “Artemis!”“Aye, that too.”“Well, brat. If we don’t go now, we’ll surely be soaked before we get back, and I’ll get hided for keeping you out.”Aslynn’s sea green eyes twinkled with mischief. “Can’t have that. I wager I make it back before you, and dry to boot.”“You’re on.” No sooner were the words out than both youths wheeled their horses back toward Castle Fair Haven, riding at breakneck speeds, leaving the mastiff to follow as fast as she could.***Jabari, the king’s Swordmaster, waited in the courtyard, hands on hips, as the two teens charged through the gate, narrowly avoiding collision with each other and the archway. Neither had given way.“I won!” Aslynn cried, vaulting out of the saddle as a young boy ran out to take her horse’s reins. “You saw, Master Jabari!” Her tanned features were flushed with excitement and her long black hair, completely unpinned, streamed over her shoulders in wild disarray. She raked it away from her face in a fierce gesture of pride.“I saw, all right. I saw the two of you racing like fools across broken ground, as likely to kill yourselves than not. Your Highness.”Unfazed by Jabari’s grumpy greeting, she stretched up to give him a quick kiss on his whiskered ebony cheek. “But I won!”“For certain, Princess. You had him by a nose hair, at least.” The old military man had a soft spot in his heart for the princess; he actually cracked a smile before schooling his features into a stern mask. “Sebastian, I’d have expected better of you than encouraging such a race.”His foster son had to work to keep the smile off his face. “Was I supposed to lether win? She’d have me hided for sure.”“He knows me so well.” Aslynn laughed, still exuberant from the ride and her win.“I’m sure you deserve a beating for something or another, my boy.” Master Jabari reached out to ruffle the boy’s short, brown hair, confirming he was indeed teasing.“Camden,” Aslynn called to the page holding her horse’s reins. “Run and tell the king I’m home, would you? And that I’m staying with Master Jabari.” She turned to Jabari as the first fat drops of rain began to fall in the courtyard. “That is, if he cares to shelter me from this storm.”“As you wish, Princess.”She gave him a dimpled smirk. “I wish,” she said sweetly, then turned back to the page. “Thank you, Camden.”The boy bowed and gave the reins over to Sebastian.“Well then, Princess,” said Jabari, again adopting a stern manner. “You know the rules of my house.”“One must care for the horse before one rests,” the two youths chorused.“Especially after a ride like that. A race very well run, by the way. Go now, before the poor beasts catch chill. Mother Bette will have supper waiting.”A breeze picked up, driving the raindrops and scattering leaves and straw across the courtyard. Aslynn and Sebastian turned as one to take their horses into the stable.“What did we wager, anyway?” Sebastian asked once he thought they were out of earshot.Aslynn laughed merrily. “I’ll think of something.”Jabari shook his head, smiling indulgently. There was no question in his mind who had initiated that race.***“That was a fine meal, Mother,” Sebastian said as he and Adam stood to gather the dishes. Adam, the eighteen-year-old, blond-haired, brown-eyed son of a neighboring lord and Master Jabari’s current student, had joined them for dinner.The simple meal was taken in the Swordmaster’s homey quarters across the assembly yard from the royal stables. Not to be outdone, Aslynn leapt to her feet to help. Here, inside these walls, though they may call her “Her Highness the Princess,” she was part of the family, and she helped with domestic chores.“No, children, tonight I’ll do the cleaning up.”“But, Aunt Bette,” Aslynn protested, “you know I always help.”“Not tonight, my dear. Tonight is special.” Mother Bette took the stew pot from Aslynn.“Special, how?” Aslynn asked, but Mother Bette just smiled.Aslynn looked over at Sebastian, who shrugged. Adam carried the dishes he had collected to the stone sink, but did not go back for more.Master Jabari moved to the fireplace, opening a wooden box to remove an ornate pipe, which he loaded with tobacco from a clay jar before lighting it with a taper from the fire. Smoke puffed from around the pipe stem as he settled down in his chair by the fire.The trio exchanged glances and smiles. A pipe always meant a story. They settled onto the rug in front of the blaze, ready to listen.For a moment, all they heard was the storm raging outside, and Aslynn watched the flames jump in the fitful breeze blowing down the chimney. She was glad to be here in such company, warm and comfortable, rather than shivering in her bedchamber, alone and bored.“It’s fitting that a storm should blow tonight,” Master Jabari said, and Aslynn turned to see him staring thoughtfully over the top of his pipe.She and her friends waited, knowing it would do no good to try to rush things. The old military man had a hundred stories to tell from his years in service to King Isaiah. There was the romance of falling in love with Princess Bette, who gave up any claim she might have to the crown out of the knowledge that the kingdom was not ready to have such an obvious outlander anywhere near the throne. Then there were the stories of his youth on the far off shores of Egypt, his native land, not to mention the roundabout journey to the Bonnie Isles as a captive on his way to a life of slavery.Master Jabari had explained more than once that in the tradition of his people, he told the stories to the children as a matter of oral history, so that they might pass them down to their children. Aslynn didn’t think so seriously about the future, but found them a good night’s entertainment.“Fifteen years ago, there was a storm such as this, on this very night. The wind raged all night and the rain fell so hard it beat trees to the ground. Every roof in the castle sprang a leak.“The next morning, King Isaiah and I went riding on the beach with the salvage crews, to see what the sea had given us. You see, the sea may give us our harsh weather, but she always leaves us her bounty when the wind and waves calm.”“Tonight was the night...?” Aslynn began, and Sebastian hushed her.“Tell us the story, Master Jabari?” Adam asked respectfully. Aslynn knew he hadn’t heard this story yet, but she and Sebastian could hear it a hundred times more and never tire of it.Jabari stroked the whiskers on his narrow chin. “King Isaiah and I rode the beaches, and it wasn’t long before we saw the frigate, her back broken on the reef they call the Devil’s Jaw.” He took a moment to puff on his pipe, and Aslynn imagined his absent gaze reflecting his memories of the sight.“The reef had called another ship to the bottom of the sea. There were bodies in the surf, and they told a story that would never have come from lips still breathing life. Bodies still chained to pieces of the ship, as well as a drowned man known to be a slaver—the first mate of a ship known as the Swing Trader. The frigate’s captain had tried to leave their secret port under cover of the storm, knowing if they were caught on the Bonnie Isles, they would be tried as the criminals they were.“Well, the sea delivered her own justice, taking all the poor souls who had been slaves home to her as well. All save one.”Aslynn clapped her hands in delight, knowing who that one soul had been.Master Jabari smiled and continued. “Amid all the wreckage, the king found a sea chest. An airtight wooden box made to float, such as those used by sea captains to hold their ships logs or special belongings. Well, there was certainly something special in this one.”“Sebastian!” Aslynn laughed, and the boy in question gave her a playful punch on the arm.“It was the oddest thing,” Jabari continued, looking thoughtful. “King Isaiah saw the chest floating in surf still rough from the storm, and instead of asking me or one of the other searchers to fetch it, he went after it himself.”“Do you think he heard 'Bastian crying?” Aslynn asked—as she always asked.“I could hardly hear myself talk over the roar of waves and the cries of the gulls scavenging the corpses. But the king, he must have heard something. He came back to shore dripping wet, with the chest in his arms. He set it down so gently in the sand...” Master Jabari pantomimed the gesture, and even now, wonder lit his weathered ebony features, “and pried open the latches.“I was nearby when he did it, and though I don’t claim to be a mystic, I know magic when I smell it. There was a spell on that chest, to keep its contents safe.“Inside, nestled in blankets and snug as you three are tonight, was a baby boy, with eyes the color of the sea.”Aslynn knew those eyes better than her own—the green of sunlight shining in the surf, or the froth of the waves after a storm. She always thought it was funny others called them blue.“The king and I brought him home to Castle Fair Haven, and though we inquired, no one reported losing a baby. King Isaiah entrusted the care of the babe to Mother and myself, and gave him the name Sebastian, boy of the sea.”***“But where could I have come from?” Sebastian asked, sounding upset by the story this time. “Don’t I look like anybody? I was more than ten months old, surely someone had seen me before the slavers took me....”Jabari shook his head, exchanging a look with Bette, who had paused in her dishwashing. Maybe it was time to stop telling the tale. “Whoever they may have been, they’re either dead or not talking.”Aslynn, never one to stay serious for long, giggled. “Slavers had nothing to do with it. You weren’t born, you were spat out of the sea, just as you are. A brat!” The last word turned into a shriek as Sebastian tackled her, Adam hurrying out of the way. She rolled with him, staying atop briefly, before giving way to his superior strength and size to be pinned under him.“Who’s the brat?” he growled.Jabari only watched. He’d trained both of them in wrestling, sword fighting, and in Aslynn’s case, self-defense. He wanted to see what she would do now.“'Bastian,” she said, lower lip trembling. “You’re hurting me.”Horrified, Sebastian loosened his grip, “I’m sorry....”Before he could finish his apology, Aslynn wiggled out of his grasp and used newly gained leverage to flip her opponent onto his back, pinning him with all her weight.“Well done, Princess,” Jabari said, clapping to express his pride. “You should see your face, my boy.”“You mean you taught her that? It’s not fair.” Sebastian scrambled out from beneath her.“Oh, come. She has to have something to make up for sheer brute strength. And who could resist that face?”“Well, I will, next time.”“If you were truly my enemy, there would not be a next time.” Aslynn flipped up a glittering knife, drawn from some secret place so skillfully, even Jabari didn’t see her do it.Sebastian did the only thing he could do. He bowed deeply and grandly, as though standing before the king himself, and said, “I yield me, Your Highness. My life is in your hands.”“And I give it back to you, freely,” she said with as much solemnity before cracking a grin. “What on earth would I want with your life?” She flopped gracelessly back down onto the rug. “I think it’s a grand mystery to be born of the sea. Perhaps you’re the Sea King’s son, and you’ll be fetched back in a grand storm to become king yourself.”Sebastian snorted. “That’s some imagination, Princess.”“I’ve a fine imagination!” she declared. “Where are you going?” she asked, catching Adam moving for the door.“I’ve an early day tomorrow,” the young lord said, nodding at Jabari.“Yes, he’s riding the course tomorrow.” Jabari was pleased to see his student choose to be responsible enough to turn in early the night before a big challenge.“Oh, well, rest up,” Aslynn said, rolling her eyes at him. Then she laughed. “Goodnight, Adam.”“Goodnight, Princess. Goodnight, all.”The others wished him well, and he made his way out to the student’s barracks behind the stables.“Come on,” Aslynn said abruptly. “Let’s go up to the loft to watch the storm!”From her place at the sink, Bette shook her head and laughed. Jabari chuckled, too. Most young girls Aslynn’s age were terrified of storms, but the princess only wanted to be closer to it. Then again, the princess was certainly notmost girls.The two children left the room by the ladder to the loft, and Bette sighed. “They make a good match. Do you think they’ll ever be in love?”“Love matters not, Bette. The boy has no name, no true family. By tradition, he’s not fit for a princess.” Jabari held up a hand to forestall Bette’s protest. “I know as well as you that he’s noble enough, and strong, and wise beyond his years. And in better times, his parentage might not have mattered. But it will never happen so long as Queen Tawnia still breathes,” he said. “She’ll not stand for anything that could remotely come between her son and his crown.”“Aslynn might do as I did, and give it all up for him.”“My love, we at least had the support of the king and his heir. That woman would see to it Aslynn was cast out into the cold without a second thought, and then where would she be?”
“Humph,” was all Bette said in reply.