"Certainly you won't mind, Dear Wood Consort, if I play with your maid for some moments?" Empress Consort Miseo was in a playful mood this late morning. Wen couldn't help but smile. "I'll miss her once you take her away," Wen said from her seat in the reception room, "but I can rest well knowing she'll be cared for." She gestured towards Yuwei. Faintly s...
Before I was taken my name was Marie and I lived in a small village in the countryside, about a weeks ride from the capital. From when I was young I was known as a teller of tales. My imagination reached up to the highest mountains and down to the darkest seas. When I was old enough I was given a job at the inn and paid to tell my stories to entertain travel...
With spring came the arrival of Pollen Lady Hayun's child, a tiny boy she named Arata. The prince seemed to have been greeted by the fresh green scenery. Empress Miseo held the child for a time, cooing down at him and telling him he was already so clever. Then, she handed the child over to the Emperor, who was stupidly grinning, not that anybody would've d...
The first thing Rahela heard on the morning after her rather unpleasant dreams wasn't a "good morning." What she heard was the Emperor bluntly saying, "Batu Markov's father, Ilvan Markov, isn't a duke anymore." It was a bizarre greeting. Rahela had frightening dreams in her sleep. From visions of a moldy prison cell to imagined worries about Gabi being...
The Mage had been gone for weeks. She was attending a festival for the Lady on the Isle of Myst, where she had trained before pledging her service to the new Emperor. She insisted on traveling alone and the Emperor had been furious. Well, not exactly alone. She had her cats and a number of those dreaded stallions she raised. They were the oddest animals; too...
For the first time, Wen dressed more accurately for her rank. Her new rank gave her the right to wear images of trees in her clothing, if she wanted. She was also permitted the right to fingernail guards, although her sets were made of lacquered wood. Wen could have slightly bigger pearls, two bracelets on each wrist, bigger flowers, two necklaces, longer...
This morning, Wen had Moto escort her all the way to the Laundry Department. Beforehand, Wen had been making secret little notes about her own thoughts, and ... strangely enough ... diagrams. When she was at the Laundry Department, she saw a large group of women working mostly by hand. Some soaked clothing in cauldrons of hot water with certain chemicals. T...
Commander Worf's Personal Log StarDate 57275.2 We are en route to rendezvous with the scientific vessel USS Agustin Stahl, in order to transfer our first officer, Commander Martin Madden, so he can take command as interim captain. Their mission: studying systems closer to the center of the galaxy, where the cosmic forces are very intense, in order to corrob...
Author's Note: A reminder, I recently got a new job. My new schedule might have me updating my stories slower than normal. I'm sorry about that. *** Rahela had her clothes changed for the ride. She put on a dark orange gown with fitted sleeves and a plain but high quality surcoat of pale green. She even put on a white wimple that was draped above her b...
The Emperor himself hired and assigned several different investigators to the controversial case involving Tarmo Ammas. When two investigators came to interview him, Rahela asked if it would be easier for her to leave them be. She didn't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. "You don't need to fret, Your Highness" Ammas said as he sat down with the inves...