A true story (related to Sub Joe by a well-known British political figure, and published with his permission). I'd been urged to attempt the Cambridge Entrance exam by my maths teacher, as I had, at 18, an aptitude with numbers. However, in order to be considered for a place at Cambridge I had to obtain a good 'O' level result in a foreign language. I was,...
Chapter 1: The Golden Girl Every year as the first chill of Autumn began to bite into Summer's soft, ripe heat, the Duc de Charenton threw an immense fete for himself and those he favoured. The Duc had a reputation for eccentricity, even for cruelty, but only those who attended knew the extent of it. His invited guests witnessed all manner of extravagant di...
Madame Gormosy is a Devil. She can change her sex at will, from Louise Gormosy to Louis Gormosy. John Garret is also a Devil, but not so powerful. They have known each other for centuries as devils generally do. The scene is Paris, in the 1770s. * CHAPTER ONE Madame Louise Gormosy stood by the tall window, looking down at the rain-slicked street. Paris wa...
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Denny Wheeler for proofreading and editing major parts of this story and to JCX for helping me with the French and general proofing. Remaining errors, and there are probably plenty of them, are mine. I also express gratitude to my good-humored fellow travelers, whose only mistake was to accompany me on the trip...
Author's note: Firstly thanks to Scotsman69 and Thomas Drablézien for their absolutely invaluable feedback on my first version of this story. As a result of their comments, I've corrected some of the more obvious historical and linguistic errors in my story. I hope that the result is now better and more credible. This is a bit of a departure for me -- a pro...
Jareth was relieved when he saw the flicker of campfires on the road ahead. It had been a long and tiring day, most of it spent on horseback, and the next day would prove to be just as strenuous. He prayed that the owner of the fires would prove to be a hospitable sort. If they wouldn't let him stay the night in their camp, at least perhaps they would provid...
CHAPTER EIGHT... The time for the pure breds to be matched had arrived. Aleksander lay in bed staring at the ceiling. He could hear the festivities going on around him, both at his home and outside it. Parents were scurrying around with the helps with barely restrained excitement and the pure breds were skulking about, not bothered with hiding their resentm...
Aleksander smiled to himself as he walked downstairs to the living room. It had been two weeks since he started, well he guessed he could call it a relationship, with Belle. He was sure his father suspected but he did not think anyone else had noticed anything amiss in his normal behaviour. Except he had been smiling more and he needed to stop doing that as...
As the title suggests, this is the final chapter of Buster's Story. As with the last chapter, this was difficult to write. We know that Buster had to die as we first dealt with his death in More Than Just A Fairy Tale. My partner has cursed, cried and smiled as he's helped me proof the final pages. When he finished, he said, "Damn it! You did it again." and...
I was still shaking the next morning from the climactic experience with Melody and our feminine audience, but by noon had dealt with commitments at the lab and to the project. I had just begun to think about a sandwich when arms descended around my neck and kisses landed on my face. "I suppose the lunch menu on a day like this includes more naked tanning?"...