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Retreat to the River
The gnomes were on top of the humans in a flash. Aurora was thrown to the ground. A gnome grabbed at her feet and the bottom half of her skirt tore in his hands. Losing her shoes, the Empress kicked wildly at the gnome's nose and eyes. Devrim only had a moment longer than Aurora and had his sword half-drawn when he was engaged. He kicked away the first gnome that came toward him giving him just enough time to pull his sword from its sheath. Devrim's foot throbbed. 'These creatures feel like stone!'
He had little time to think as he slashed at the next two gnomes, drawing blood from each of them. The next, realizing the folly of his friends, held his own sword and swung to cut off the man's head. Thankfully, Devrim was a skilled swordsman. He dodged the deadly blow and placed a large gash in the arm of the gnome as he fell forward. The gnome held his limp arm and screamed in pain. Devrim looked frantically to see what had happened to Aurora. Other than her initial outcry, she
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Empress of the World Define the Relationship
"That was incredible!" Aurora spun in an excited circle as she walked, showing herself every bit of sixteen years old. Now that the fear and adrenaline had worn off, she could fully appreciate the magical events of the day. Devrim and Brinn walked on either side or her, amused and confused respectively. "We met a water nymph! Three of them, actually. Are they made of water or do they just look like water?" "A combination of the two," Brinn responded calmly. There was really nothing specially about them, but Aurora made her wonder if there was. "And then the ground opened up like the world would split in two… why do gnomes dig if they can move the earth around like that?" Aurora asked. "Their magic can only move the earth temporarily; the holes they make will go back to their natural state when the magic is complete." Brinn was beginning to enjoy being the expert. Others never deferred to her knowledge, and Aurora's enthusiasm made her feel important. She unco
Empress of the World The Tables Have Turned
"How did you find us again? I mean it has been a long time and a long way since Aurora saw you with the stag." Devrim asked the question that had been itching in the back of his mind. "Oh I have been following you for weeks," Brinn admitted easily. "I spotted you back before that gnome attacked you." Devrim's eyes opened wide and he tried to speak several times. He had not seen the elf a single time. He had only heard Aurora's recount of their meeting. "In the human world, we call that a stalker," Aurora said. She had slowed down and allowed the others to catch up to her. Brinn's words confirmed her suspicion that they had been followed. The elf nodded, "Oh I was definitely stalking you. I am an excellent tracker, and it was extra easy since you were leaving marks for those two soldiers to catch up. Pity they never did." The humans could not tell if she was being sincere. "Do you have any idea what happened to them?" There was a slight air of
Empress of the World Entering the Elven City
The sun slipped behind the ice barrier, but the light was still bright in the land of magic. Whether this was due to some magical occurrence or the ice reflecting the sun in some strange angle, the humans could not say. All they knew is that when they came upon the elf city, the day was not yet over. At first when the city came into view, they had not known what they were looking at. The ground rose steeply into a tall hill and the trees became vibrant colors of purple, blue and pink that the humans had never seen. Then a beautiful white stone seemed to sprout from the ground. It towered high into the air, scraping at the clouds. Many more towers joined the first, and the city took shape. The tall, thin structures looked like exaggerated mushrooms as elves poked their heads out of windows from various floors to see the newcomers. Perhaps the most impressive feature was a large palace. Alvar mentioned that the elves had a king and queen, but Aurora had not given much
Empress of the World The Feast
Devrim squirmed beneath the servants' touches. They pawed at his clothes and clipped his hair, even daring to shave the tiny bit of stubble from his face that he had spent months trying to grow. Outside of his duties as Emperor consort, at home he was generally left alone to his own devices. His personal servants knew he liked his space, and only assisted him when they were requested. In the wild, he had gone slightly feral. No one was around (except Aurora) to see what he looked like, and he had enjoyed the freedom. The amount of attention and preening that was now occurring was a shock to his system. The treatment was akin to torture. Finally, the work was done. "Would you care to take a look, sir?" one servant asked. Devrim reluctantly walked to the looking glass. He had on a long emerald green robe over a white shirt. His waistcoat was the same stunning green and sat above brown pants and dark knee high boots. The cloth was fine and Devrim wondered if all guests go
Empress of the World The Feast II
The tables for the feast were arranged in a large U shape. The Lunar Courtyard was enormous and the fifty or so guests in it barely filled half of it. The food smelled sumptuous, and Aurora wondered how they were able to compose such a party so quickly. "We received news from the Ice Barrier Gate that Brinn had returned," Alvar said by way of explanation as he escorted the Empress to her seat. "When she didn't arrive as expected, I went looking for her and found all of you. It would have been a shame for her to miss her welcome home feast." "I was trying to miss this, you know," Brinn said over her shoulder. She was walking in front with Ithel. Alvar chuckled, "Our Brinn is a bit of a nomad. We try to encourage her to stay home, but she never does. She looks for every opportunity to leave." Brinn turned her head once more, "I hate crowds and dressing up. These sorts of things are my worst nightmare." The five arrived at the table and were stat
Empress of the World Shall We Dance?
As Brinn's story concluded, a soft music wafted toward them from the far end of the courtyard. Aurora realized that the empty half of the courtyard was actually a dance floor. Her suspicion was confirmed as Prince Ithel stood and offered his hand to Aurora. "Please dance with me," he said. Aurora was flattered, but she did not want to dance. Her last foray into dancing with a stranger ended with her nearly losing control of her mind. Of course that was an isolated incident. It was unlikely that the prince wanted anything more than a dance. The Empress needed to get past her fear. Everything would be fine. Ithel waited patiently as Aurora worked through her emotions. "I would be honored," the girl said as she took his hand and stood. The pair made their way to the dance floor. Brinn raised her eyebrows at Devrim and cocked her head to one side. Devrim stared back confused. She kicked him under the table. "Ow!" He said as he rubbed his shin. Alvar opened his mo
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Empress of the World An Indecent Proposal
"I can explain…" Aurora spoke quickly. "I am sorry that you were deceived. We do not know who are friends and foes in the land of magic. We did not mean harm or offense.""We shall let the matter pass for now," the King said magnanimously, "and hope in time this insult will be remedied."Aurora was relieved. The tension in the room lightened. Queen Lanassa spoke next, "How have you found your accommodations? Do they meet with the standard of your palace?""They are quite wonderful," Aurora answered candidly."And have you found the elven people…inviting? I believe Prince Ithel and Lord Alvar personally attended you last night." Zoltan motioned to the prince on his right."Everyone has been most kind," Devrim answered."I was told you were rescued from the gnomes by an elf yesterday," Lanassa added.Aurora looked toward Brinn, but the elf was staring ahead stoically. Except for the outburst at Aurora's title, she had been
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