He was seated in the room's centre. Judy and Cecily were on the far end of the room, speaking in private, surrounded by butlers and groundsmen.Cecily tightened the belt on her robe and inquired, "Are you sure nobody followed you?" Judy took a moment to react, her mind wandering back to her visit to the Ethel estate. She was careful enough to ensure that no one had followed her.“I don't believe anyone followed me. I got here on my own, and this road is lonely at night, and I believe I drove up here alone,” she finally said.Sparkles was lying down on their side. She slipped back to sleep as if nothing had happened when the ache of the kick ad dissipated. The quick motions of the butlers and groundsmen were the only things that jolted her awake. They recognised the lady of the house and saluted her as she down the stairs.Mrs. Barbara Ethel moved slowly down the flight of stairs, her eyes heavy, black rings had formed under the

UNDISCLOSED LOCATIONOutside the shack, Nelanian sat. He was trying to wring the water out of his soaked garments. The torrential rain that had poured all night had flooded through his ancient house and soaked up all he owned. His clothing were in a sac in one corner of the cabin, and they had spent the night sitting in a puddle of water. He awoke the next morning with an annoying cough and fully closed nose.He spent the remainder of the day trying to stay warm and salvage what he could from the rain. It  was a miracle that he managed to fall asleep during the storm. Even in more affluent homes, the other people down the hill were unable to sleep. The sleeping infants would be awoken by thunderclaps and would scream at the top of their lungs for the rest of the night. Strong gusts would blow open their flimsy windows, letting in a cold, heavy breeze that no one would be able to ignore. Raindrops would collect on their rooftops and form a puddle, causing

Norval was dragged off his feet by the force of Wardric's fists digging deep into his chest. He was almost coughing out his lungs, and he couldn't breathe for a long time. When he peered down, he saw his feet sliding across the concrete floor, almost to the platform's edge.To keep Norval from pushing back, Wardric sank his knuckles further and put more weight on his feet. He needed to end the fight soon and not allow Norval a chance to fight back, or he'd have to do something he didn't want to do in the first place, but the monks had forced his hand. Norval grabbed Wardric's arms and wrenched them from his chest, tossing them to the side as he put his palms to the ground to slow down. The intense friction would have easily peeled off his skin if it hadn't been for the gloves covering his fingers and palms. He finally came to a halt, his boots' heels edging over the edge of the platform; a single push would have sent him tumbling ten feet to the gro

Nelanian returned to the shanty where he had been resting. His head throbbed with a headache, and he couldn't concentrate on anything for long. It hurt him in waves, inducing light drowsiness before assaulting him with a violent anguish that forced him fall out of his chair. He reached for a drink he'd made himself and drank two hefty tastes of it. He felt strong enough to walk again after a few moments of resting his mass on the chair, so he got to his feet and walked toward the shack's entrance.It was an aging house that could have easily been blown down by a strong enough breeze, termites had eaten through most of the walls, and it didn't even have a door. Nelanian had tied a sack he found near a farm, cut it, patched it together to form a curtain, and hung it over the door frame as his door. When he stepped outdoors, he spotted black clouds moving in from the south. A storm was approaching, and he needed to finish whatever he was working on before the rain caught him out

The press corps was thrown into a frenzy. Mr. Starkridge had told the students that they needed to leave the interview location. Cecily's outburst was to blame for everything. She'd dropped a massive bombshell in front of some of the four kingdoms' most powerful media companies. Mr. Starkridge gave them instructions to report to his office.Except for Norval, who was always the most docile of the group, the other students followed with reluctance."What in the world do you think you're doing, kid? Do you have any idea what you've done to this school?"  With red stinging eyes glaring Cecily down, he barked. She didn't seem to be fazed in the least. The adrenaline rushing through her veins and the rage seething in her mind propelled her intentions."Mr. Starkridge, tell us the truth! Did you know all this ti