As promised, for your reading/editing/critical reviewers eye
The prologue of:
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| "The Inheritance" Volume 1 of an Elemental Series |
J. Charmaine
Prologue
Solestrya was lying on her bed surrounded by close friends and advisors. She had seen two of her sisters pass away before her, and the young woman didn’t find it any easier to accept. One of the faces before her was responsible for all of it, but she couldn’t determine which one. Tears of frustration spilled over her cheeks. The redness in her eyes were the first flecks of color her face had seen in weeks.
Pastel curtains hung from the ceilings and walls so the room had a calming effect of the morning sky. Wide windows were on every side of the spacious circular room and the marble floors were polished to reflection. Solestrya didn’t like the thought of being caged so the illusion of openness relaxed her.
She could hear all their thoughts and concerns as if they were speaking aloud. She could also hear the questions.
“How could she of all people not have seen what was coming?”
Oh, but she did. Solestrya knew what was coming, they all did. And the sisters knew they weren’t strong enough.
“What will happen once she’s gone?”
Jah would watch over her children. Protect her people, hold fast the Kingdom. She wasn’t concerned about that.
“Where’s Phillip and the young prince?”
Ahh, her beloved husband. He had been adamant about staying, but she couldn’t afford to have him stay. For her the cost would have been too high. Neither did she want her child in the same kingdom as her traitors.
Drawing breath was becoming difficult now and the rattling in her chest signaled it wouldn’t be much longer. He had promised her he would leave in the morning, take Anthony and run before the guards thought to stop them. But she sensed him. Phillip was in the stables cradling the young prince in his arms. Once she found him, Phillip made no attempts to hide his thoughts from her. He opened his mind and threw down the barriers.
A sign of trust
Or surrender
An open mind could be destroyed easily by someone with her Element. Even as weakened as she was, she was still the best in all four Kingdoms. Solestrya carefully read his thoughts, processed his emotions and watched his memories as he recalled them for her.
When it became apparent that the sisters were under attack, they agreed to seek out mates to preserve the line. There was no other option for her. She had known Phillip since they were young and preferred to have a child by someone she had already learned to trust.
She had thought of him in that way and it had come as a surprise to her to find that he loved her fiercely. Though it had not always been so. As he recalled their first few encounters she smiled.
He had found her to be nosey and was afraid she would sear his mind.
His thoughts then changed to their union. His thoughts during their consummation weren’t of lust, but of passion, love and protection.
The birth of their child. She had drawn all her ability into herself to pass it on to their son. He had felt such pride that day. She had been vulnerable since then. No one but the father’s knew.
That was nearly seven months ago.
As the last of her strength slipped away from her, Solestrya threw her own barriers down and allowed Phillip to go threw her thoughts and memories with great fever. She had always trusted him completely, but never before gave him all of her. There are always a few things you want to keep solely for yourself, but now there was nothing she wanted to hold onto.
It wasn’t an act of defeat for her as Phillip soon realized. Their minds intertwined like no others before had. For this was an act of love, trust and the ultimate sign of surrender.
Phillip felt the tug as Solestrya’s mind slowly pulled away from his own and tears flowed freely as he saddled the horse. He was the only one to know her as intimately and because of their link her memories were as dear to him as his own.
She would always be with him.
§
A servant ran through the hallways of the palace. Ziggurat was normally a quiet region. Unfortunately, over the past few years the domain had been falling to the misfortune of the surrounding Kingdoms. Their own Queen, taken ill to the same ailment as her sisters. The servant had perspiration on his face as he ran up the spiral stairs to the lookout tower. The Kingdoms were now open for revolt. The four Queens had held the tetrad monarchy together for the past century. All the neighboring realms flourished and prospered under their seemingly effortless reign. But over the last five years the Queens had each been struck down from this illness and the domains began to realize how much they had been spared.
The servant reached the bell and pulled down on it without hesitation. He continued the chimed pattern until his arms felt leaden. The doves had long flown from the rafters. And all that could be heard over the echo of the hollow gong were the howls of women and the angry voices of men. Their Queen was dead. The sky seemed to mourn the loss of its child and began to weep as if hearing the news. The rain poured down in waves as lightning streaked the sky.
The stone turrets of the castle never looked dreary in the worst of storms. Now, the walls felt bleached of all life. His breathing came in short bursts and he felt as though the ceiling would come crashing down at any moment.
Out the corner of his eye, several flights down, the royal stable door burst open on its hinges, a rider galloped out the frame, cantering away with a parcel on his back and a bundle tucked safely in his arms.
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Now that you've had the first sample, don't be shy, express your thoughts, opinions and theories. As the writer, I'll do the editing/revisions and re-post.
THEN, I'll take those suggestions and create the 3rd edition of "The Inheritance"
Chapters 1-3 to come.
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