Cluttered Shelving

Want to start at the beginning? - Ice, Part 1 -- She didn’t believe her father when he said the keep was close. Perched on the bench of the wagon all she could see in any direction were trees and snow. Behind the wagon, in a long train that reached so far back she couldn’t see the end of it, was her father’s household staff and the carts and wagons that carried their cargo to his new home.  Her father was mounted on his great black and white steed talking to his Marshal, sometimes tossing his head back to address his children in the wagon.  “The first order of business will be to make my presence and character known to the people.” 

Want to start at the beginning? - Emma, Part 1 --- The lamps in her room cast dim light against the stone walls. It was impossible to tell if it was day or night, one of the things Emma had always hated about her room. She sat on the bed, her legs crossed, her hands in her lap. She’d tried to sleep, but after a fitfully tossing about for what felt like hours, she decided to wash and dress and wait for the morning. The side of the oil lamps had lines along them, designed to tell the time as the oil slowly burned. Dawn was near, according to the lamp, and soon she would be gone.

Want to start at the beginning? - Emma, Part 1 --- All the Overseers took their seats.  Eibe sat in the far right chair. To his left was an old woman, bent with age and wearing a gray and white wrap. On the far left was a man with a long braided beard and deep red robes. The proceedings passed so quickly Emma was amazed.  The Assembly was called to order and contract negotiations began. In the past her time watching the Assembly had felt unending, each speech and motion taking what seemed to her to be hours. But today it all rushed by, four contracts were awarded before Emma had mentally rehearsed her speech once. She did not know if the world was moving quickly, or if her own mind was dragging slowly.

Want to start at the beginning? - Emma, Part 1 --- Emma wasn’t sure if the chill that ran through her as she entered the hall was due to the cold shadows or her own uncertainties. A steady trickle of people followed behind her, each moving quickly to their seats. She lingered in the open entryway, feeling out of place, and worried that people might be staring at her.

This post is a quick reference to help readers navigate the stories already posted.  Emma -  Emma, Part 1 Emma, Part 2 Emma, Part 3 Emma, Part 4 Emma, Part 5 Emma, Part 6 Emma, Part 7 Emma, Part 8 Emma, Part 9 Emma, Part 10 Ice -  Ice, Part 1 Ice, Part 2

He stood at the river’s edge more often than his brothers or sisters.  The others tried to stay back, hidden in the trees, but he liked to watch the small forms travel down the distant road.  The river was still, the rapids frozen in place, white heads of foam suspended in air as they bounced over huge boulders.  It ran on for miles, a long strip of blue-white cutting through the snowy ground. Deep below the frozen surface water still ran, a slow trickle that caused strange sounds to echo up through the ice. Pops and cracks and moans rang through the open expanse, carried by the rock walls on either side of the snowy field. Those who travel the road could hear it, even from so far away.