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March 13, 1883

Too much like You

by Maelie Arsenault

After getting the halfling girl cleaned up, Mae watched Bella tiredly climb over the walls and back into her cage. She stood in the shadows across the street for a while before turning and heading down the street and back towards the bridge. On the way back, she stopped on Ten Tower bridge and looked out over the rolling dark river below.
 
’Bella is trapped. I’m sure her mother is letting the marriage go forward so that she can benefit.’ She thought to herself.
 
‘Family Rosebriar lost the Ducal seat years ago when Reinhardt grew in power because of eletech. That’s what Sareena said.’
 
‘So, there’s turmoil in the great house, but it seems family Rosebriar is still looking for allies to retake the seat. An ally…or… tool from another noble house would be useful since they aren’t linked to the factions in the house. That explains why the Countess would allow the marriage to Dyrr.’
 
‘To make that work, she needs to make sure the marriage isn’t freedom for Bella… but that Bella is a baited hook for Schatzi Dyrr.’
 
‘That is a very good plan. I wonder if this Blackstone key she has Dyrr looking for is part of that or just a test…’
 
She walked the rest of the way across and turned down the Water Walk. Again, after another mile or so, she stopped her tired legs to lean on the railing.
 
‘There’s a lot at stake. But a clean break would crush the countess’ plans. In fact, the more she invests in this, the worse it would be in the end for them. It could ruin the Rosebriar family’s power irreversibly if the Reinhardt’s capitalized on it to crush the resistance to their hegemony. They’d also be happy to let a Rosebriar and someone from Tressard do all the work of ruining them…’
 
Maelie grinned and looked out across the water, nodding to herself for putting it together. But then something caught her eye from the water. The barest hint of her reflection. She choked a bit, gripping the railings as a panic seized her…
 
‘That’s her smile.’ She’d gotten over family resemblance a long time ago. But… she’d never associated her expressions with her mother before.
 
‘This is all how she’d think. What she’d have done.’ Shaking her head, she backed away from the water, the colour draining from her face and a tightness gripping her chest.
 
“No no no, I’m not like her.” She said aloud in elven. “I’m not…”
 
When did it start happening that she started thinking like her mother?
 
Maelie leaned against a lamppost, afraid of her own reflection now. The dark waters had robbed all the colour differences she used to change her appearance and had made her see just how alike she is to her family.
 
‘This isn’t fair. Why are you still here with me?’
 
The panic continued to rise until Maelie did what she’d been doing for almost two decades. She ran.

Continue reading...

  1. The Last Rule
    November 27th, 1882, - Novandria
  2. The Den
  3. Am I losing?
  4. A Close Call
  5. Plans
  6. New Toys
  7. Mistakes were made
  8. Too close to home
  9. Not like you.
  10. This City is Mine.
    February 6th, 1883
  11. Aimless?
    March 5, 1883 - Novandria
  12. The Game Begins
    February 13th, 1883
  13. Too much like You
    March 13, 1883
  14. Safer in Shadows
    April 3, 1883
  15. New Beginnings
    April 7th, 1883
  16. Ready to Run
    April 17th, 1883
  17. Home
    April 25, 1883
  18. Can you steal a heart?
    May 8th, 1883
  19. Trouble
    11th of May, 1883
  20. Heartbreak
    14th of May, 1883
  21. Hunter or Prey?
    16th of May, 1883
  22. Guilt
    19th of May, 1883
  23. Untrustworthy
    21st of May, 1883
  24. Why am I like this?
    25th of May, 1883
  25. Worthy
    8th of June, 1883
  26. The One She Left Behind
    13th June, 1883
  27. Annnd it's back...
    July 1st, 1883
  28. Learning to Fly
    July 4th, 1883
  29. Thrill of the Hunt
    July 29th, 1883
  30. From the Embers
    21st of August, 1883 // 1867
  31. Mother Knows Best
    16th of September, 1883
  32. A Snake, a Star, and a Fox
    25th of September, 1883, Novandria
  33. It wasn't him.
    28th of September, 1883, Novandria
  34. The New Blade
    13th of September, 1883
  35. Something Good
    October 31, 1883 - Novandria
  36. The wound that won't close
    18th of December, 1883 - Novandria
  37. Promise
    25th of December, 1883 - Novandria
  38. Fallen through the cracks
    6th of January, 1884 - Novandria
  39. Day to Night
    7th of January, 1884
  40. What's Left to the Shadows
    22nd of January, 1884, Novandria
  41. The World without Colour
    18th of February, 1884, Bellancourt, Montaigne,
  42. Seventeen Roofs
    26th of February, Novandria, Eisen
  43. Crossing the Board
    4th of March, 1884, Novandria, Eisen
  44. New Freedom
    May 4th, 1884
  45. Saved
    5th of May, 1884/16th of July, 1858

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.042 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 00:58, Nov 15 2024