The Mad Frank's Dreams: Post 11 Steel on Steel

#FanFic #TheApothecaryDiaries
#Wss366 Pace

Chue picked a random direction and set off, listening all the while for signs of danger. Hampered by Mao’s condition, the #pace was slow. Things didn’t improve when Mao gathered herself together and said, “I can walk on my own,” pushing Chue away.

Mao received a dubious look, but her rescuer stepped away. This freed her hand to wield the cudgel if necessary. Against a well-armed foe, it would be useless, but it was all she had.

After only a few steps, Chue halted. “Listen!”

At first, the sound of clashing metal was faint but grew louder as they listened. A scream sounded, followed by the sound of running feet that stopped moments later with another crash of steel on steel.

“Hide!” Chue said, pointing to a side room. “I’ll hold them off.”

Mao hesitated.

“The prince needs you, and the emperor needs the prince. Chue is nothing but a one-handed clown. Go!”

….

“Go! Don’t let Chue’s death be in vain!”

#MicroFiction #TootFic #ApothecaryDiaries #NMFic #Serial

#Airisu: The Crow and the Witch

Okiku Omen (Sumika POV): Post 31
#Wss366 Kindle

As soon as I found Airisu a place to roost and went to bed myself, I fell into a sleep as deep as a well.

Once again, I found myself in a stranger’s body. This time, the sky was nothing but a circle above. Stone walls encircled me. But I paid no attention to that; my focus was on a set of plates that hovered in the air.

“One plate…”

“Two…”

I was cold, so cold. Water lapped around my waist, numbing the bruises from a beating. The weight of my waterlogged kimono threatened to drag me into the dark depths.

“Three…”

“Four…”

“Five…”

The moon hung above in an ice-black sky.

“Six…”

It was a sphere, not unlike the white china plates that passed through my hands.

“Seven…”

“Eight…”

Smooth, flawless plates, beautiful like a woman’s skin with fine blue lines like veins.

“Nine…”

“Caw, caw!” I looked up, my counting interrupted. On the rim of the well perched a crow. The moon #kindled a violet fire around its silhouette. “Caw, caw! Wait! She is coming,” it said, then croaked out three lines of verse:

Muddy lotus
The water purify
Fragrant dawn sun

Then it departed as the water swallowed me once again.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #Crows #Otherkin #Fantasy #UrbanFantasy #SlowBurn #Yuri #Yokai #serial

#TimeTravelingGhost EP 10: Post 94: 1191, Nicosia, Cyprus

#Wss366 Song #EllaFitzgerald’s birthday #TimeTravelAuthors 04/25. alert/observe/observant

Emily and I returned to our stateroom. Any private place would have done. It wasn’t as if we needed to sleep or pack, but it was convenient.

Before tripping, I made sure that we were still in agreement. “We're asking to meet a potential ally who will help us, correct?”

Emily nodded.

I took her hand, and we repeated together, “Take us to a friendly ally who can help us.” We skipped the conditionals; they hadn’t worked before and presented a complicating risk. If things were too dangerous wherever we ended up, we were ready to wish ourselves elsewhere.

The Titanic’s cabin faded gently. Whatever had caused our discomfort last time was no longer in effect. The stark whiteness was replaced by a crowded, dimly lit room with weathered wooden walls. I sat at a stained, unvarnished table. In the background, someone was singing a Greek #song. It was a smoky voice, a Greek Ella Fitzgerald, that matched the sultry atmosphere smelling of fresh bread, cooked grains and beans, as well as wine.

I took in all these details in an instant before finding a knife pressed to my throat. Despite being alert for trouble, I was caught off guard by the suddenness of it.

Flustered and panicked, I lost Emily’s hand before I could time-trip away.

#TootFic #MicroFiction #NMFic #TimeTravel #HistoricalFantasy #UrbanFantasy #Mythpunk #Serial #Slowburn #Yuri

The Mad Frank's Dreams: Post 10 How the Bones Fell

#FanFic #TheApothecaryDiaries
#Wss366 litter

Soon after, the last of the light disappeared, leaving the cell in darkness. Mao lay down to sleep, only to toss and turn with fever.

“I hear something,” Chue said after a while, and Mao roused herself with difficulty.

Chue moved to where she could ambush anyone entering the room, and Mao readied the blanket.

When the door opened, the two brothers stepped in, one carrying a torch. Chue had her cord around Cudgel’s neck before he knew what was happening. Mao was slower. She stumbled toward the second man and missed his head with the blanket. Instead, the torchlight vanished as the blanket enveloped it.

Mao’s opponent swung blindly, landing a glancing blow to her shoulder. Mao spun, fell, and dropped the blanket on the floor, where it lay smoking amid a #litter of dishes.

With one savage kick at Mao, her opponent turned to help his brother, who was desperately pulling at the tightly wound cord around his neck.

Mao grabbed at her attacker’s ankles only to be kicked aside again. She landed, face pressed against the blanket. She coughed, inhaling the smoke from the smoldering wool. The embers burned her cheek. Half-rising, she grabbed the torch and swung at her opponent.

The embers flared as they whistled through the air, and flames licked up through holes in the cloth.

The blow landed just below the man’s knee, and he staggered.

“Jese, bitch,” the man swore, kicking at her once more.

Behind him, his brother slumped soundlessly to the floor. Chue scooped up his cudgel. There was a sharp crack, and the second man toppled, joining his brother on the ground.

“Chue thinks we should go before someone else comes,” and with those words, she helped Mao to her feet.

Mao staggered, then reluctantly allowed Chue to help her move out into the hall.

#MicroFiction #TootFic #ApothecaryDiaries #NMFic #Serial