Timothy

Buried deep in the farthest corner of the downstairs library, under the oldest, most dust covered books, behind the burgundy arm chair, beneath the burning candles hung on the walls next to the old French paintings, a little boy sat. Bright, fascinated eyes were glued to the pages of one of the oldest books his father's library had to offer. His fingers turned each page with the most delicate touch a man could ever have. Timothy Larocque was no longer that curious little boy, but could easily imagine he was again as he flipped through the pages of the only medical book his father ever owned. It was the first he'd ever gotten his hands on. The thing that had introduced him to the world of medicine and the mysteries it held. The smell alone of the age old pages sent Tim reeling back to his childhood. He took in a deep breath. Curled in the corner of the old library, with the dust and the books long since forgotten, was where he found peace of mind. This was where he found solitude. This was where he felt at home.

But the feelings could not last forever. He'd been studying alone for well over an hour. Soon his father would be looking for him, to command him in the ways of the plantation, discuss the coming planting seasons, and perhaps even scold him again about finding a bride and marrying. These meetings with his father were never pleasant. If he could find something else to occupy him then perhaps the meetings would stall. So, carefully placing a small piece of folded paper into the page he'd been reading, Timothy returned the book to its forgotten place on the shelf and left the library in pursuit of something productive to do. Enough that it would keep his father off his back for at least another hour or so.

"Rachel, come sing to me again. That church song, the one you sang for us last Christmas..."

Timothy heard the call from his mother as he exited the library. It was close to noon now, she was most likely in the smaller sitting room, working on her samplers or taking tea. Timothy found himself smiling as he shook his head. Really, the ridiculousness of a woman's purpose these days. To pleasure her husband, to run her servants round the house, and to sew for decoration. Well, no wife of his was going to waste her time with nonsensical things like stitching samplers. It was an absolutely ridiculous way to pass time when there were so many other things she could do to help her husband and run her household. If Tim had his way, his wife would need to possess at least half the work ethic of just one of the slave children to ever make him proud. He loved his sister and mother, but really, some of the social rules they followed more carefully than the Holy Book itself were utterly senseless.

Following the main hall to the large sitting room, Timothy did indeed find his mother at her stitching. Rachel also was in the room, her soft voice filling the silence with a sweet melody. Tim smiled, kissing his mother's cheek before crossing the room to sit at the writing desk in the corner. He pulled out ink and quill and picked from the draw three blank sheets of paper and the ink blotter. Listening to Rachel was as much his pleasure as his mother, if not more so. The beauty of her voice was matched only by her eyes. He sat staring at the blank pages, doing his best to not steal too many glances. It couldn't look too suspicious should his father walk into the room. He also aimed to look busy so that he would not be taken from the room for any frivolous discussions of wedding and weeding.

It felt like an eternity that he sat there listening to music his friend made. His mother had at one point closed her eyes, putting her stitching aside for the sake of the song. They all loved Rachel's music. It was the sort of voice a person might never get tired of listening to.

Once the song was finished and she'd had enough of sitting, his mother bid Timothy farewell and left to attend to one of her many other duties as lady of the house, greeting her guests. Timothy knew he ought to go prepare for Emily's arrival as well, but now that he was finally alone with Rachel, no amount of duty would pull him from her. He continued to write though, seemingly paying her little attention as he enjoyed the mere notion of her presence. He waited, silently scribbling words on a letter he'd never actualy send, until she turned to leave. Then gently but commanding he instructed her, "Sing another."

She obeyed. She had to. He sat in frozen silence, hand paused above the ink well, as she began the song. The sweet words, the quiet tones, Timothy felt his lips curl into a smile as the music flowed through his entire body. He stood, leaving the attempt to seem busy. And with ever word she sang he turned towards her a little more or stepped a little closer to her. He paused, reaching the empty fireplace behind her. His eyes traced the curves of her shoulders, her hips, her slender waist. His ears soaked in the tenderness in her voice and let it wash over the rest of his body, relaxing him with more easy than his books. He loved it. Every moment of it.

He loved her.

As the song neared its end Timothy closed the gap between them. Walking slowly up behind her, he snaked his strong arms gently over hers, folding her arms over her stomach and pressing her back into his chest. He knew she was uncomfortable. He could feel how stiff her body was against his. He knew she hated this, telling him so every time he tried. But he couldn't see the harm in something so innocent as a friendly embrace. Friendly... Rachel had been his dear friend for many years but now...now she was so much more.

The song ended but he only pulled his arms tighter around her. He knew soon she'd want him to let go. If he held her for too long she'd ask him to release her. He didn't want that moment to come too soon. Pressing his cheek against her temple he whispered in her ear "Another." and so began his hundredth attempt at convincing her of his love. No matter how many times it took he would make her understand. And someday she would admit to what he saw in her eyes when he looked at her. She loved him too.

New Year Line-up

Along with all the old faves, this year we're gonna see some new faces we're totes pumped for! (Like the new speaks? Been watching way too much teen tv...) Seriously though. These new stories have  us totally pumped! 

1. We've started up a horror novel we'll start posting here soon. A futuristic post-apociliptic world ruled by an evil Chinese dictator and forcing our main characters from the past to live off the radar in a small tribal village in the heart of the African jungles. Unbeknownst to them, they harbor a psychopathic murderer with the racist mentality of an 1800's slave driver. Will they figure out who's killing them off before it's too late?!

2. Ash will be posting snippets of her personal novel series "Legends" and previews of her soon to be published short stories to go along with it!

3. Our trilogy is in the works too, revolving around three best friends who (through a series of unfortunate events) end up evolving into mythical creatures and are forced to leave their families and lives for the lives of the monsters they've become. It's a story filled with friendship, romance, betrayal, and self-discovery. And loosely based on a true story! Minus the magic, of course. 

Those and much more are coming this year. We can't wait to share all the exciting projects we have in store! Keep up with us! 

A New Year

As a new year begins, we tend to put a lot of pressure on looking forward. Where we're headed and how we'll get there. Many of those focuses revolve around bettering ourselves. Lose weight, exercise more, quit that bad habit, get a better job. We look to our future and how we can make it better for ourselves. That is a good thing. We should always be looking to better ourselves. But too often we forget that the world does not revolve around us. That is why this year, I looked back. Back at the year I just finished and all the ways my actions affected my friends. I won't bore you with all the details, but a lot of my choices and actions hurt some of my closest friends. I plan to fix that this year. Therefore, along with the traditional better body better job resolutions, I've added a few to my list I think will help benefit others. 

1. Write one page (or three paragraphs) every day. Whether it be a blog post, our novel, or my own journal. Writing is not only good for my future, but writing on my collaboration projects benefits the future of my bestie as well!

2. Start a legit devotional. Yes, this is a Bible thing. But I've come to realize that not only does strengthening my spiritual walk help me and my own goals, it positively affects those around me. My family especially. When I'm not focused on God, my family, my friends, and my work all suffer. 

3. Diet. I know this is a traditional one, but believe it or not, it's not for me. My mom needs to lose weight for medical reasons. But it's hard for her to do it alone. This year, I'm getting serious about sticking to a diet with her to be her weight loss buddy and encourage her to keep at it! Maybe by this time next year she'll be back on the track to wellness!

4. Be dependable. Over the past year, I've hurt my best friend. In particular I've hurt her by breaking my promises. When I say "It'll be done tonight." it doesn't get done. She called me out on it last week. I'm issuing here a public apology, to her and all of you. And promising that from now on, my deadlines will be met. Not matter what. 

I hope you all had a wonderful new year and I pray that all your resolutions and hopes and dreams for 2014 come true! 

Happy New Year!!!

Ash

Short Coming

Long legs in high heels and short skirts had always been her style, from cheerleading through high school and college to dancing for tuition money. But today wasn't about a job. Today she was trying to catch an eye. A certain football playing eye.

Candy walked through the co-ed gym like she owned the place. She was Becca's best friend, so of course when she'd heard that Zecca was having trouble, she was going to do something about it. She'd caught the tail end of Zack's gym bag disappear through the door to the men's locker room. So few men were even out on the machines, so she doubted there was anyone but him in the room. Even better, she thought as she walked back towards the off limits area. Ignoring the "men only" sign, she pushed the door open just as Zack was covering up with a towel. 

"Hey!" was his immediate response when he heard the door open and saw the scantly clad bestie of his girlfriend walk through the door. 

"Don't hey me!" she snapped back as quickly as he'd gotten the word out. She walked up to him shamelessly and jabbed her finger into his chest. "What the hell's wrong with you? Becca's been on double shifts three times this week and you couldn't even send her a smiley face? Seriously?! You're her boyfriend!! The least you could do is text her!!"

Zack only chuckled in response to it.  He caught her wrist as she tried to jab her finger into his chest again and laughed, "Candy, c'mon.  Becca could have texted me too.  We're both busy!  It's just how things are right now.  It's cool."  Then he turned his back to her and stuffed his gym shirt back into the locker, pulling out his shower stuff and a towel.  "Gotta put this on pause for a minute, I need a shower."

Candy narrowed her eyes. The way he laughed things off really struck a nerve inside her. Coldly she crossed her arms "You know she's drinking again?"

He stopped at that.  She watched him as the words sunk in, then he slowly turned back and he sighed heavily.  "She said she stopped that..."  Candy just scoffed at him.

"Spare me.  If you didn't realize something was going on you're the world's biggest idiot.  And if you did and you're lying right now, you're as bad as she is.  Worse even!"

But Zack cut her off before she could finish anything else she tried to say.  He whipped around to face her fully and snapped, "Candy!  I know!  But God's sake, gimme a break!  I haven't even seen her in like a week, how could I have known?!"

Candy could only sigh, "Zack, everyone knows you mean well. But honestly, if you were really that worried about her you would have made an effort. Fact is, you say you love her, but you're treating this whole relationship like she's holiday only family. Face it. She deserves better." And with that, she left. She had nothing more to say and she wasn't in the mood to hear anything else he had to say. She was done. 

Falling Short

Zack and Becca had been dating almost as long as Derick and Kelly.  Their names were like Branjelina among their friends - Zecca and Delly.  The girls were never seen without the guys and vice versa.  That's the way it had always been, through high school and college.  That was the way it was probably always going to stay.

For Delly at least.

After sophomore year at the same big state school... Zecca had started falling through the cracks.  He never noticed before now.  Zack got real busy with football and keeping the coach happy with his C+ average, and Becca got real busy with her pre-med courses so she could get into the best nursing school in the region.  It just made sense that of course they were going to see each other a lot less.  Late nights making out in the back of his car had turned into quick dinners and kisses before they had to part.  Then those turned into kissy faces on text messages and over chat rooms.  Now, as Zack counted off in his head, he realized.  Not a text, or a call, or any kind of contact from Becca in three days.  In an hour it would be four.  He was at the gym jogging on the treadmill and his phone had vibrated in his pocket.  He'd pulled it out automatically expecting Becca's name... But instead it had been his brother.

That moment, even though it had happened a thousand times before this, made him stop like a brick had just been dropped on his head.  Becca wasn't texting him.  She wasn't calling him, or instant messaging him.  She wasn't even commenting or liking his stuff on facebook.  And she hadn't tweeted him in forever.  What hit him even harder was when he realized he wasn't doing any of that back to her.  When was the last time he asked her on a date instead of just picking up takeout for her and leaving it on the kitchen counter where she could get it later?  When was the last time they'd posted a couple picture for their relatives to ogle at and their single friends to seethe over?  He couldn't remember.  She probably couldn't either.

God, he sounded like the girl in the relationship here!

Zack quickly stuffed his phone into his gym bag and took off the sports jersey he exercised in.  Tossed it into the bag too, then grabbed a towel and went to shower.  His head always went clear in there.  He could run a hundred football plays perfectly in under a minute sometimes.  And he needed to, too.  Practicing in the park wasn't enough.  Open recruitment for the state team was coming up in a month.  This was his shot.  The flu in his senior year of college had ruined it for him once.  Zack wasn't going to let anything get between him and the pros this time.

Dismissed

Calvin gave a short bow before saying calmly "I have found what you sent me for, my lord." He looked over to Lia, then continued quietly, "Perhaps we could discuss it when you are not busy." Viper blinked. Busy? He wasn't busy. Nidia's sister was anything but important to him. She had come asking for employment and board...And however much he didn't want her around to remind him of the one woman who had left her blood on his hands, he owed her that much. Because despite what he had blamed her for and said those years ago, she still stuck beside him, and defended him and his honor. When he did nothing but turn her away, she still did everything she could for him, and her determination did not falter. And while he never would understand why, he couldn't let it go unnoticed, especially since she needed him so much now. So he said nothing about himself being busy, but he didn't send Ophelia away either.

"Wait just a moment, Calvin," he said gruffly, gesturing for him to enter. He took the envelope Calvin had been holding, then returned to his desk. Calvin stood by the door, and Ophelia stayed in her seat. Viper looked between the two. Calvin was one of the few people he ever talked to anymore. He had always proven to be a loyal servant and friend--with the word friend used loosely of course. But Ophelia was a sweet, almost naive young girl who obviously didn't know when to stay away from someone. She was almost exactly like Nidia, but she didn't have the fiery spirit to go with the kind heart. Perhaps it was best, for Richard couldn't handle having another Nidia in his house. He didn't even know why he was torturing himself like this considering allowing Lia to stay. He just...He needed to help her, because she was an innocent being dragged into this mess he had created for himself.

Viper had a feeling he knew what this letter was about and looked to Calvin who was still standing by the door. "Come in and shut the door behind you. It'll only take a minute. I need to speak to you and Miss Dohl about something." With his arms tucked behind his back formally, he made his way to his desk again, sitting down, and pulling the letter from it's envelope. He scanned it, unable to stop the amused smile from crossing his face.

"Greatest of afflictions? Laid at your feet? Beg you to come to our aid?!" The words seemed to get more and more ridiculous as he read on, and it only made him laugh bitterly. The old man who had written this was correct. They had been too ready to dismiss Richard and his men. Too soon had they forgotten everything he had done for them and their land in his prime. Too soon had everyone forgotten! And now...now that he was their only hope they begged for him to bring men and commit suicide at the very beaches on which their own men had failed. "They wish for my help?! HA! Surely they know that I no longer play their foolish games. I am not something they can scorn and then raise up on a pedestal when they wish for my help!" Bringing down his fist upon the hard wood of his desk, he stood, throwing the letter away from himself as if it burned to the touch. Surely Calvin had read it. Surely he had known about what the old man wanted. Why bring such filth into his home when he obviously knew that Viper would react in such a way?

"Calvin. When you are rested, return and tell them that they are far too late to be asking for my help. And take Miss Dohl here with you. She's your new assistant...Make use of her how you wish, but make sure she stays out of my sight," he ordered, taking a book from his desk and walking back over to the book shelf, his own silent way of dismissing them. 

[This chapter was written by a former co-author, Alex Kennedy, who is no longer with Ash and Kiki, and was edited by Ash Skyler and Kiki Rhodes for the purposes of this and future publications.]

First Mate

"Put this down below. It's the bread we'll need. I don't want it getting moldy after two days," the woman directed men with boxes away as she checked another item off her list.

"What about this?" asked a large sailor, two heavy barrels on his back.

"Keep those barrels on deck. The crew will need water readily at hand during the days we're at sea, I don't want them wasting time to go below and sneak a sip." She paused to check her list, "How many morebarrels are there?"

"Five." another man answered as he came abroad with a load of his own.

"Good, that should last the journey... Alright, put them over there. And--" she was cut off by a small, far away voice. 

"Isn't it bad luck having a woman aboard?"

The new voice made Isolde blink and turn around on the deck, her long brown hair catching in the wind as she searched the faces of the crew for the speaker. They all looked just as confused as she did, however, and it didn't take her long to go to the side of the ship and look down to the dock. What she saw made her dark eyes go even darker, a look the entire crew knew all too well. The sailors down below, however, were not so wise. "'Twill bring great misfortune to sail with a woman aboard. Send the lass down here to us! And we'll show'er how a real sailor handles his ship..." The man and his friends all burst into laughter, looking up at Isolde and making gestures with their hands and lips. Isolde rested her elbow on the railing and her chin in her hand, smirking down at the men with a slightly evil twinkle in her eye.

"I fear I would serve a better purpose by staying up here. You see, if I were to leave, great misfortune would instead fall upon you and your comrades," she fired back calmly. The men only laughed, continuing with their jokes and catcalls, but it wasn't long before she heard the sound of the air being cut in two as a blade went flying over her head, causing the men to scatter. It stuck in the dock, sitting there quite harmlessly, but the men still looked from it back up to her with shock and fear shining in their eyes. Isolde only twitched an eyebrow as one of the other crewmen came up behind her, arms folded over his large bare chest and a threatening gleam in his foreign eyes.

"The lady stays with us," he said in a thick tribal accent. Within seconds, the men turned tail and fled. Isolde could only laugh, turning around to thank her good friend, but when she saw his face her smile faltered. Niccolo held out a bottle of rum to her and then jerked his head in the direction of Spike's quarters."He's yelling for you. I'd go now before he decides to take those dogs up on their offer." Isolde sighed and rolled her eyes a little, but took the rum from him and marched straight into Spike's office. She was the only person who had the right to barge in there whenever she pleased. Even if she wasn't the First Mate, she'd still have that luxury. For some reason, she and the Captain simply understood each other. He was the only man who could handle her intelligence and wouldn't try to take advantage of her, and she was the only woman who could get through to him in his moments of rage. They were good together.

But neither of them would ever say that out loud. Certainly not her. Isolde just burst through the door, slamming the rum down on his desk then setting her hands on her hips as she glared up at him. "There's your damn rum, now stop screaming! You're acting like a child! What could possibly be so important?"