I've had a lot of people asking me about how it's going, since I made the announcement to my co-workers. (When you're pretty much the sole help desk person, I thought it might be a good idea to explain why you can't catch me at lunch like you used to be able to.) That does help me; it's good to know that people are rooting for me here, and willing to let me have the time.

So I worked on Zan's intro today. Found out as I was going along that he's going to miss everything because he's going to be unconscious in the hospital when the World Ends(tm). Heh.

I also came up with the other character last night, which brings me to five. I may throw another person in that gets booted out of the collective before too long.

Of course, I have to write how the World Ends(tm) before I get everyone together. I really need to get cracking. I have two more characters to get started before It happens.

And Lou had the guts to tell me while we were on the trip that I needed a plot! *sigh* I guess I'll have to work that in somewhere. But plot works much better for the second or the third books...do I really need one in *this* novel? :)

That said, I managed to eke out 869 words today. I got into a groove doing the introduction for a character who is based sort-of on me, so I had a lot of experience from which to draw. I'm feeling better, even though I didn't even get 1,000 words out today.

I did tell everyone at my office that I was doing NaNoWriMo, so it wasn't their fault. My morning stuff just went longer than I thought it would, and then I had a training to help with at 1:00, so that's when I decided to bag it.

So, to give me a feeling of accomplishment, I rewrote my three teasers for the game that TBE is partially based on, and am using that as a prologue. That gives me 1800 words for today, and since I'm not planning on getting a lot done tomorrow (taking the husband off for his birthday stuff), I consider it a good start.

And all the pre-planning I had intended to do, but didn't, is being done now. I was going to start last night, but the lure of FFX was too much. I started it back up again (at the point at which I had stopped, not restarting the game) last week, and I just can't get myself to finish it. I'm still trying to catch all the frelling monsters just to get a complete set, for no real reason other than I want to do it. So that's where prep-time last night went.

So I'm writing character info now. Names, basic background, what powers I want them to get. I've decided on 5 or 6 main characters. I want to get a good spread of powers, but I don't want to overload anyone. One of the characters came to me as I was rewriting the teaser. Cecile is a psychic's assistant...one who didn't see the end of the world coming (heh). The others I'm making up as I am writing the bits, but I know what I want/need, which is helping. I've got four of them down, I just need one more with healing. Maybe I'll make that person a foreigner. I really don't want to have everyone from New England, even if we are going to be a bit more of a melting pot in this version of the future.

The rest of the near future is going to be hard to work time in, but I am going to try and snatch a bit here and there. I want to do everyone's "eruption" as well as a bit before the event. The eruption is going to have a significant impact on what powers the people have, so that's why I'm defining powers now. It'll help me craft their eruption event.

I still haven't decided if I'm going to post anything here. I don't want to start another blog, but if I do decide to do that, I'll let those who are interested know.

Back in the day, Lou ran a GURPS game called Broken Earth War, about a post-apocalyptic Earth in which the event that caused the apocalypse spawned psionic powers in those that survived and their descendents. The game lasted a good while, but eventually it fell the way of many games and stopped.

During this time, he realized that the War wasn't really the story he wanted to tell. See, BEW took place 250 years after the event, and what he really wanted to deal with was right after the event. So while our friends from North Carolina were up visiting us, he had them create modern-day characters for a game he'd run while they were visiting. Little did they know that they were headed for the apocalypse. One of the other players knew, as did I, because we were both in the original game. This game was called SBE, or Survivors of the Broken Earth.

We've played it twice face-to-face (or FTF as those in RPGing call it) and we also decided that it was fun enough to move to an email board.

Last year at this time, I was looking for a game to run, and something that would keep me going Dreamlyrics where I played some RPGs. I started my own version of this game, TBE, or This Broken Earth. I told my players nothing of the background, just that an event would happen that I couldn't tell them about, and they should make up modern-day characters with a slightly futuristic bent.

The game, and the novel, start about 50 years in our future. For this month, I will be trying to write stuff here that I will need to have on hand to write the novel, like the changes to technology and such that Lou, and later I, have decided on.

I don't quite have the focus of my novel yet. I'm torn between one main character and a group of characters, even if they aren't all together.

I originally envisioned this a year ago, before I started my game. I saw it as a trilogy, with the final (maybe the second) books dealing with the creatures (for yes, there were aliens that helped kickstart all this) who are now plaguing Earth (that War part of BEW above). For now, I'm going to be working on the first novel, the immediate aftermath. Maybe next year I can work on the sequel.

The other inspiration for this is a book that is, alas, out of print, but can be (somewhat) easily found. EMERGENCE, by David R. Palmer, is the diary of a young girl who survives a bio-plague and then goes about trying to find others like her. Candy is a neat character, and though the book really heads into what I call "Exploding Hat Syndrome" (comes from the Star Trek Hat, where physics and the real world don't mix, and you need to keep your "Star Trek Hat" on to suspend disbelief) by turning Candy into almost a superhero, it's still an excellent book. And written almost entirely without pronouns (it's a diary. She uses shorthand. Mr. Palmer was a court reporter/stenographer or something, too), which really makes it sound like a VSD or something, before there were VSDs.

You write music? Oh please do send it to me! I'd love to read it. If you want my Mum to read it, just let me know.

Do you help with the foaling mares a lot? I've seen some foals born when we were in Suthgard. Tali...you do know about Tali, right? Zentali, my Mum's paladin's mount?...says she won't mate with anything other than her own kind, so she's been living out her motherhood by helping the mares.

Dad came back last week during the night. He tried to be quiet, but I've learned to tell when he's back. I can hear him come in and watch me in my sleep. He's done it for years now, so I just pretend I'm still asleep. He'd get upset otherwise. But he wasn't here when I woke up this morning, and Con was gone too. Natalya is pretending that there's nothing wrong, so I'm humoring her.

Natalya is going to start teaching me magic today. She said I had to know theory first, so mostly book learning to start. But she said if I seemed to understand, she would start with a few cantrips. Like Clean, so I won't have to do all the dishes by hand every night! I don't think Mum and Dad would be pleased about that, but they don't have to know.

At least not right away.

Con had me practice with a sword before he left. I think I like using it over the axe or the maul. Of course, I can barely lift the maul, so that helps.

I am worried a bit about what's going on with Mum. If she's not back by the end of the week, I think I may ask Grandpa Chevik if he can tell me. I think he'd be more approachable than Natalya. She still thinks I'm a kid and have to be protected. I've been with Mum and Dad for years; I know how rough they have it.

I just wish adults would treat me better.

Oh, I'm sorry about that. I thought about crossing it out, but decided to leave it. I didn't want you wondering what I'd written down. But maybe you can understand. My parents are the only people I've had with me all the time growing up, and they've never treated me like a kid. Yes, they kept (and keep!) things from me, but I know that some stuff I'm not ready for, and that they'll tell me later when I can deal with it.

I don't know why they're not doing that now. That's why I think I'm worried so much.

Anyway, please write me back and by the time I get your letter, maybe this will all be sorted out.

Yours,

Ennis

Commentary would be appreciated. Also, it has been so long since I worked on this that I've forgotten some of the details of my plot (sigh). Of course, it doesn't help that this was based on a scene from an RPG, so the plot wasn't all mine to begin with. So I have little idea where to go next with this story. I suppose I should go back and start at the beginning.

Eponine closed the door behind her and leaned heavily on it. This night had been long, and it was not over yet. But she needed to change her clothes and put a dressing on her wounded hand before going to see Marta. She should be back from the Ball by now.

She stripped hastily and tossed her dress in the same corner where her bloody one from the previous night had been tossed. Eponine wasn't sure if either could be saved, but when she had a moment, she would certainly try.

Her hand cleaned and bound, her nightrail and dressing gown on, she headed toward Marta's rooms.

"She's not back yet," a soft voice drawled from the end of the hallway, causing her to jump into the air and spin toward the sound.

Lord Bryce stood in his doorway, studying Eponine carefully. He had changed from his evening finery into nightclothes and a robe, his hair unqueued and just brushing against the top of his shoulders. He looked very different, relaxed. The sound of his voice and the change in his appearance triggered sense of dÈj‡ vu, but she stopped that line of thought before it distracted her from the task at hand. And he was still speaking to her.

"Fear not, I left her in the care of Treville, and the Vicomte looked entirely too caught up in the pretty little Elizabeth to pay any attention to Madame."

He walked down the hallway toward her, hazel eyes observing her shrewdly, pausing on her bandaged hand before continuing his sweep. "But until she returns, why don't you tell me what happened this evening after we parted company?" His tone was light and somewhat amused, for all that his gaze showed signs of concern and worry over her condition. "Shall we repair to one of the sitting rooms downstairs, or the library perhaps?"

"I think the library would be more comfortable," she began, and warily took the arm he offered. Being this close to him made her nervous, but she bid the feeling to go away, and much to her surprise, it did.

He paused in the hallway, pensive. "No, that just will not do. I am in the mood for a cup of tea. Why don't we head to the kitchen?"

Bemused, she allowed him to steer her toward the abandoned room, for no servants were allowed to sleep there, Monsieur Menville's orders. The fire had been banked well; the light from the candle Bryce carried the only illumination in the large kitchen.

"Sit down at the table and let me take care of things," he intoned, and began to open cabinets and doors and peering into the dark cupboards in an attempt to find the tea. Eponine's bemusement had faded into exasperation as she got up and began to follow him around from one cabinet to the next.

"Don't be ridiculous, Monsieur, I will make the -- non, that's not -- M'sieur, please, they're over here..." She took the tea out of his hands after he had finally uncovered the tin and ordered him to sit at the table. "There, Monsieur," she pointed at a chair near the hearth, belatedly realizing that the extended hand was the one she had bandaged.

Bryce raised an eyebrow at her hand, but obediently sat and let her put the kettle on to boil. She stayed away from him while she uncovered the coals and began to get the fire burning again, the only sign of her nervousness a slight shaking of her hands while she measured the tea. She brought the cups over and set them on the table, the pot following. She tried to turn away again, but Bryce caught her hands and forced her to stay near him. Eponine kept her gaze upon his hands, and saw that his own were slightly raw and scraped, one knuckle the slightest bit bloody. He brought them up closer to his eyes.

To his lips.

"Eponine," he murmured quietly, examining her hands closely, turning them to see the damage on all sides, "what was done to you this eve?" One brow rose sardonically, mostly ruining the expression. He pushed her hands down, away from his face, but did not release her. "Or perhaps I should ask, what have you done to them?" His thumbs began a rhythmic stroking along the backs of her hands, carefully cradling the palms, where the damage was worse, taking care not to squeeze them or touch the cuts.

The moment Lord Bryce reached for her hands, Eponine knew she was lost. A dozen men had been so bold before, probably half of them nobles wishing to dally with a servant girl, but none of them before now had made her breath catch when their lips had touched her skin. His hands folded around hers with so much gentleness, and yet with sure strength...this was all wrong, she reminded herself quickly. They were half-dressed and alone in a shadowed room where they had no business being. He was a nobleman, and worse yet, Marta's brother, and also...

"Enough," she said with quiet sharpness. She leaned away from him, although not with enough force to take her hands away. "I'll tell you what you ask, you don't need to do that. I was too late. I should have known that from the start. The cardinal's men were already at the inn, had already taken whoever had come there. I barely made it out myself, but I did not lead them here. They won't know this house was involved," she hoped.

"Ah," Bryce nodded, still holding her hands, "so that was you they were after, then, mam'selle." He smiled at her, chagrined, and then released her hands to turn to the cooling tea. "Yes, I was there as well, and caught quite nicely. No doubt they did follow me back home, for I played the innocent. If I had tried to lose them, it would have only looked as if I had something to hide, non?" He sighed, spooning sugar into both of their cups. "I, of course, learned nothing. Or rather, nothing that would be of any use, other than methods. Did you perchance learn anything?"

Caught? "You're not serious, M'sieur?" she asked incredulously. Eponine looked over at his scraped knuckles and choked on a laugh. "Although if you are, I hope your fist was spent on that sunken-cheeked fellow." Her laughter died as she recalled the scene at the tavern in this new light.

"Mon Dieu, it was you they shot at," she whispered, and studied him intently, though only looking for injuries, she sternly reminded that part of her mind. He certainly hadn't been acting like a man with a bullet through his skin, but...no, if he had been shot, he would not be this spry. At least, so she hoped.

"They followed you?" she echoed hoarsely. Her tentative grip on the situation was slipping fast. "If they followed you here, they might have found me, and if so..." Eponine dropped her face into her hands. "Zut alors, all of it for nothing. Everything I've done has been for nothing," she muttered.

"They're all gone," she lamented, finally answering his question. "I saw them drag out Michele, who knows how many others were taken, too? They're surely in the prisons now, and Georges... he will probably be taken if he manages to live through the night." She sunk down into the chair, her hands remaining over her face, as depression started to sink its teeth into her. "Jean had already told them all. The sunken-cheeked man, Basile, he seemed the leader. At least he was the one to ask the questions. He only had one hand." Eponine began spilling out everything she could remember in a torrent, almost as if Lord Bryce wasn't there, but she needed to talk. Had to tell someone the whole story, and he, of all people, was suddenly the only person she could safely tell it to.

"He didn't seem to know who I was, but he was very interested in figuring out what I knew and how. There were probably around ten men in all there, wearing the cardinal's livery. Basile tried to call," her throat tightened angrily at the memory, "tried to call Georges and his men the traitors to the throne. He must have thought I was a fool."

The anger helped. Then Bryce murmured something she supposed was to be comforting, and the sense of dÈj‡ vu was strong enough to nearly blind her with memory. The dark alley. The cloaked figure. The soft murmurs of comfort. She raised her head to look up at the Englishman, eyes flashing. "And while we are discussing people who must think I'm a fool, Lord Bryce, did you appear at the tavern as yourself, or as Le Renard Noir?"

"You forget, Eponine ... you said it yourself." Bryce ignored her anger, and the urge to throttle him rose once more, but this time for different reasons. "Jean saw you this evening, at the Duc's, while in the gardens with myself and Delatois. If he had told Basile, who must be my Monsieur Fouquet, where he had seen you earlier in the evening, the connection would already be made, non?" He blew on his tea loudly before sipping, the attempt recalling the inept, bumbling man of earlier today. His logic made sense, though, damn him! Jean did know all about her. She was already undone.

"And I am in perfect health, except for a few bruises. Alas, I did not get to spend my 'beserker lover's rage' upon Monsieur Basile Fouquet, though now I sincerely wish I had, the Bastille be damned!"

Bryce took her cup of tea and placed it in front of her, drawing her hands around it and holding them there.

"Now, what is this about someone named 'Le Renard Noir'? Your mention was not the first time I have heard that name today." He attempted innocence and curiosity, and to Eponine, failed miserably. Others might be convinced by his foppishness and foolery, but she was no longer.

"You do think I'm a fool," she growled angrily, her eyes challenging, forgetting that he was a nobleman, and Marta's brother. "You thought I'd not notice, with the way you act and the things you say around others, but I have seen you in your true light, Monsieur. I have heard the whispers of concern, of comfort. I recall the way you move when no one is watching, the way you smell, touched my arms, you..." She stopped in mid-sentence, her anger carrying her far enough, but not that far.

Eponine leaned over the table in her anger, everything else but the man before her forgotten. "Have you enjoyed laughing at me, this past day? While I wandered across half the city trying to find out who you were? You wouldn't believe some of the stories I picked up about you, and I was prepared to believe half of them. All so you could make me look the idiot, you rogue! Why? Were you really that bored?"

""Bored? Hardly, mademoiselle," he leaned back in the chair, away from her and her anger. "Actually, it was originally done as a favor. Marta asked that I look after you, as it seemed she was aware that you were up to something, something dangerous, but did not know what." He yawned, as if truly bored, but Eponine could see the calculation behind his hazel eyes.

"I did not wish to know you were being followed, nor who was seeking to protect you. Honestly, I thought it all a game at first, I will tell you this truly, for I thought my sister a bit daft, worrying for you and all." His eyes rolled in the direction of the ceiling. "Then you were attacked, and I had to step in. Just where would you have been if I hadn't, hmm, mademoiselle? I care not to think about that, frankly, nor do you, I suspect. Then, well, then it became a matter of self-preservation. Marta wished you protected, but she did not wish this to be revealed. If I had told you who I was then, you would not have completed your task, non? And while we were too late to save the men, we did find out some information. Tell me truly, Eponine, would you have continued on if you had known that I was Bryce?" He held up a hand to forestall any comment or reply and continued speaking.

"No, do not answer ... I thought I knew the answer, and I acted as I saw fit. No further harm came to you, and that was my task for last evening."

Leaning in close again, Eponine saw that the traces of boredom gone, the blasÈ attitude replaced with a combination of heat, of anger and passion that shocked her to the core.

"I did not seek to make you look the idiot, Eponine. I sought to protect someone that my sister cared for, someone that I have come to care for, a great deal more than I should, in fact. Someone who..."

He halted, turning his face away, breaking the tension, allowing Eponine a chance to breathe, to collect herself. And he was doing the same, no doubt.

"Bagh!" Bryce spoke, still turned away into the darkness of the kitchen, his voice rough. "You will believe as you will, and no words I can say will make it better, will they, Eponine? But no, I do not think you a fool, not at all, never a fool. I am the fool ... for seeking to deceive you, for playing upon your emotions, and not counting on your perceptiveness or your curiosity. Or your damned stubbornness."

He finally turned back to her, the roguish grin of Le Renard Noir upon his face, but looking up into his eyes, she thought something was missing. The humor did not quite touch them as it had in that dark alley, and again at the docks.

"Forgive me, mademoiselle. I sought only to protect you. If you cannot do so now, I will understand."

* * *

The brief spurt of triumph, of satisfaction, on Eponine's face was enough to make Bryce smile, though it was inward, where she could not see. She was a bright one, very clever, to see through all his ruses. The others at home had never made the connection, but perhaps it was because they all had known Lord Bryce for years as the fop he pretended to be. She had not had that long to get used to the act, and he was willing to admit that he had not been as careful in Paris as he was at home. Yes, that must be it.

No. There was something else about Marta's friend and confidante that made him willing to invest her with his secret, servant or not. And it had nothing to do with Marta's faith in her ability to keep a confidence. He wasn't precisely certain of what that "something else" was, and that, in itself, was a puzzle enough to intrigue "Le Renard Noir" to no end.

"Lord," she finally spoke, a bit formally, "you're right, of course. I owe you my life, at the least, and I'm very glad to have the chance to thank you instead of your cloak." She smiled weakly. "And I'm sorry - I'm to blame for this mess. If it weren't for me, you and Marta might only have the disappearance of Monsieur to worry about. Instead, you have this enemy to battle, and the Cardinal's men glaring down on the house."

She leaned closer, causing Bryce's heart to skip a beat as her blue eyes glowed warmly in the candlelight. "I'm afraid I didn't give enough credit to Marta. But Lord, let's be quit of the games. I will do whatever needs be done to find Monsieur de Menville and return him to Mar..." She halted, then continued with the formal name of her friend, the one she used when others were around." ...Madame. If that is her wish, I want to see it completed. Please, understand that in spite of all this, my first intention is to serve Madame de Menville."

That took Bryce by surprise. After all that had happened to her, all she had been through these past few days, he was certain that Eponine's first loyalties were to her cause, not to his sister. Either this was a lie and, she was trying to gain his confidence, or events had spun so far out of her control that she was trying to cover all angles and come out on top no matter what happened. A third possibility reared its head -- perhaps this was the truth after all. He stamped down on that notion, preferring to believe that she was trying to cover herself. It was safer for all concerned. But that third option just wouldn't go away.

"We shall have to see what her wishes are in this matter, won't we?" Bryce leaned back away from Eponine, edgy once more. "And we all seem to be falling into that trap. I admit that I do not know Marta as well as I used to. She is a very different person than before she was wed, though somehow still the same. Stronger, yet weaker."

He took the chance and looked into Eponine's eyes, knowing the depth of caring for his sister would be shown there, and trusting her again with the knowledge. "We both need to be here for her. I have a feeling, with what we are up against, we shall need it."

Dear Ennis,

It isnít so much that I hate my name, it just never really suited me. My full name is Kemendur Frasier Celduiniel. The first part means ìfriend of the earthî in Elven, the second part is my motherís surname and the last says Iím the daughter of Prince Celduin. Isnít it just horribly long and fussy?

My godfather nicknamed me Kit because he said when I was born I looked like a little fox kit, with my pointy ears and face. Of course Naneth insists that I be called Kemendur in her presence. She does not approve of nicknames, says it is unseemly for a member of the royal family. If you were to ask me, I donít think she particularly approves of anything.

Things are much more relaxed here in the Pirate Isles. For one, I donít have to go to those unbearable etiquette lessons anymore. I have a much better time learning swordsmanship from Ada Hadrien. He says if I improve enough by next Festival, he will get me my own sword.

I also have a lot more time to work on songs. Do you like music? Right now my favorite instrument is the mandolin. I started writing a ballad based on our parents adventures as the New Eight. I have the first stanza written and was practicing it in class back in Elvenhome when the headmaster caught me. Thatís why I was removed from class and probably why my mother had me come to the Pirate Isles. If youíd like I can send it to you in my next letter.

I have to go now, Ada wants me to watch one of the pregnant mares today, but I will tell you all about the Pirate Isles in my next letter.

Your friend,

Kit

Dear Kit,

Mum says I should call you Kit, because you hate your real name. She won't tell me what it is. Will you tell me? I promise not to make fun of it. After all, when you're named Ennis, you learn pretty quickly how bad names can be.

We've been here at the Chevik home for a few days now. The trip took longer than Mum or Dad expected, because of a side-trip they wouldn't tell me about. Just asked the innkeepers along the Great Road to keep an eye on me for a few days, they'd be back soon.

When an Aes Sedai and his warder ask for a favor, not many north of Telart refuse, you know? But when it was nearly two weeks before they came back. I think the innkeepers were starting to wonder if they'd died. But they came back fine, if Mum was a little bit singed around the edges, no one commented.

Lady Natalya and Lord Constantine have been very nice to me. They don't want to be called Aunt and Uncle, but Natalya and Con, and Mum's fine with that. I haven't met Grandpa Chevik yet. Mum gets a face every time his name is mentioned. She won't tell me why, and Dad is no help there either. I think they had a fight at some time. I'll have to ask Grandpa when I see him. He spends a lot of time away.

The holdings are nice, but very remote. Very unlike Suthgard, but that's okay. As long as my parents aren't being all upset by whatever the Tower's doing, I'm fine with it. Things had gotten really strained at home. Not between the two of them, though they can have their fights. But the Tower kept asking Dad to do things, when he had asked for some months off to spend at home.

They've gone off again. This time, it was Kalen calling Mum for something. They were really not happy about it, but it gives me some time to get used to this place. They've stayed here before, and I think I may have been conceived here. They won't say, but they get all quiet when I talk to them about the last time they were visiting Natalya and Con. And it's not that "someone mentioned Grandpa Chevik" quiet that Mum gets.

I'm planning on doing some fighting practice with Con while Mum and Dad are away. He seems to think that they haven't shown me how to fight 'properly." I think that's because Dad uses his maul and Mum prefers the axe, while Con uses a sword. Con may not know that Mum is a "weapon-slut." I heard Dad teasing call her once when he thought I wasn't listening. She knows how to use just about every weapon around, and even some wierd ones. I'm not tall enough yet to use her Greatbow, but she said I could learn when I got big enough. I hope he'll be surprised.

I haven't been Called yet (thank the Gods!), and I'm hoping not to. I don't want to be a paladin or a priest, but I do like magic. Uncle Collwyn showed me some of his spells when I was little, and I think I'd like to learn how to do that. So Natalya is going to start giving me a few lessons. I hope Mum and Dad don't get too upset if I don't follow in their footsteps. But at least they won't argue about religion.

Anyway, this is probably long enough for a first letter. Please write me back and tell me all about the Pirate Isles. That sounds like a fun place!

Yours,

Ennis

Bree,

It was so good to hear from you. Your letter arrived on my natal day and it brought back fond memories. Gods but I feel ancient sometimes, especially surrounded by Elves.

I think your move will prove a beneficial one for all of you. I know too well the toll civic responsibilities can have on a family. Things have been rather chaotic since the last time we were together. Now that they are getting older, the twins are feeling the pressures of being part of a noble family.

Alessan, always the more serious of the two, has become very withdrawn. About the only person he even speaks to anymore is his sister. The other person he seems to have formed a bond with is Matsuyama. Do you remember him from our adventuring days? He arrived in Elvenhome in Tempest and Alessan took to him right away. The two of them are studying meditation techniques and some martial arts.

Kit continues to chafe at any attempt by Celduinís mother to make her a proper lady. I canít say that I blame her; court life is not exactly my favorite thing either. Alfirin, however, thinks there are expectations on the child of a prince that my daughter must accept.

Her most recent escapade was being ejected from class by the headmaster of the Elvenhome academy. Seems she was spinning quite a yarn about our old adventures. I think in this one Celduin was defeating six green dragons. She has quite the imagination. I have to laugh when I think of how mundane our life is now. Although Iím sure there are times Celduin would rather face six dragons than the Elven council.

In any case, Celduin and I have decided, or more to the point I have convinced him, that some time away from Elvenhome would serve Kit well. She has always enjoyed visits with her Frasier relatives on the Pirate Isles, so sheís going to spend some time there at our retreat. Her godfather Hadrien is looking forward to it. Heís always had a fondness for the child ever since he nicknamed her Kit when she was just an infant.

I think a correspondence with Ennis would be a wonderful idea. I admit to being a bit worried about separating Kit and Alessan. They have never been apart and their bond is strong. Alessan will have Matsuyama, but I fear that as much as Kit loves her godfather, he wonít be much help to a thirteen year-old girl. Iím sure sheíd much rather correspond with someone closer to her own age.

May the Light guide you on your journey north.

Kendra Frasier

I got in my car and started it forward this morning, checking both ways even though the street is only one way. To my right, a white plastic bag on the road caught my eye for a second, then as no one was coming, I pulled out.

The white plastic bag floated along, whipped up in the air a few feet, then tossed to the side. I saw this all from my rear view mirror.

I was struck by the sight. A deserted dirt road, lined with sidewalks and houses. A lone plastic bag, a modern-day tumbleweed, buffeted between cars by an errant breeze.

I continued driving, but idly wondered if I should pull my six-guns and take a shot after ten paces.

Who would fire back?

Ladysday, the 2nd of Kalen, 214 T.R.

Kendra,

I hope this letter finds you and Celduin well. Aldren and I are finding time spent in Suthgard to be more and more demanding on each of us, and we're finding we have less time to spend with Ennis.

So we're packing it in. I've asked my sister and brother, the ones that live west of the Northlands, if they'd be willing to take us in for some time. Aldrin and I will have to go out now and then on the business of Kalen or The High Lord, and Ennis can stay with them.

I'd thought about us taking up residence with my parents, but I know they have their hands full raising Colan, and I don't want to be a further burden to them. Besides, I don't think Twin Hills is ready for the children of Bree and Collwyn to be raised in the same place as they were.

Being as isolated as we are up north, I was hoping to ask that perhaps Ennis and Kit and/or Alessan could exchange letters. It would give him news of the outside world, plus also give our children a chance to know each other, since we won't have the easy possibility of visits between Suthgard and Elvenhome, as we do now. Please let me know if you think Kit or Alessan would be interested.

Unfortunately, we're leaving by the end of the week. Tower business, says He. So I won't be able to say farewell in person. Letters sent to me here will be forwarded on to our next stop, though.

May The Lady watch over you and yours, and Kalen guide your steps in your journeys.

Brianna Merrick Penrith

I'm hoping we'll get started by the end of March. I'm not anticipating a letter a day, but maybe one a week would be nice. More if things happen quickly, of course.

This is just what I need to get going on writing again.

I wanted to take the laptop to work on Monday, so I asked Lou if I could borrow his laptop bag. He said to me, "Don't you have one?" and I thought about it, and realized I did, but it was old. It was with a laptop I'd borrowed from St. George's when I worked there, an old system that probably wasn't 2k compliant. Then, as I thought about it some more, I realized that I did have another one.

When I was the "phone lady" at St. George's, I went to some trade show/conventions. At the first one I ever went to, I dropped my business card into every bowl, and was there for the drawings at the end of the show. I scored big time - very nice hunter green Nortel Oxford shirt, other bits and goodies, and a Nortel laptop bag. Not having a laptop at the time, it was relegated to the bottom of our linen closet.

Then, Anne and I took a Writing the Romance course. I borrowed the laptop from work, and was going to use it to take notes. My handwriting is awful...I hold the implement all wrong, and after a long time my hand really starts to hurt. I type much better and faster, so that's what I decided to do. However, I saved all my work to a floppy disk.

Finished the class, wrote the scenes, had a lot of fun. It's where Anne and I started out Chow Yun Chats in early stages, where we'd go to Friendly's afterwards for tea (me) and french fries and chat about the class and other things.

About a year ago, I went looking for my data from the class, and couldn't find it. (yes, you can see where this is going, can't you?) I was upset, but I still had the big sex scene I'd written for my face-to-face role-playing game at the time, which was the most important bit, I thought.

So Monday morning, I search the bottom of the linen closet, and find the laptop bag. I begin looking through the pockets, and find a floppy disk. Labelled "Writing the Romance." I get rather excited, I bring it to work, open up the files, and sure enough, class work, home work, and all other tidbits are there.

I may post some of the bits here, as is. And then figure out how to work on them, if I want to develop them further.

The only problem is, it wasn't my scene.

It is out of a wonderful book, Loretta Chase's Lord of Scoundrels. And I had a vision of rewriting it as a fanfic scene.

It hasn't left me yet, but I can't get it to work within a story. It's just a scene, and I want it to be more. But it'll never work...needs serious rewrites.

So I'm seriously considering it. Over the past few days, thoughts of what to do with it keep running through my head. And another earlier scene in the book as well.

But I'm scared. Scared to actually put something down on paper (or rather, on the computer screen). I keep making up excuses, doing other things instead of writing. It's the main reason why I think I will never be a writer, as I just don't have that all-consuming need/desire to write.

I know writing is work. But you should want to write, yes?

Argh.