Fiction: Fatherhood

Title: Fatherhood
World: The Ursulan Cycle
Word count: 1,227 (total: 2,357)
Rating: PG
Notes: To ysabetwordsmith's commission for more Ursulan stories. I love Morgan so much, I just keep writing about him. (Which is weird, because normally I prefer to write about female characters!)


Morgan wanted to carry the baby home in his own arms, but his mother insisted that the wet-nurse take her, even though she would be walking and they were riding and the road was all mud from storms. That should, perhaps, have been his first sign. But he was so focused on little Morwenna, her tiny pink toes, her silky dark hair, that he couldn’t think of anything else.

He rode beside her all the way home, making the wet-nurse walk by his stirrup. “Isn’t she sweet? Look at her, sleeping so peacefully. Is she the sweetest baby you’ve ever met, Eleanor?”

The wet-nurse shook her head, smiling. “I wouldn’t know, master. I’m my mother’s youngest and I never had a baby of my own. But she does seem awfully sweet. What does her name mean?”

Morgan frowned. “I’m not sure. But it’s lovely, isn’t it? Mother, what does Morwenna mean?”( Read more... )

Fiction: Recruitment Day

Title: Recruitment Day
World: The Ursulan Cycle
Word count: 577
Rating: PG
Prompt: 3WW: eradicate, mercenary, squeamish
Notes: I have now had my highest wordcount writing day that I've ever had outside of NaNo. It's probably in the top 10 ever. I swear, I was going to save this one for later... but no, it had to be written today...


“But you’re a woman,” the king said, staring at Electra in undisguised disbelief and contempt.

Electra didn’t let it bother her. She never had—and she’d had a lot of practice not letting it bother her. She straightened her shoulders (not that they needed straightening) and grinned at him. Confidence won a lot more battles than she’d expected when she was younger. “Yes, your highness, and I can wield a blade and ride a horse as well or better than any of these men, I’d wager.”

He was still skeptical. “A woman mercenary.”( Read more... )

Fiction: Let Go Too Soon

Title: Let Go Too Soon
World: other
Word count: 19,685
Rating: PG-13 for sexuality
Prompt: bigbang_mixup. Based on the mix shut up, i hate the way you love by unavoidedcrisis/sunspot.
Summary: Valath and Nidan are very happy at college, despite the supposed incompatibility of their courses of study--her magic and his science. But when their career paths take them in very different directions, things start to fall apart.



Valath lay in the sun with her eyes closed. She knew Nidan was there next to her, his breathing just as slow and comfortable as hers, the warmth of his skin the barest addition to the sun’s warmth. This was contentment, she thought. This was how life should be.

Then he rolled over on top of her, caught her shoulders in his hands, and kissed her. She kissed him back and laughed, opening her eyes. “We’re in public,” she whispered to him.

“I don’t care,” he whispered back, kissing her again. “It’s not like anyone doesn’t know about us.”

She shook her head. “I hope not. But there are still some things that should be kept private!”

He rolled off her but didn’t take his hands away. “I suppose you’re right.”

Unfortunately, now that her contented drowse had been interrupted, thoughts came crowding back into her head. Thoughts like the fact that despite the beautiful, sunny, warm day that had brought half the campus out here to the side of the hill, she was actually supposed to be studying. She reached above her for her satchel, fumbling with the clasp without looking at it.( Read more... )