《Third Death》Chapter Nine
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Celia held her arms out and Vision rushed into her embrace. As the older woman stroked her hair, she remembered what it was like the night she and her brother had been dropped on Celia’s doorstep. She could remember the way her hooded cloak had itched against her cheek, the way it had scratched at the back of her neck. She remembered a frightened blur of confusion, and the way her brother had sat, lip trembling, fists clenched at his sides. That night, the Amaya children, as they were, had died. Celia had renamed them and made them something new. Some part of her still trusted that her adopted mother could do it again.
“What do I do?” she asked with a sob.
“Tell me what happened,” Celia said.
So, they sat together and Vision told her everything. When she was finished, Celia sighed and spoke in a blank tone of voice Vision had never heard from her before.
“I don’t know what you can do,” she said.
Vision felt like she’d been struck.
“What? There’s got to be something. How do I fix this?”
“It sounds like you don’t have a choice but to join them.”
“You don’t think I should run?”
“Can you? The rebels aren’t a small-time group of thieves. If they found you here, they’ll find you anywhere in Apera.”
Vision stared at her.
“You’re pleased this has happened. You want me to work for them, you think it’s better than thieving.”
Celia’s mouth twisted, “Well… yes. What do they want you to do for them, as Tynan?”
“Learn magic, they said.”
Celia’s eyes took on a faraway gleam, “That sounds… nice. Your mam would have wanted that for you. I want that for you, in truth.”
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Vision shook her head.
“I don’t trust Arturo.”
“Like I said. It doesn’t sound like you get a choice,” Celia said, “You’re quite certain he threatened to harm you if you turned him down.”
“I think he’d tell the crown about me,” she said.
“That would be bad,” Celia confirmed.
Vision threw out her hands in frustration, “Worse than this? Why? Why would that be so bad? Why do we have to live like this? What did mam tell you?”
“She hid you in a brothel, with a note not to let the king find you,” Celia snapped, “Given that the same king still sits on the throne, it’s safe to say you don’t want him to know where you are.”
Vision stiffened, suddenly.
“It was you,” she whispered.
“What are you talking about, girl?”
“You told the rebels where to find me.”
“Vision…”
Celia winced at the girl’s accusation. Vision sprung to her feet.
“It was you, wasn’t it?”
Celia huffed, “I’m trying to keep you safe. You don’t know how to look after yourself.”
Vision jumped to her feet, and fled the room. She ran, trying to escape the brothel as quickly as she could. She ignored Daisy, who called out from the bar as she went by. Poor Daisy. Poor Fox. They might truly love each other, flawed as their relationship was. Would they be able to see each other anymore? Would the rebels leave Fox be if she agreed to join them? After several blocks, she stopped running, and leaned against a wall, sinking to the floor. Hugging her knees, she sat and thought. It didn’t sit right that the rebels wanted her so that she could do magic for them. No matter what she looked like, she wasn’t her mother and she certainly wasn’t a gifted mage. Besides, she was sure Arturo had any number of skilled mages at hand. There was something else going on, something she hadn’t figured out yet.
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Like Celia had said though, she didn’t have a lot of options now. She couldn’t run. Now that they’d found her once, they would do it again, unless she left Apera, and that would be equally dangerous. Should she go to Fox? What could she even tell him? Maybe it would be better to let him have this extra time free of worry he couldn’t remedy. He’d always protected her. She resolved now, to do whatever she could to return the favour.
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It Started with Slime
Before we jump in, let me say that the MC starts stupid, so the language and writing style is straightforward to reflect this. The writing improves with the MC and as the chapters progress (I hope). It is also a gradual growth story, so no zero to hero in ten seconds... with that out of the way: An alchemical experiment has gone wrong and results in a Slime Monster. It doesn't have a name at first and is something that it will need to work out! This story follows a Slime that starts as a Micro Slime with some level of consciousness, and there is more to it than meets the eye. Survival is the name of the game. To improve, it works hard to grow, evolve and become more powerful to survive its harsh new reality. There is a lot more going, and only time will tell if this Slime (all its various versions) can become strong enough to make it through the strife to the other side. It's a harsh world, after all. It Started with Slime is a story with a Monster Protagonist Evolution story. There will be no profanity and no sexual content, and there will be some violence and fighting descriptions. I am a native English speaker, and so the English here should be to a good standard. That said, even though editing, there may be some corrections and typos, so if you see some, let me know! If it bothers you a lot, I am working to make sure all chapters have no typos, but of course, some might slip through. I will endeavour to correct any picked up, though! Also, I started this a few months ago and so any feedback is always appreciated, also reviews and ratings! If you like or don't like the story, let me know in the detailed reviews! That always helps me see what is good and what needs improving. Working on releasing chapters twice a week, I will try to increase that as time goes, but at the moment, that is what I can release. Patreon has more. If the story gets more popular, then I will increase the releases. I am aiming ultimately for a chapter a day if I can get to that. Chapters are roughly 1500 words, with Interludes every five chapters being more or less than that! Enjoy! Edit: Book 1 finished on Patreon, and the format for Book 2 is slightly different with Interludes every three chapters, and the release schedule will be three chapters a week. Cover by: Faren Discord: https://discord.gg/eDuZaEAAqG This story is published and available on Royalroad, Webnovel, ScribbleHub, Wattpad, and extra chapters on Patreon!
8 98HIgh King
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8 185Mobius
Far in the future, humans have thoroughly colonized space through the use of floating colonies and artificially replicating the Earth whenever possible. Most of these endeavors have gone well, with humanity spreading across the universe like the seeds of plants floating in the wind. Yet still there lurks the great mistake, the endless station of Mobius, a megastructure which hasn't ceased its building in over a century. Dante, a man living in this megastructure, is tasked with the recording of stories told by criminals, particularly those who travel between strata. One day, a prisoner is captured claiming to be Captain Pluto, an infamous criminal thought to be fictitious by most scholars. Even more curious, he claims to hail all the way from Stratum 56, a location so far away from Dante's Stratum 999 that it would take lifetimes to traverse such a distance. Dante must discern whether or not the story is false or true, and the longer he lets Captain Pluto speak, the more difficult his task becomes. *****Average chapter length will be 10k words give or take. This isn't a very serious story for me. I'm writing this to blow off steam. Updates will happen infrequently because of this, and it will most likely be unpolished unless I begin to take it more seriously.
8 174rich man's world; charlie dalton
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8 239Growing Pains
A Saiyan warrior wakes up on final approach to the planet 'Earth' with some extra memories in her head. Rather than carry out her mission, she decides living by her own rules would be much more fun...only to discover that this Earth was not the one she was expecting... DBZ/DC Comics crossover
8 101It's Cliché | rosekook
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8 158