《Stepping Through》We Play the Game – 26 – We are Rivals, of a Sort
Advertisement
A few minutes later, the carriage slowed down, seemed to turn a corner and then stopped. The doors were opened from the outside and Tina found she was now inside the courtyard of what looked like a luxurious mini-mansion, not unlike the palace she and Devon had stayed at if a little smaller an only a single story. It was quite as ostentatious as the palace Devon and she’d been staying at, but still, quite nice and the breeze here carried the scent of flowers and sea salt a well. Tina wondered if it might even be in the same part of Constantinople.
“This way,” Cassia motioned her to climb down from the carriage and follow. Tina sighed and followed. At least she was safe here, and there was a good chance she’d be able to get word back to Devon somehow. She did, after all, have to get back to her place and time. Wanted to. Needed to. But Constantinople seemed a very complicated place and she was beginning to wonder what she’d come across around the next marble-clad corner.
She was lead into the building, down ornately decorated corridors, through a few finely decked out rooms and hallways and finally ended up in a patio where a middle-aged woman, maybe in her fifties reclined as she looked out over the city and the sea beyond. Huh. They were up on a hill.
The surrounding garden filled the crisp sea air with a light perfume and the quite was only broken by the sounds of birds and the distant hubbub of the city below.
The woman turned to her and locked a pair of scrutinizing green eyes on her. She was blonde, platinum blonde maybe, or perhaps her blonde hair was just greying out with fine lines around her eyes and mouth.
Advertisement
“Come and sit,” the woman offered. “Cassia, could you get us a decanter of Sangria.”
“Sangria?” Tina asked as she approached the proffered lounge chair. She hadn’t expected something that familiarly 21st century to be on anyone’s menu.
“You like it, don’t you?” the woman asked. “Please, take off your coat and stay a while.”
Tina shrugged off the coat, sighed and even shivered a bit as she felt the breeze through her sweaty clothing and then finally sat down.
“I suppose so,” she replied.
“Well, you don’t want to drink the water here, now do you, Tina?” the woman smiled.
There seemed to be quite a bit of familiarity in the woman’s expression, and her voice did sound like one she had heard before.
“Do we know each other?” she asked.
“Not much,” the woman said. “And mostly by reputation at that.”
Cassia arrived with a pitcher of Sangria with a pair of silver goblets on a tray. She set about pouring the reddish-purple fruity concoction into two of them.
“Who exactly are you?” Tina wanted to know.
“My name is Greta,” the woman said. “But, more precisely, I am the one who helped get you extracted from that riotous mob and the clutches of a particularly grasping and dishonest dwarf. There is much about your employer you do not know Tina.”
“Yes, I’ve been finding that out lately,” she replied.
How much, though, did this woman know about Devon and her? Was she like Devon in some way? Did she know they’d time/space travelled? Was Greta another time traveler? That idea perked her right up.
“You know Devon?” Tina asked. She took a sip from the proffered goblet. The Sangria was chilled, sweet… and strong. Actually, it was amazing. She swallowed it all down and held the goblet out for a refill.
Advertisement
“We’ve met,” Greta told her. “You could say we are rivals of a sort. And I have been looking forward to meeting you in person, in particular. As you are kind of special.”
“So we have…” Tina started, and then realized why the woman seemed familiar.
Her voice. Oh yes, this woman was definitely another time traveler. That intonation was unmistakable.
“You called the office,” she said. “In Toronto. You stepped through to here as well.”
Greta nodded.
“Smart too,” the woman said smiling. “And you pay attention to detail. That’s good.”
“Are you after Lola, the hammer, as well?” Tina wondered. “For yourself?”
Advertisement
Legacy Unbroken
For six generations, his family has held the title of Hero of Farathun. Now, his father lies dead, dishonored, stripped of his title. He is only a boy, untested, unnamed, unready to take up his father's sword. But that doesn't matter, because he has a plan. Three simple steps. 1) Master the sword 2) Earn his name 3) Take back his father's title It doesn't matter that it's impossible. It doesn't matter what challenges he will face. His family's legacy will continue, unbroken. But when opportunity comes knocking at his door, will he be ready to seize it? When a new teacher finds him, and challenges all that he thought was true, the boy is whisked away on an adventure that will take him far beyond the bounds of his home. He'll learn, and grow, and gain strength. He will find his place in the wider world, and leave his mark in history. Or die trying.
8 101The Fat Prince: The Orc Princess
Prince Cyrus and his heroic band of misfits only have three days left to save Princess Trinity from the nefarious Everblood vampires and time is not on their side. They've reached Hynest Ridge- a mammoth waterfall that no human can scale. The Everblood's dark stronghold lies at the top, remaining safely out of Cyrus' reach. Only a legend speaking of the forest dwelling Aquarian elves offers some relief to the heroes. Aquarian elves can manipulate water and form large bubbles to carry themselves and others. Cyrus and his friends quickly realize they must find one of these legendary elves in order to proceed on their journey. In the middle of the night, Cyrus is kidnapped in a bubble and taken into the dark forest where he is held hostage by a scruffy, ten-year-old elven girl named Oga. She claims to be a ferocious orc who lives by the orc code of pillaging, stealing, and hunting, but Cyrus and his friends can see there's something more to this species-confused elf than she lets on. Tricking Oga into returning to her village, they realized that this young elf is not only the heir to the royal elven bloodline but a future sacrifice in order to keep the waters of the land purified. Can they save Oga from the deadly fate of her true heritage? And will Cyrus and his friends find a way to reach Princess Trinity in time? Find out in this exciting third installment of The Fat Prince.
8 155Autumn Winds and Crimson Waters
A father's letter to his young daughter A wandering shadow on a broken field A family reunion, filled with laughter and joy A dust filled warzone, and a small, limp, body This is a collection of short stories spanning a variety of genres, settings, and themes.
8 153Chimera Carnage: Brotherhood of Blood and Steel
The story of a man who woke up from a Cryo-Stasis Preservation after 189 years with the help of an AI.Due to some abnormalities, aside from his own name, he does not know who he is and how he arrived in an unknown planet inside a ruined ship. Much more, he wore a suit that seems to be what is keeping him alive!
8 207Maeve
"A King is not complete without his Queen."This is a story.A story that is far too unreal for anyone believe.A story that everyone should believe in.A story about love and death.A story so powerful that even the greatest and scariest leaders will kneel for it.A story about a woman and a man.A story of how a tiny mere human girl who made the werewolf King kneel in front of her because she shed a tear.This is not the fairytale that you thought you knewCOMPLETED
8 187Emperor Nefarious Male Reader x Crossover:You're Emperor Has Return
[When The news spread around about Emperor Nefarious Defeat People Were surprise that The most powerful and OP Emperor Has Been Defeated Just by A Female Lombax In The other hand people we're still thinking that The Emperor is still alive and may Return][10 Years later The Emperor has Returned this time More Powerful And Op Then before And in a New universe And this time He won't make the Same Mistake.And He will get revenge On the one's who made him Weak][Inspired By @Cosmic_Entity & @DGprimal]
8 115