Eden perched on the edge of her bed. She shared a room with Bree, whose brightly colored dresses and hats and petticoat and heavy necklaces littered the floor. This was Bree's morning routine, throw everything out of the closet until you find something 'just right'.

Then some poor maid with clean it up and Bree will do it again in the morning. Bree had already chosen her outfit, and now the foreign hair dresser was piling all her dark curls atop her head with hundred of pins and grips. 

Eden was watching, when a polite knock on the door made her jump. "Oh, come in!" she called. 

The butler entered, barely glancing at the heaps of clothing. He held in his hand a letter.                                                                                     "For Lady Eden." He announced. 

Eden excitedly took the letter and thanked the butler, who bowed and left.

It was from Ironhollow, Eden noticed as she tore it open.

Dear Eden,

Warren is not currently present in Ironhollow, I incorrectly assumed he had written you and disclosed all new information. I suppose that burden now falls to me.

Your brother has left to search for your mother, but we all fear for his safety. The rebel's new leader, Maelys, has chosen to target all people who held power before the uprising, which includes Warren. He has not yet been caught, and we have tried to contact Maelys's forced and persuade them to stop, but I have not succeeded. 

Do not leave the safety of your current placement, and do not disclose your location in the letters. We may be coming to you soon.

 Arden

Warren looked around expectantly. He was certain this was where his uncle would be. He was starting to regret his entrance. Perhaps this had needed more planning. 

A young boy, maybe fifteen, stepped out in front of him. "W-Wudrow Selwyn is no longer here. He was buried atop our burial hill five years ago. 

Warren's shoulders slumped and he clenched his jaw in frustration, but the boy continued. "I am Ansel Selwyn, his son. And my brother Amias is Dalhurst's leader." 

Warren was suddenly much more calm. He was speaking to family. "Well, Ansel Selwyn, I am your cousin." 

Confusion erupted in the small crown of people, and he saw his cousin Ansel's face full of confusion, and excitement.

The older son, Amias, stepped forward. "What? Explain!"

Warren was only too happy to do so. "My mother was..." He faltered. Should he tell them who he was? What if they were part of the rebellion as well? He took a deep breath. He had hidden his identity before, and it had changed his relationship when they learned. If he was to befriend these people, he had to be honest.

"My mother was Queen Aussa Selwyn Prescott. She married my father, your former King Prescott, but was banished when she was accused of rebelling." 

He started to continue, when Amias stopped him. "What do you mean, 'Former King'?" Warren swallowed. "You...You don't know? There was a rebellion against him. He was corrupt, and we stopped him." 

Someone from the crowd yelled, "What do you mean, 'we'?" Warren had never been faced with the need to answer this question. "I helped take down my father...it needed to be done, for the...good of Amira." 

The crowd stared at him. He felt as though they were silently judging him, and the son who betrayed his father, as well as the prince who disobeyed his King.

Ansel's muscles ached as he carried two buckets brimming with clear water from the forest-side river. He set them down in the store room, and covered them with a woven tarp. 

His brother was constantly having him run errands. Ansel suspected that Amias thought of him as a worker more than a brother, but part of him knew that wasn't true. Amias had ways of dealing with grief, and the main one was work all day, and better yet, have everyone else work all day as well. Work tended to take things off Ansel's mind anyway, so he really didn't mind that much.

"What are you up to?" someone asked from behind him. He turned to see his best friend, Sybilla Drayton.

"Nothing now." he said, rubbing his aching muscles. Sybilla was basically his sister, and before Ansel's parents had died, they had treated the parent-less girl like a daughter. All that was different was her strange, foreign surname. Drayton apparently came from the word for dragons, Sybilla always said. But Ansel would laugh and say she's about as much a dragon as he is a squirrel. 

And Sybilla would grin and say, so very much so?

Ansel glanced at the sky. It was darkening quickly, and a cold wind had picked up.

Seven year old Frydda ran up to Ansel. She grinned up at Sybilla, who she liked better than her brothers, and was delighted was she grinned back.

"Ansie, Amias says to come home." she said to Ansel. Ansel pretended to be annoyed when she called him Ansie, but he could never get mad at her. 

"Tell Amias I'll be home soon, would you, Frydd?" he asked. She nodded, and ran off.

"He won't be happy if your not punctual," Sybilla commented, "He's the village leader as well as your brother!" Ansel knew she was right, and he hated to make his brother annoyed, but sometimes Amias need to calm down. 

"Well, goodnight." He said, faking a huge yawn. She laughed and waved goodnight, heading towards a cluster of houses where her aunt lived. He headed towards his own home, glancing up at the milky moonlight as he walked. 

In the morning, something very unexpected happened. The thick wooden doors in the wall flew open, and in rode a young man. The first thing Ansel noticed was his royal blue jacket, with a half torn emblem sewn to one shoulder. Ansel could have been wrong, but he thought it looked like the crest of the royal family of Amira.

"I am here to see Wudrow Selwyn! It is urgent, and I do not have time for delay!" He spoke with confidence, but his eyes flicked hesitantly around the crowd of people.  

Ansel's gut lurched at the sound of that name. How did this stranger know his Father?

Warren didn't slow until he was miles from the census building and the  enemies it held.

And still, Warren maintained a steady gallop, heading south towards Dalhurst. Excitement and nerves churned in his gut, make the ride less than pleasant. 

The Amiran countryside was more or less a waste land, with few trees outside the dark pine forests. Small streams trickled into stagnant ponds, dotted about the plains were boulders and rocky hills. 

But Warren was used to this terrain. He had faint memories of playing with his mother around Pinecliff, before Eden was born, and before his father...

He blinked hard, ignoring the memories of his parents. He didn't know his father anymore, and he suspected he never really had. Warren had never known him as a man that would exile his own queen, just to stay in power over Amira. 

After multiple hours of riding, a dark pine forest loomed far on the horizon. He would be lucky to reach it before nightfall, and he had a feeling that those dark woods weren't the kind you wanted to be traveling in at night.

Warren set up camp at the back of a shallow cave, and awaited morning, when he would hopefully, finally find his mother's family.

He dreamed of his mother and the time he had spent with her, and of her and Eden, and of how much it had pained him when she had disappeared, although back then, he had not known how or why. He vividly remembered when he had found out that his father had banished her, and when he discovered why, Warren’s disgust with his father was overwhelming. 

But none of that really mattered to him right then. He just wanted to find his mother.  

Eden Prescott sat in a sunny sitting room overlooked lavish gardens. A worn pencil stub in her hand, and a piece of unmarked parchment on a desk in front of her. She lowered the pencil and scratched a few words. As she wrote she grew more excited; she had had very little contact with any of her friends in Ironhollow, ever since Warren had said to her, "A rebellion is no place for you, you're too young and I... I don't want to lose you as well as Mother." 

She had almost refused to go, but the pleading look in his eyes was enough for her to know, that he needed her to stay safe, and she relented.

 But even at the time, she could tell he was not telling her something. She remembered that night in the dungeon, when Warren had demanded their father tell them where he had banished their mother to, but after father had refused, and claimed feebly he didn't know, Warren had told Eden not to concern herself with it. It was not like Warren to give up; in fact Eden had never seen him back down from anything.

And yet he had acted as though nothing would come from searching for their mother, and that they wouldn't try. It was then he asked to her to let him send her off.

And now she was sitting in the Unithian manor. Unithia was a partner in trade, but Eden believed the entire kingdom to be full of dimwits. They had barely a passing thought of the rebellion, and the royal family, a king, queen and the twin princess and prince... well, they were far from extraordinary. 

 She continued her letter, 

Dear Warren,

 I am doing well, although being stuck with these 'interesting' people, has few perks. 

How is it in Ironhollow? I suppose you have had success in rounding up those who were corrupt, and... Conniving? I know that I have no skill in writing letters, so please just reply and give me at least some information.

 Eden

She sighed and placed it onto a silver platter. A staff member would pick it up and deliver it soon. 

The french doors opened, and in walked Princess Bree. Her glossy black curls were bunched atop her head in Unithian fashion, and her dress had the largest skirt Eden had ever seen, but no doubt Bree would find a way to wear a bigger one tomorrow.

"Oh hello, dear Eden." she said in her high, lilting voice. Behind her walked her twin brother, Manton.

"Yes, hello." he repeated, “I suppose you have something ridiculous planned for today, Bree?” he had a pompous voice that fit is noble lineage. 

Bree smiled delicately. A smile that looked as if it held some sort of playful malice. 

“Oh, just an...invigorating horseback ride about the country side, dear brother!” 

...

Okay, so writing for Ironhollow 2 has been stalled for...quite some time, and I don't know if/when I'll actually finish it... This might be pretty unexpected, but here are more excerpts from Ironhollow 2:

Tall pines trees rustled and swayed in the wind blowing down from the snow capped mountains.   The forest that surrounded the small cliff side village of Dalhurst was dark and infested with large, dangerous animals, causing the need for the tall looming walls that surrounded the inhabitants. 

 Ansel Selwyn sat atop the wall of the village, which also ran along the edge of the cliff. 

 He knew it would be frowned upon by his brother, Amias, the leader of Dalhurst. Amias felt responsible for Ansel, and well he should, for he was responsible for everyone in the village. And Amias was not the type of person to show favoritism, not even to his fifteen year old brother.

 Ansel's family was a complicated one; his father had been the village idiot, so to speak. And his  mother a good person, if a bad mother. 

Unfortunately, both now lay in the burial mounds on a nearby hill. Apparently they had been too  adventurous for their own good, or at least, that is what Amias had told Ansel and their young  sister, Frydda. Ansel had known his parents for ten years, and they had died five years ago, when  Frydda was only a two years old.

Now, seventeen, Amias was the only one Ansel and his sister had left, and they knew nothing of  their parent's families. 

And Yet Another Excerpt

A chilling voice rang through the air from behind the door. 

"Prince!" the words were spat rather than said, "Why don't you give yourself up?! You have no allies in this kingdom, and none of your corrupt kind has been able to make it out of Amira alive." 

His heart pounded harder at the sound of that last word. Alive. He knew now he was speaking to  Maelys, the leader of the rebel movement. She was known now for drastic tactics, but he had not heard of...executions. 

 He shook himself out of the stupor. He wasn't about the negotiate with her, and there was a large  stain glass window on the far side of the room. He picked up one of the carved oak chairs and held  it in front of him, and ran straight into the stain glass window. It shattered, and he leapt through  right as the heavy iron lock on the oak door broke. Maelys's troops swarmed in, but Warren had  certainly not stayed to see them.

He had landed on the ground a few feet below, and ran for his life towards his horse. All he needed now was to make it to his uncle's village. Safety and information awaited him, at the village of  Dalhurst.

I hope you liked the excerpt! The books going really well, but it's also time consuming! Hey, in the meantime, you should check out this blog: Jadeneedle

Update

I've updated the characters page to be more up to date with the current story, so it now shows the Ironhollow characters, with a few added people!
Writing isn't slow, just tough, so far!

Here's a bit of a follow up to the first excerpt I posted:

Dust flew up from the pages as Warren frantically searched for his mother's maiden name. He was searching for his mother's family, so that he might gain some clues to his mother's whereabouts.

  His eyes stopped at a few short strings of letters. His breath caught in his throat in his excitement. He had found his mother's brother. The name was unmistakable, for now he remembered that his uncle lived in a small village on the southern edge of the kingdom. When his mother had married his father, bringing her into the royal court, her family was then represented as royalty, and they moved into royal villas and manors. All but his uncle, who refused and continued to live his small and rather unimportant life.

 Warren tore the page from the old census, and before he folded it up, he glanced down and noticed a few more names. He had cousins.

He had a fleeting thought of his sister Eden, sitting in the foreign manor of one of the kingdom's old allies. She was safe there, and it gave him comfort.

 He shoved it into the pocket of his ripped royal blue jacket. Pounding on the oak door erupted, and he knew that any attempts at defense from the loyal guards had failed. 

Another...

The young man pulled his hood down further, and re-sheathed his two gleaming iron blades. He rose from his chair and walked swiftly into a back room, where two figures were seated in the shadows. Moonlight poured in from a high window, washing half of the room in the milky light.

“I've come to take up your...offer.” the young man said. 

One of the seated figures leaned into the light. He had a dark, full beard and a bald head. Piercings decorated his angular face. 

“You are well known down here in the undercity.” the man said, “Ironhollow’s most...decorated assassin.” 

Another Excerpt

This one is from the Prologue of Ironhollow 2, which I am currently finding a name for...!

Dust hung heavy in the air of a tavern as a hooded young man stepped in from the drizzling rain. His heavy boots against the wooden floor boards were the only noises as the entire tavern turned and stared.

Eyes shifted and glared at him as he sat on the cracked leather seat of a bar stool. 

His face was obscured in the shadows of the hood, and his hands were gloved. Rain water dripped from the shoulders of his cloak. 

A bald man with scalp tattoos eyed him closely from the other side of the bar. Silently, the man stood and walked over, stationing himself directly behind the newcomer. 

“Let’s see who hiding under that hood, shall we?” the man growled, and reached forward to grab the top of the young man’s hood. 

But, almost too fast to witness, the hooded figure’s hands had grabbed his two blades sheathed at his waist, and made a fierce stabbing motion toward the tattooed man behind him. 

The man fell to the ground, dead.

Update of Sorts

Ironhollow 2 is going well!
I recently realized how little actual thought process went into the writing of the first Ironhollow book, and although I love it and am super grateful to the author of Author Me for publishing it, I'm putting more thought into this second one.
They say sequels are never as good as the first book, but lets hope that Ironhollow 2 meets the mark!

Vanessa 20

I sat Brynn and Ashelyn down in my room.
"Guys, this has gone on long enough," I said, "I'm not saying you have to be friends right now, just stop being so...huffy towards each other, at least."
Once Brynn apologized to her, Ashelyn relented. They were still rather cool towards each other, but I thought things seemed better after that, but maybe it was wishful thinking.
Next week was a school trip, and we all attended. And it finally seemed as if we all three could be friends, without drama and arguments.





















From The Author: I have to say, I think I'm going to end the Vanessa series here. I must admit, 'Vanessa' was definitely not my favorite series so far, and I wouldn't mind at all if anyone agreed with me. But I'm glad I got a nice-ish, if underwhelming, story from Vanessa's point of view.

Hmm...

I'm sorry to say that 'Vanessa' has been drawn out far too long, and I'll be wrapping it up in the next couple of posts, so it might be rushed, but better to rush than to let it drag out, in my opinion.
So enjoy the last couple 'Vanessa' posts!

Announcment!

I am writing a sequel to Ironhollow! I'm really excited and it's coming along nicely so far,
I'm not planning on posting it all, and if I do it won't be for a while.
Here's an excerpt from the first page:

Warren Prescott rifled through the well worn pages of an ancient book, tracing his fingers along countless names.
Shouting echoed through the stone corridors outside the heavy oak doors. Moonlight poured through the glass oculus embedded in the top of the vaulted ceiling.
Warren was in the royal census hall that stood among a complex of official building just outside the pillaged capital, Ironhollow. He had been among the group of rebels that took down his corrupt father, the king, and had taken the city.
Now he was being hunted by those same rebels. They had taken a new leader, a woman called Maelys, and she was now hunting down every last member of nobility. Anyone who had held political power before, was now her target.

I'll Try to post a new excerpt every week or so, maybe sooner, depending on how much writing I can do.
For the first Ironhollow book, click Here

Venessa 19

I was overjoyed to have my best friend back, but I knew only a few of the distance-causing issues had been worked out.
And once I got home, I stayed clear of Ashelyn. I could tell she wanted nothing to do with me, but I knew I  had to talk to her somehow.
The problem was, I didn't know what to say. Maybe it was just my pride thinking, but I couldn't come up with why I needed to say sorry.
What she probably wanted was an apology from Brynn, but I didn't know how Brynn would take that. I mean, would I text her like, '"Hey, come and apologize to my cousin, who thinks you're horrible but is being a total jerk."' ?
Yeah right...

Vanessa 18

Brynn and Ashelyn stared at me. Then each other.
Ashelyn opened her mouth, as if to say something. But instead she furrowed her brow and seemed to make up her mind to be upset at us again.
She walked away, her wild red hair bouncing as she made her way out of here school, apparently heading home.
"Ugh. Why does she have to be so stubborn?" I muttered, forgetting Brynn still stood next to me.
"I hear scots are like that..." She said with a nervous smile. I laughed, almost completely involuntarily.
"I...I'm sorry." I said, not meeting her eyes.
I hated how much my pride was screaming at me that it was her fault, and that she should apologize, but I cast those thoughts away, and not exactly with ease.

Vanessa 18

Tuesday, Brynn was no longer blatantly ignoring me, just...avoiding me.
I felt horrible. If that one Sunday night had ruined my friendship with Brynn and Ashelyn, it would be one of the worst things that has ever happened to me.
Later, I noticed Ashelyn and Brynn speaking heatedly in the hall.
I reluctantly walked over.
"Guys, I-" i started.
They both glared at me.
I felt hurt for a moment, but that turned into mild anger. "Hey, I'm just trying to help." I said in a low tone, similar to a growl, "This whole thing is...idiotic! Brynn you need to apoligize to Ashelyn. And you, Ashelyn, have to apologize to Brynn. And I should apologize to both of you..."

Vanessa 17

On Monday, Jennifer seemed to notice that both my best friend and my cousin was avoiding me. I didn't want to talk about it, so she dropped it.
On the basketball court, Brynn and I didn't play as well. She refused to let me make a shot or block one, and I was similar with her.
 After school, Ashelyn would disappear into my dad's office while he was at work, and she would spend hours skyping with Maya.

Vanessa 16

I speed walked down the sidewalk, my sneakers already drenched, and water dripping off of my jacket. Brynn was following close behind, silent.
Suddenly she spoke up. "I see her!" She pointed down to the corner, where Ashelyn was turning.
We sprinted to catch up with her, and we ran right into her as we came around the corner.
"Ashelyn, what were you thinking?" I cried. Ashelyn wouldn't meet my eyes. And she blatantly ignored Brynn.
"Brynn's sorry." I said. Whether or not  Brynn was, that's what Ashelyn needed to hear.
We headed back to the apartment, a chilly silence hanging over us.

Vanessa 15

I caught a glimpse of Ashelyn's fiery red hair. She was just crossing the street.
"C'mon, we can't lose her!" I shouted over the rain, running own the wet asphalt steps to the sidewalk, Brynn close behind me.
I felt bad for being short with Brynn, but what am I supposed to do when my best friend seems to hate my cousin, my cousin is trying to run away, and on top of those, a huge storm is gathering. Hardly the small rain shower that was forecasted...

Vanessa 14

"Ashelyn, wait!" I called after her.
Brynn was staring at the door, her mouth hanging open. "I...I didn't know-"
"Forget it." I snapped.
Brynn looked hurt.
I muttered an apology, but I was too angry and irritated at both Ashelyn and Brynn to be nice.
"Come on." I said, perhaps rather sharply, "we need to go get Ashelyn before she gets lost."
I grabbed my windbreaker and headed to the front door.
Brynn followed, looked upset.

Vanessa 13

Brynn was nice enough to Ashelyn at first, but once the thunder storm started, things got bad.
"Don't worry, girls, the storm isn't a bad one. We're not even expecting it to last more than an hour or two." My mom said reassuringly.
"That's good," Brynn said, "I don't think some of us would handle it very well." She smiled as if she had made a joke.
She didn't even glance at Ashelyn.
"Um, why don't we watch a movie in the den? Ashelyn, you can come too, if you want." I said, glancing at Brynn as I spoke. She seemed to pout a little bit, then put on her smile. "Yeah, come on Ashelyn. It'll be fun."

We watched a short movie, and both Brynn and Ashelyn seemed to have fun.
But my cousin kept glancing out the window at the rain.
"It's lasting longer than I thought it would..." She said, a nervous tone in her voice.
Brynn sighed. "You really need to chill. I mean, how are you scared of a little rain? And that thing that happened in the locker room? Please, you-"
"Let's talk about something else-"
This time it was Ashelyn to interrupt. "You don't even know why storms bother me! You have no idea why, and you just sit there making assumptions! You know why they bother me?! Because I lost my home to a flood, and I could've lost my family too!"
She stormed out of the apartment, heading down to the lobby.

Happy New Years!

Happy 2015! 

Sorry for the lack of posts, the holidays can be pretty busy!