Books And Brothers

Hey everyone! Quick apology, it’s Wednesday, not Tuesday. I would have posted late last night when I suddenly remembered it was Tuesday, but after five minutes of thorough searching I found I’d lost my next planned post. Oh well. The notebook will turn up eventually.

So instead of talking about writing community, I’ve decided to turn out the next installment in my spontaneous and unnamed serial. (Pantser by nature, let’s hope this series is going somewhere 😉 )

You’ve met Drake, Diana, and Lee. Now I believe it’s time to meet the last MC.

May I present:

Books and Brothers

“Well I never said we were going anywhere!” Drake flung the front door open, letting Diana in first.

“I would assume, Drake, that when we go the three miles into town, you would be so kind as to let me go where I please.” Diana stalked past the kitchen table, where Adelaide sat, ascending the rickety spiral stairs to the second level without a backward glance.

Adelaide looked at her brother, debating whether or not she wanted an explanation.

He glared at the stairs, then closed and locked the door. “Pardon me for making sure things didn’t get out of hand.”

Adelaide decided very firmly that she did not want an explanation and went back to the capitol city of her country… lost in the palaces and ornate buildings, wandering through clean narrow streets filled with foreign vendors and flowers. The pictures were black and white, but still… Stunning.

“Last time-” Drake sat himself across from her.

She quietly rolled her eyes, lowering her book and looking at him.

“Last time we went into town she nearly knocked Lee unconscious.” Drake folded his arms, leaning back against the chair, not a spark of mirth in his brown eyes.

“Where did you leave her this time?”

He hesitated. “With Lee… But that’s not the point.” He sat forward, clearly unable to get comfortable.

“Are you afraid she’s going to blow something up next? You do know we’re practically adults, right?”

“Well, technically we all are, but with all these foreigners wandering around…” He sighed, lowering his head and running his hands through his thick brown hair, making it stand on end.

Adelaide sighed, the spell of her book broken. She set it down, folding her hands in her lap and facing her elder brother fully. “Are there supposed to be more in town?” Travelers from the next country over, Lydians, had taken it upon themselves to acquire anything they might need from small towns such as theirs. This made everyday life dangerous for anybody who ran into them. Their country’s officials, even their country’s king, claimed he didn’t have the resources to protect them, or to kick the Lydian’s out. And so they were stuck, trying to handle these people on their own was a nightmare. Without weapons and guard was worse.

“I don’t know.” Drake looked up, his eyes haunted. “We never know unless someone actually runs into them, that’s the scary part.”

Adelaide pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around them. She’d heard this a thousand times over, and still they had nothing new to offer.

“It’s life, I guess.”

“I guess.” She agreed.

“I wasn’t going to go looking for Lydian foreigners, if that’s what you were thinking.”

Adelaide and Drake turned to see Diana slowly climbing down the stairs. She stopped at the last step and sat.

Adelaide thought she looked resigned. She often was around their brother.

“I know you wouldn’t do that.” Drake folded his hands behind his head.

“Is that why you forced me to stay in Lee’s company?” Diana raised her brows at him.

“What’s wrong with Lee?” Drake frowned.

“He’s so quiet.” Diana folded her arms. “It’s eerie.”

Adelaide choked back a laugh, trying to picture Lee as eerie. Diana never could stand a settled silence. But eerie?

“Oh my.” Drake tilted his head back, looking at the ceiling.

Diana huffed. The phone rang.

Drake’s eyes narrowed, but he stood first, walking to the wall and unhooking the receiver. “Hello?” His features immediately hardened. “Yes.”

Adelaide swallowed back the sudden lump in her throat, trying to listen for the voice on the other end of the phone.

“No.” Drake reached back to rub the back of his neck. “Sure. Where?” His brow furrowed. “Where?” He drew in a long breath. “Yeah. I’ll be there. Yeah, no they’re here. No, they’re still not home. Yeah, yeah, I was gonna do that. Okay.” He shook his head to himself. “Yeah, goodbye.”

“UGH.” Diana dropped her forehead to her knees. “Let me guess.” She threw her head up, her short black hair flying everywhere. “You’ve got another call.”

“I did get a call, yes.” Drake smirked.

Diana glared.

Adelaide relinquished herself to another night of nerves and boredom.

Drake turned serious. “Yeah, I got a call. They’re on the west side. They came in by boat.”

Diana frowned. “By boat?”

Adelaide folded her arms, trying to picture the foreigners sailing in. “But we don’t have a port.”

“We have a beach.”

“I can’t believe this.” Diana pushed herself up, tramping back up the stairs. “How long do you figure?”

“A couple hours, they’re hiding out.” Drake pulled on a thick jacket, worn and tattered, but thick enough to provide some protection. “I can’t leave you here, so I’m taking you to the hall. Mom will probably meet you there, Ralph was going to call her and Dad next at the Yearsley’s.”

“Hurray for foreign invaders.” Diana mumbled sarcastically before disappearing upstairs.

Yeah, things escalated. It’s not contemporary, could you guess? It’s actually a sort of modern/sci-fi/dystopian/fantasy thing. It’s the first serious book idea I ever pursued, and thus gets most of my attention. XD

I’m just now remembering y’all still don’t know where the letter’s going and why Diana didn’t become a librarian.

I hope you enjoyed the Ashdown siblings, and if you’d like to see them again, just give me a holler. 🙂

And with that I wish you the best!

~Louise