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Tilting Rose Excerpt |
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A Fantasy tale of a woman who must become a knight, then turn back into a woman. Can Rose shed her armor in Osgood's arms? Or will she be able to balance Woman and Warrior?
Tilting Rose Excerpt: Moving as quickly as she could, she dried herself and got dressed. The interlude in the pool had shaken her and her sanctuary had been invaded for the first time. It no longer felt like somewhere she could be alone, but it did stir another reaction within her. A slow warmth that she had ruthlessly squelched since she had become a woman. Since it had been Lord Roth that had gone to the pool, Lord Roth must return. Her breasts fought the bindings, her nipples still alert from their stimulation earlier. With the effort of long practice she bound them down. The curve of her hips was concealed with a similar binding, this one containing padding. It turned her torso into a smooth column. Not masculine, but not feminine either. It was enough to conceal her from those with a casual glance. Next her tunic and hose were tugged into place, more padding in all the right places to create what was not there. When it came time to tie her hair back she had a problem. The braids that the scout had woven into her hair would not come undone. No matter how she tried to unravel them, they remained in her hair. Six braids confined locks from the front of her hair and thereby controlled the rest in a net of some sort that he had created at the back of her head. She had no doubt that it looked stunningly feminine, but Roth could not be wearing them. She tried tugging at them, working at them and finally cursing at them but they would not come undone. She grabbed the looking glass that she kept on hand for her Roth makeup. Her hair was indeed arranged very prettily. With small tears in her eyes she drew her dagger and tried to saw off one of the braids. It would not cut. She turned the knife over and tried again. Still not one hair damaged by the razor sharp blade. The bastard had elf-locked her hair! There was no way for her to have it undone, except by another elf. Damn him! As best she could she dragged her hair back into a pony tail around the braided details. She wrapped it into the standard club of folded hair that she normally wore at home and then turned to her face. Smudges of charcoal became her beard. Her lack of true beard was merely put down due to off human breeding in her family’s history. Thick lines for her eyebrows, and dark circles under her eyes completed the look. To hide the braiding she wore her cloak back to Raynal. Her first stop was the tanner. She needed a leather cap to wear until she could find someone to undo the braiding on her head. Herman supplied it gratefully to Lord Roth in support of her disguise. It fit snuggly and was quite fetching. It gave her face a little more concealment than it would normally have had and she kicked herself for not thinking of it before. The village was buzzing and she did not have to walk far to hear that Lord Osgood’s party had taken up residence in the keep to wait until Lady Rose returned from abroad. It was quite a shock. They had not been scheduled to return until news of Rose’s arrival had been brought to them. She hated it when warriors made unexpected moves. It always meant that they were getting ready for a fight. She needed to find out what was going on from behind the scenes. She crept into the keep and through the doors to the main house. The knight’s party had arrived and were being served ale and meat in the dining hall. She peered around the corner trying to get a look at her prospective husband. It was no use. The men had their backs to her and there was a uniformity of station evident among them that was uncommon in a formal wedding delegation. She however did recognize it as a common ideal in battle hardened groups. Rank only came into play during battle, where a clear chain of command was needed. Outside of that, it was common for the commanders to eat, sleep and unwind with their troops. It showed a sensibility in her fiance that he would have the intelligence to treat those that his life depended on with respect. Keeping to the background, she moved against the walls and up to her father’s private chambers. While he should be down with his guests he tired easily and was having more and more trouble keeping his mind in the present. The past was all that he could recollect some days, and his staff kept a close eye on his color and eating habits. He was in good hands, but he was dying. Years ago his mind had begun its journey to the end, and now his body was catching up. He would not survive more than two years. It was a sad fact and every healer that they had brought in for him had said the same thing. He had been old when he married Rose’s mother, forty years older than his new bride. She had become with child in a matter of months and died eight years later. He had never been the same since that fateful day. It was the death of his wife that broke him, the death of his son cementing the cracks in his mind. She entered her father’s rooms and was unsurprised to see him in bed. His skin had taken on a hard yellowish hue and she knew that his earlier drinking had cost him. “Father. You may be aware of it, but Lord Osgood has arrived, with his warriors.” “I know it. I cannot rise today, so you my son, will have to act as host until your sister deigns to honor us with her presence.” He lay back and kept his eyes closed. For just a moment, Rose wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. She was not his son, she had done everything he had ever asked of his son, but she was not nor would never be the male child he wanted to inherit his property. Roth simply bowed and left the room. The soft and occasionally boisterous noises of conversation and laughter led her back to the great hall where she took up her place as acting lord of the manor. “Greetings to the party of Lord Osgood. Please show yourself so that I may embrace you as a brother. For brother you will soon be.” Roth stood and kept her expression still and friendly as she recognized her companion from the pool. Apparently, he had been scouting for Rose.
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