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Caged Maiden's Portfolio

Caged Maiden
9 min read
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Part 2 Autumn was fading in its colorful glory down by the river, but in the Red Lantern District, where trees were scarce, it was just another foggy, gray day. “Why is it that I always come out looking like the asshole?” Strange asked, in an amused tone. “You must wash your hands more than...
Caged Maiden
10 min read
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1K
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Chapter 2 The Lion’s Lady “Jealousy don’t look pretty on anyone, Cherie. Why do you envy those girls? You don’t know what they did to get what they have, or what they have to do to keep it. But me? I know.”—Raisa Part 1 Exiting the pawnbroker, Raisa set her purse on her lap and told the...
Caged Maiden
10 min read
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1K
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Part 5 Calliope jumped at any chance to take in tips from the card table, since she wasn’t fit for the parlor after contracting a lover’s disease—the kind that didn’t clear up with the herbs and ointments Raisa gave her. She cut the cards and shuffled, perhaps the only one happy to be there...
Caged Maiden
13 min read
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1K
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Part 4 Strange eyeballed the approaching bard as Raisa counted in her head, trying to ebb her anger away and don her fictitious Miss Raven persona again. “Evening, Miss,” Martin said when he got close. “I played every request from Mister Lion. Is there a song you’d like to hear?” “Thank you...
Part 3 Raisa prefaced her response with a motherly clucking, the sort meant to scold a child for being too smart or speaking out of turn. “I mention a favor and you bring up money? Don’t you know me better than that?” “I think I know you just right, my dear.” “I’m not asking for money, I’m...
Caged Maiden
11 min read
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1K
Book Chapters
Part 2 Going against her instinct to see a winning hand through to the end, Raisa slid her cards to Jens, who had that morning been a kitchen boy scrubbing pots instead of dealing cards. “I’m out too,” she said, folding. A missed opportunity to capitalize on the trio of knaves might be the...
Caged Maiden
12 min read
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1K
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Book Chapters
Chapter 1 The Game Begins “If you want to know who you can trust, play them at a game of cards. Nothing’s as honest as a bluffer in hot water, or as deceitful as a fleecer with a made hand.”—Avery de Leon, on trust Part 1 Raisa sat at a table of liars. A loan shark disguised as a banker...
Caged Maiden
13 min read
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1K
General
6 Lettera senza Firma (Letter with no Signature) Scholarsday, Hare Moon 8 Yvette stole through the forest, back to the cottage, avoiding the roads and river. She preferred to take the long way than allow someone to follow her to the hideout. The list of safe houses was running as low...
Caged Maiden
14 min read
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1K
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3 Inchiostro e Ceneri (Ink and Ash) Midweeksday, Hare Moon 5 The name echoed in Daniela’s mind. Rafe, a foreign name from the north. When the three men entered, Daniela wondered which her betrothed might be. The tall, dark-haired man with chiseled features and sporting three days’...
Caged Maiden
13 min read
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1K
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4 Marchio del Tradimento (Marks of Betrayal) Thundersday, Hare Moon 6 Yvette lowered the hood of her cloak, dew soaking into her clothing. Innumerable times she’d knelt under woody fingers gnarled with age, begging forgiveness or wallowing in self-pity. A lone tree standing on the edge...
Caged Maiden
16 min read
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1K
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5 Odore di Ratto (Smells Like a Rat) Freedomday, Hare Moon 7 Daniela found Francesco fuming in the still dewy grass, her letter clutched in his hand. He looked taller and broader than normal to Daniela, who inched toward him in bedclothes and bare feet. “You ungrateful little wretch,”...
Caged Maiden
14 min read
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1K
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5 If you want to give me a truly thoughtful gift—let it be a story that brings me strength and hope. Two laundry baskets—empty finally. Gran scrubbed with salt and soda while Ayleth hung garments. “I hate washing.” Ayleth wrung a shirt and pinned it to the line. “I love it,”...
Caged Maiden
8 min read
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1K
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4 A wise man never trusts a wax seal to protect his letters. King Aethan was a wise man. -Same place as last time. Ten ‘o clock.- A Alayna pulled a silk drape closed around the massive bedstead in their private chamber. No sense allowing insects in, since the windows of the castle...
Caged Maiden
13 min read
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982
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3 The most precious thing a father protects is his little girl’s heart Ayleth awoke to cooking smells. Galen’s croaky high voice sounded from downstairs. “The black and yellow one is my favorite, Da. Kyla says she’ll trade it to me for my green shooter. Should I trade her?”...
Caged Maiden
10 min read
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1K
General
17 Generosità (Generosity) Scholarsday, Hare Moon 22 The bells tolled one in the distance. Vincenzo, in no hurry, kept his pace steady. Mercurio clomped along behind, the hard soles of cheap boots veritably echoing in the near-empty street. Vincenzo turned on his annoying...
Caged Maiden
8 min read
Views
992
Book Chapters
CHAPTER 1 In thirty–two years, Aethan had built up something of an ironclad stomach. Whether it was blood flowing on the green, corpses rotting on a battlefield, or the stuff that passed for food in Brazelton’s mercenary guildhall, none of it turned his stomach. However, the lurching and...
Caged Maiden
8 min read
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836
Book Chapters
CHAPTER 2 Two days later the boat was again assaulted by wind and rain. Rad had been a near constant presence in their cabin, and Aethan was not inclined to ask the boy to leave. He had been a comfort during the previous day and indeed helped Aethan to ride out the storm with his...
Caged Maiden
7 min read
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840
Book Chapters
CHAPTER 3 With Logan’s concerns, and those of his own hanging over his head, Aethan spent the next day with Logan planning their journey through Kenaz. “What is this terrain like?” Logan asked. “How should I know? Doesn’t the map have a legend?” “It doesn’t denote what...
Caged Maiden
17 min read
Views
709
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1 Vendetta (Revenge) Hay Moon 18 Before the summer’s afternoon heat gave way to dusk’s mildness, an old woman clung to a thin ledge sixty feet above the cathedral’s courtyard. There was a time when visiting her old friend—the religious leader of the republic—didn’t involve scaling...
Chapter 1 The first time I met Will Hudson, the man had everything. Sports cars, houses, women, and anything else that might make a man like me jealous. This morning, as I tried to leave his room, he grasped at me with handless arms, still fighting back. Some people have more to live for...

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Caged Maiden
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