Young Writers Society

Laisel picked her way through the thorny bushes, worrying quietly to herself. Momma had always said that she wasn’t to go near the walls around the governor’s manor, but Ven said it was okay this time, because they were just going to visit the governor’s daughter.
Laisel didn’t know if the governor’s daughter knew that, but that didn’t stop Ven. And it didn’t stop Laisel from following. Hos and Lerr and the others had been looking for her that morning. Even if staying close to Ven got her in trouble sometimes, Laisel would rather get punished by Momma than teased by the mean boys in town.
“Hurry up, breeze brain,” Ven whispered, already crouching at the wall itself. “The carriage is almost in. We’re about to lose our distraction.”
She knew that already. The bush grabbing onto her skirt apparently didn’t. Muttering under his breath, Ven crept back and untangled her, dragging her forward to the wall. He straightened slowly, hiding in the shadow of a stunted tree that leaned over the wall as he peered into the courtyard of the governor’s estate.
And he called Laisel a breeze brain. He was the one who forgot how small she was. She tugged impatiently at the leg of his trousers, and with a sigh he helped her scramble up into the branches of the tree.
“Don’t let them see you,” he hissed. She rolled her eyes at him the way he’d taught her, and with a soft snort he turned back to the scene playing out on the other side of the wall.
The elaborate carriage they’d spotted earlier had rolled to a stop in the middle of the cobblestone drive, and the Governor and all his household (a smaller household than there had been the last time Laisel and Ven had peeked over the wall, she noticed) stood at attention, ready to receive their honored guest. Even the governor’s dog was there, fidgeting and itching at the gaudy jewelled collar around its neck.
“There she is,” breathed Ven, eyes on his only reason for sneaking a peek at the proceedings. Eliera looked prettier than ever, with her long blonde curls and her lacy blue dress. Laisel tugged at her own lank brown strands quietly, and looked down guiltily at the new dress Momma had made her. There were thorns caught in the fabric, and little holes already. Laisel’s face flushed. It was just like Hos and the others all said. She had an empty head. Even Ven called her a breeze brain, even if it was just in fun for him.
“How could someone like Eliera have a boar-faced father like the governor?” Ven said with a shake of his head, pulling her attention back to the scene on the other side of the wall.
Laisel found herself more interested in the opening door of the carriage, and the way everyone stood up straighter as a pair of polished black boots stepped down into the governor’s courtyard. It was a boy a little older than Ven, dressed in the soft scarlet hues of the eastern country, Treplen. He had the same light in his eyes as Ven, sparkling even from this far away, and the same kind of easy smile that made Laisel like him at once.
“Ambassador Wourin,” the governor stepped forward with a bow. Ven was right. He did have a face like a pig, and his hoarse voice carried all the way to the wall where Laisel and Ven hid. “We were so pleased to hear that you’d be accompanying the king’s man on some of his duties throughout our country. Welcome to Fresel, and we hope you’ll find your time here… educational.”
“Thank you,” the boy said. His voice was softer, but Laisel could still hear him, even though he had a thick accent like Melia Doorin’s grandfather. “I look forward to seeing everything your town has to offer.” The words sounded stiff and rehearsed, like when the teacher made Laisel and her classmates repeat their lessons out loud.
“As do I.” The voice was like a cold, slimy eel wriggling down Laisel’s spine. The king’s man stepped out of the carriage, stone-faced. “Especially in the area of financials.”
There was a moment of dead silence in the courtyard.
“Ooh. Tense.” Ven rolled his shoulders, interested. “Maybe the rumors are true, huh, Lai?”
Laisel wouldn’t know. Her parents never let her listen to those rumors. It was only because of Ven that she knew what people were saying behind closed doors, about how the governor might not always be the governor.
“Yes, of course, the main reason you’re here,” the governor said with a thin smile. “But I’m afraid that due to some tragic events as of late, you may find it a bit difficult. Our record-keeper was murdered, two nights ago.”
“What? Berr’s dead?” Ven eagerly leaned into the wall, and Laisel clung tighter to her seat of tree branches. She’d seen Berr around town a couple of times, enough to know that she didn’t like him. He smelled like bitter plants, and he’d treated her and the other children like they were made of air. “How come they never told anybody?”
“Most unfortunate,” the king’s man said, “and most unconvenient. Still, not to worry. I’ll get to the bottom of things soon enough.”
“Excellent,” the governor said. “While you’re doing that, perhaps my daughter could show ambassador Wourin the estate.”
“Yes, thank you.” The foreigner bowed his head quickly. “But, what I’m really interested in is… the… the common parts.” He gestured toward the walls, and Ven ducked.
“Yes, well, there’ll be time for that later,” Eliera said, skipping forward to take his arm. She smiled up at him, batting her eyes. “But first I want to show you the library.”
“Oh, right.” The boy fidgeted. “Books from this country… That will be good, too.”
She tipped her head to one side in confusion, golden curls spilling across her shoulder. “Books? Oh, yes, I suppose, but I was talking about the windows, and the little statuettes they have on the tables there. They’re all gorgeous, and I’m sure you’d love seeing them.”
“Oh… Yes. Good,” the young ambassador said, shoulders slumping.
Laisel giggled. That would’ve been Ven’s reaction too, if it were anyone but Eliera.
“What’re you snickerin’ at?” Ven scowled up at her, still crouching in case anyone glanced over at the wall. “Don’t you get what’s going on? He’s tryin’ to steal my girl! There’s nothin’ funny about this! C’mon, let’s get out of here. Wait, one thing.”
He stooped down and picked up a handful of pebbles, then poked his head up over the wall, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he took aim. Smirking, he flicked the first pebble. It went wide, skittering to a stop at the paws of the governor’s dog. No one noticed. The second pebble bounced off of Ambassador Wourin’s head, and he whipped around, squinting, causing a stutter in the conversation.
With a quiet whoop Ven scurried away all hunched over, leaving Laisel to scramble out of the tree on her own and run after him, catching her dress on more thorns along the way.
~
A headache was starting in the back of Wourin’s skull, and time in the company of Eliera was only making it worse.
“And here are the crystal figures passed down from my great-grandparents,” she said with an elegant gesture toward two statuettes of chipped glass. They were as dingy and decayed as all the other ‘antiquities’ in this governor’s aging manor. Wourin had seen the like many a time before. The first occasion when a pretty girl paid attention to him he’d been flattered, but after a while the gold-chasers had grown tiresome.
Eliera led him down the hallway, past windows lit by the sun. The outdoors beckoned, along with the quaint houses he’d seen from the carriage. This was the first time Wourin had ever been in a place that wasn’t predominantly wealthy. This was no capital city, no country estate set apart from the average citizens’ homes… And yet Wourin was still kept away from it all by thorn bushes and a wall and a girl in a blue dress.
“And here we are in the main hall once again,” Eliera said, spinning around to face him. She smiled sweetly, oblivious to the throbbing pain in his head, as well as the little black dog that was scratching pitiably at the front door.
“Shouldn’t that dog be taken outside?” he asked with a frown.
She glanced at the dog indifferently. “Oh, the servants will take care of that. Now there’s something else that I really wanted to show you.”
Wourin’s headache spiked, but an idea came along with the pain. “I could take it out.”
“Oh.” She fidgeted, struggling to keep the smile in place. “Well, I suppose that would be alright, but… I’ll have to come with you, of course.”
Of course.
“And I’ll have to tell my governess where I’m going-”
“Alright, you do that. I’ll wait,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound too eager as he knelt to scratch the pup’s ears.
She hovered. “Well… Alright then. I’ll be right back.”
“I will be here.” Wourin watched her disappear down a hallway and counted to five in his head before grabbing the braided cord that hung on a hook by the door. He put the loop of the leash around the dog’s neck and slipped out the front door, smiling. “I did wait, a little. Let’s go, pup.”
The dog struggled to keep up as he headed for the gates, smiling confidently at the governor’s guards. He needn’t have bothered; they hardly glanced at him. Their pay was probably too little to warrant much enthusiasm in their job.
The headache was already subsiding as Wourin took his first steps through the gate, into the commoners’ city. “Good thing Commander Elreid stayed home,” he said to the dog with a smile, slipping into his own language. “I can hear him now. ‘Too dangerous, sir. Especially with a murderer on the loose.’”
He’d heard the guards that accompanied the carriage talking about the record-keeper’s death, whispering about a person dressed in black that had been creeping about the governor’s estate. It sounded like a child’s nightmare to Wourin. Something to keep naughty boys and girls in bed at night. Or something to delay the financial investigation that the king’s man was running. The record-keeper was probably hidden away in a closet somewhere until the visit ended, at which time he’d come out and resume his duties with nobody the wiser.
“What could be dangerous about a place like this?” Wourin murmured, grinning at anything and everything. The dusty street, the thatched-roof homes, the forest that receded at the edges of town like the governor’s hairline…
The little girl sitting by one of the trees, watching him, and the scowling boy sprawled out beside her.
“Always knew foreigners were bonkers,” the boy said in the country’s strange language. “Talkin’ gibberish to dogs. He’ll be sipping tea with the shrubs soon enough.”
Wourin gritted his teeth, forcing the smile to stay in place. “Sorry. I don’t understand.”
“That’s ‘cause you foreigners talk funny.” The boy sat up and stretched, rolling his eyes exaggeratedly at the little girl. She giggled and mimicked the motion, but Wourin didn’t think that she meant anything by it.
“What’s your name?” He asked her with a grin.
“She’s Laisel,” the rude boy butted in. The girl didn’t seem to mind though; she looked perfectly content with him answering for her. “And more importantly, I’m Ven. Future husband of the angel who lives in there.” He pointed off toward the governor’s house.”
Wourin’s smile grew. “The governor?” Laisel’s hands flew up to cover her face as she doubled over, laughing. Ven didn’t look as amused. Wourin crouched down to ruffle the dog’s fur. “Or perhaps you meant this angel here? I think you would make a fine match. I wish you much happiness.”
“Eliera,” Ven said flatly.
“Ah.” Wourin furrowed his brow. “No need to worry on that count. To be honest, I think I’d be more happy with the dog.”
“Take that back, ya’ jabbering snake-sniffer!” Ven hauled himself to his feet, rolling what looked like some pebbles around in his fist.
“Did you want me to admire her?” Wourin asked. “I thought you wanted me to keep away from her.”
“That don’t mean I want you insulting her! We’ll settle this like men.” The boy puffed out his chest. Were all commoners like this?
“Fine then.” Wourin hesitated. “But, wait.” He strode over to one of the trees and tied the dog’s leash to a branch, making sure it was secure. The dog looked up at him innocently, wagging its tail. The sun sparkled off its gaudy collar, and Wourin sighed. Too big to be real. All these pretences of wealth were bringing the headache back.
But nothing like a bit of activity to remedy that. Wourin drew his sword with an expert hand, pointing the tip at Ven. It was mostly ceremonial, and Wourin wasn’t even a very good swordsman, but there was no need to make that common knowledge. “And your weapon?”
“Something better than yours, limp-legs.” Ven smirked. A single movement – a flick of the wrist – and the headache was back as a piece of gravel bounced onto the grass.
“It was you!” Wourin said with a laugh. “You’ll regret that. And in what way are little stones better than a sword?”
“In the way that you’ll have to catch me before you can use that fancy silver stick of yours!” Ven whirled and ran off into the woods. “Come on, Laisel!” The little girl scrambled to her feet and took off after him, Wourin a step behind.
“I thought this was a fight between men!” he said.
“If those poofy sleeves of yours make you a man, then I’m a squirrel!” Ven called back.
This little excursion was nothing like Wourin had imagined… But that didn’t mean it was bad. No more chipped ‘crystal’ garbage to look at, no shrill-voiced girls following behind, and no hint of a headache as he chased the native children into the forest.
~
Governor Rol pulled his gloves up along his arm, smoothing out every wrinkle and crease, focusing on his hands instead of the thinly-veiled impatience on the face of the king’s man.
“This ledger is out of date,” the man said, peering down his long nose at the papers spread out on the desk.
“It’s the most recent one that we found, I’m afraid,” the governor said. “Berr was a bit paranoid, always worrying that someone would touch his things, or tamper with his papers. It’s not surprising that he kept the more recent ledgers hidden away somewhere.” He adjusted the fit of his left glove. “Their location probably died along with him. If we find them, we’ll contact you.”
“Surely he had some clerks working under him, who possessed copies of the ledgers.”
“He had one clerk, yes, but I don’t think he had any more trust in her. He always kept her running back and forth, fetching this and that but never really involved in the actual process.”
The king’s man straightened, narrowing his gaze at Rol. “I see. This record keeper of yours sounds like a nightmare. Why did you keep him on for so long?”
“Old friend of the family,” Rol said with a thin smile. “I couldn’t bring myself to end his employment, and we didn’t realize the extent of his paranoia until after his death.”
The king’s man raised an eyebrow. “And how, exactly, was he murdered?”
“A poisonous substance that burns the skin, slipped into some of his clothing.” Rol shook his head sadly, folding his hands behind his back. “I saw the body. Truly awful. Perhaps he was right to be paranoid after all, though we aren’t sure of the killer’s motivation. Even before he came to work here, the man had enemies, as you can imagine, with his behaviour being the way it was.”
“Indeed.” The king’s man put the ledger under his arm and spoke as he moved past the governor. “Since these records are inadequate, I shall have to perform a full examination of your treasury, and I will require as much information as can be gathered about where the money of your little town has disappeared to.”
“Disappeared, sir?” Rol said with a laugh. “Where does any town’s money disappear to? Upkeep, import of materials, necessary services that need to be hired from elsewhere. Perhaps if the crown had granted us more of an allowance in the first place, we wouldn’t be doing so poorly now.”
The king’s man ignored the governor. He called over his shoulder as he strode down the hallway. “I’ll need complete privacy as I carry out my investigation. If I have more questions, I will seek you out.”
“Very well, sir. If there’s anything I can do to be of service, you need only ask.” Rol gave a sweeping bow, despite the fact that the man was already out of sight. He scratched furiously at his wrists as he straightened, scowling.
“Father!” In a swirl of lace and sky-blue fabric, Eliera appeared with a pouting expression Rol knew quite well, coming from the direction of the front doors. “Ambassador Wourin’s gone off somewhere. How can I persuade him to marry me if he’s not even here?”
“He can’t have gone far,” Rol said as he smoothed his gloves out again. “Now, I have more important things to attend to, my sweet.”
“But he has gone far!” Eliera whined, little red blotches appearing on her cheeks. “He said that he wanted to take Silky out for a walk, and I said we could let the servants do that, but he wanted to, so I went to tell Ms. Reivan, but when I came back he was already gone! He wasn’t in the courtyard, and one of those sweaty guards said that he went out into the town. I sent the guard out to look for the ambassador, and all he found was Silky’s leash tied to a tree. She chewed through it again, but more importantly-”
“Silky got out?” Rol broke in sharply. She blinked at him.
“Yes, but what does it matter? I’m tired of her, anyway. She got my favourite dress all muddy last week.”
“And she’s not in the courtyard?” He grabbed her shoulders, willing her to focus.
“No, I forgot to tell him that she likes to chew through her leash, but the dog’s not important, Daddy!” She thrust out her lower lip, batting her eyes pathetically. “My future husband – and fortune – has run off. What do I do?”
“Go find him,” he snapped, already turning away from her. “I have to go tend to something. Handle it yourself.”
“But Daddy,” she wailed. He ignored her, quickening his pace as he headed for a supposedly empty guest room in another part of the manor.
~
Elrae ignored the clatter of a key jammed into the lock of her room’s door. She turned a page as the governor threw the door open, cursing at the sight of her. She sat by the window, staring at a book written in a language she didn’t understand. She spoke without looking up. “Problems, milord?”
He slammed the door shut behind him, falling into a chair by the bed. “Yes, problems. You weren’t disguised as the dog this morning?”
“I was too tired after all the lurking I did last night.” She closed the book and leaned back, crossing her legs. “Why? I thought you were going to stay close to the king’s man today, so there was no need for my services.”
“I was. He claimed he needed privacy, but that isn’t the problem. Our ‘honored guest’, Ambassador Wourin, ran off with my dog and took it out of the courtyard. Left it tied to a tree, and it chewed through the leash.” He rubbed at his forehead wearily. “It’s gone. Maybe forever.”
“And it had the collar on,” Elrae said, matter-of-factly, as if it didn’t matter.
Rol sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, probably cursing every stupid, showy, gloating act he’d ever indulged in. “Yes.”
“That’s what you get for strapping all the money you stole onto a dog’s neck and parading it around.” She smiled, rubbing the binding of her book. “Hiding it in plain sight. Ha! That must be the worst idea you’ve ever had. I hope this won’t be affecting my payment.”
As if she cared about money. There were plenty of things in the world that could be just as good a motivator. Like revenge.
“And another thing,” he ignored her, stripping off his gloves and hurling them onto the bed. He winced at the sight of the inflamed skin of his wrists. “Your poison did this to me, and it’s completely unbearable.”
“I did tell you to wear gloves,” she said, locking away all pleasure she felt at his pain. He deserved it, after all that he’d done. Stealing, cheating… and more recently, murder. A twinge of guilt attacked her mind. “You should’ve been more careful when you were putting it in the record-keeper’s clothes. I don’t have any remedies with me, and unless you want me to be seen again... It was bad enough that I was spotted when I was getting the ingredients for the poison itself.”
“You could’ve gone as the dog.”
“And carry poisonous plants around in my jaws? No, thank you.”
He kicked a chair over, swearing. “Find that dog, or there’ll be no payment for your poison or your information.” He grabbed his gloves and stormed out of the room. Yes, he was definitely panicking.
Good. Let him squirm the way Elrae had squirmed when his men had taken everything from her. Her mother. Her childhood home. Everything. Just because he wanted the land it was situated on for his home away from home.
A faint smile touched her lips as she let the book fall to the ground with a thump. When she’d begun delving into the witches’ craft, she’d been looking for revenge. She’d never expected to be hired by the man who’d destroyed her life, along with the lives of countless others.
She went to the wardrobe and opened the door. Silky slept pleasantly in the folds of Elrae’s black cloak, limbs twitching in her drugged slumber. She’d been that way all morning. “Having a nice nap, are you? Just sleep a while longer, sweets. It’s time to leave this place.”
She put the little dog into her bag and pulled on the cloak before going back to the window. She opened the shutters and climbed out onto the roof of the governor’s manor, the dark fabric swirling around her. It wasn’t a large jump from the roof to the fence. And when she transformed into a bird, making the edges of the cloak stretch out into a raven’s black feathers, it wasn’t a jump at all. She glided over the wall and the thornbushes, her feet touching the ground just beyond the thorny bushes. Human again, with a headache at the base of her skull. Birds were difficult to change into. More difficult than dogs, anyway.
She started walking, past the trees and the pond where she’d left the jewel. With any luck, some poor deserving soul would find it and be able to make a better life for themselves. Elrae certainly didn’t deserve such a fortune. The ache sharpened, fuelled by guilt. No, she didn’t deserve it. Not after letting things go as far as they had. To allow a man to be killed… Even if he had been working with the governor.
She pulled the cloak tighter around herself, trudging onward. Money didn’t matter anyway. Revenge mattered. And now that the governor’s stolen fortune had been ripped from his hands… Elrae’s revenge had been carried out. It was time to clear the slate, and find a new life.
~
Eliera had never been out in the town much. The commoners mostly didn’t care for the governor or his daughter, and the feeling was mutual. So when she found herself beyond the wall, all alone – Daddy had said to take care of it herself, after all – she wasn’t quite sure where to begin. But when she heard laughter from off in the trees, followed by a shout tinged with an unmistakable accent, she followed that. It wasn’t long before she stumbled onto them.
Ambassador Wourin, sprawled out on the grass like a commoner, and two others who actually were commoners. A girl and a boy. The latter sat up like a shot when he heard her approaching, smoothing his hair back quickly.
“Miss Eliera,” he said with a little bow of his head. “You’re the last person I thought to see here.”
She wrinkled her nose. All three of them were breathing heavily, covered in sweat. What in the world had Wourin been doing with these peasants?
“Ambassador Wourin,” she said sweetly, ignoring the commoners. “I thought I’d lost you.”
“No, I am here.” He had a funny look on his face. So did the other boy, for that matter, but it was a different kind of look.
“I don’t suppose you saw where Silky went, did you?” she asked.
“Silky?” he repeated, frowning. “I don’t understand.”
“The dog. She chewed through her leash.”
“Oh!” He looked around, like he was hoping to see the creature somewhere off in the bushes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”
“Oh, it doesn’t matter,” Eliera said, folding her hands together delicately. “We’ll just have to go and search for her before you leave. Together.” Possibly all afternoon. Maybe he’d even have to prolong his visit a bit, until the dog could be found.
Eliera prayed that wherever Silky was, she would stay there for quite some time.
“Oh. Okay.” The ambassador flinched as a pebble sailed past his ear. He directed his protest at the commoner boy. “I thought we’d moved past that!” He was smiling as he said it. “You have very good aim, though, I must admit.”
“Lots of practice,” the other boy sniffed. “I’ve nailed plenty of guys right between the eyes, whenever they start messin’ with Laisel here.” The little girl smiled shyly, tugging at her brown hair. She pointed toward the pond, and the other boy grinned. “Ah! Right! Watch this!”
He had to be talking to Wourin, but why was he looking at Eliera when he said it? He kept glancing at her, too, as he scooped up a handful of rocks and sorted through them, finally selecting a flat one. He skimmed it over the surface of the pond; it touched down briefly at least six times.
What a pointless activity. A game for commoners. Dignified young people would never--
“Great!” Wourin laughed, kneeling down to find some rocks for himself. “Like this?” His attempt made a heavy splash, and the little girl giggled.
“No, no,” the boy said. “It’s gotta be smoother. Like this.”
Soon all three of them were lobbing stones into the river, and Eliera was feeling very out of place indeed. If she was going to marry Wourin, she’d have to bond with him somehow. And maybe, if this was the kind of thing he liked…
She reluctantly stooped to find some stones. She stopped in surprise when she came across a glittering stone that seemed vaguely familiar. It was a big, gaudy jewel, but Eliera had seen plenty of those before, and this one was much too large to be real. It was probably just some glass doodad that a peasant had dropped. Well, even if she couldn’t place where she’d seen the stone before, at least the bottom was flat, as if it had been set into a metal bed at some point. It was flatter than any other rock she’d seen, and if flatness was what counted, the jewel should’ve been perfect.
She pulled her arm back uncertainly, heart pounding. She had to do well. She had to get closer to Wourin, and marry him, and be rich even if Daddy’s position was taken away. Her whole fortune rested on this one, glittering jewel…
Eliera hurled the stone out over the pond, as hard as she could. It landed with a splash, and no sign of a skip, plunging straight toward the mud at the bottom of the pond.

I thought this was amazing! I was hooked the whole time. There weren't any boring parts, as far as I noticed. I loved your descriptions-I could clearly see what was happening in my head.

One thing that confused me, was the money that the governor stole. I didn't really get where he stole it from. Also, I think it would make it more interesting if you told us a little bit about how he stole it.

Overall, I really liked this story. I wish there was more!