Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night(whichever one it is in your part of the world),
And it is Day 2 of reviewing this one. We shall see how far we get.
First Impression: Some character development again. And lovely way to build up the story. I love how this story balances its humor so well while allowing the seriousness of the situation to still shine through.
Before long he was wriggling out the window, silently shimmying down the rope in the early morning sun. Nobody was out yet as he jogged into town to use one of the privies on the communal row. Nobody was ever up this early in Resador, so he was never in danger of bumping into any fans of his act who might be bemused to see him in the simple linen vest and shorts he slept in.
This is a nice way to give this description of his normal routine.
His mother had told him before she went back up north that the spidetta was all they had left of his father. He hadn’t included this in the song, but the people who took his father had, according to his mother, been willing to negotiate once he returned his loot. But he hadn’t quite been ready to give up all the wonders he had found. Simone had ended up in his mother’s hands after she’d been allowed in to see him, and now she was Buck’s secret.
I'm sensing a great plot hidden underneath all of this.
Buck took a deep breath and cartwheeled through the front entrance of the palace. The thick strips of carpet that criss-crossed over the smooth marble of the lobby was soft under his hands, the dazzling chandeliers on the high ceiling whizzing past his vision. He landed on both feet at the same time, knees bent, then extended his arms into the air as he straightened them.
Good description there.
Pires picked up a handful of crinkling yellow sheets, one of them coming apart in her hands. “Oh, dammit. Well that was the New Beldon Courant. All these periodicals – oh, Buck, they’re a gold mine. This feud between the Queen and Prince Erson has been rumbling on for months – years!” She looked up, frowning. “You’re not cackling.”
So they've decided to exploit this only now? Seemed like this problem was something that had been plaguing them for a while.
“You heard?” Buck asked. What, did Simone snitch on me?
Wait the spider can talk or am I referring to the wrong Simone?
Buck stepped forward and collapsed down in the chair opposite Pires. “You’re the woman with the red stripes, standing up the back of the tavern last night. You came to my show.”
So no one else in the ground managed to recognize her?
“Ah, you were upset.” Pires waved a hand in the air. Buck tensed, wondering if that was going to be the end of the conversation, and swallowing the rest of what he’d been able to say. But then Pires said, “It’s understandable.”
I like the depth this gives to the Duchess as a character. She seems to be pretty nice so far.
Then Buck let go of her hand, moving his gaze down to the desk. He picked up one of the papers. “So, what are we up to today?”
Pires ran her fingers along the titles of some of the pages, exclaiming when she found the one she wanted. “Well, I am going to go meet Prince Erson and the Queen in the meeting hall. You are going to get caught up on your research starting with this.” She handed him the Morning Star broadsheet. “Then I’ll need you up in the meeting hall rafters within twenty minutes.”
Exciting plans. Well I am off to go read them.
And that's it.
Overall: Nice little chapter. Things are moving along at a really good pace and your bits of humor are perfectly on point.
As always take what you think was helpful and forget the rest.
Stay Safe
Harry
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