Weekend Writing Warriors: Snippet 32- Braeden
It’s time for Weekend Writing Warriors! Every Sunday, a bunch of writers post 8-sentence snippets from their WIPs on their blogs. There’s a lot of reading, commenting and great writing. Click on the link to see the full list.’
Finally, a great many of my characters are converging on Kronfels for the trial of Father Landrus. Empress Teodora and her favorite bodyguard- Braeden- are already there when Kendryk and Gwynneth arrive with Father Landrus. They have a big ceremonial meeting in the Kronfels town square. Braeden is standing right behind Teodora, watching it all:
While Prince Kendryk dismounted, Teodora rose and came down one step. He met her, and without the least hesitation, knelt on the hard stone, took her hand, and kissed it. “Your Highness,” he said. “This is the greatest honor of my life.”
Teodora allowed a small smile, and lifted him to his feet, then nodded at Princess Gwynneth, who had sunk into a deep curtsy right behind Kendryk. “Please rise, all of you,” she said. “It is a great pleasure to meet you, Prince, after our pleasant correspondence.”
That pleasant correspondence had led to one of the Empress’s noisiest tantrums. It was said that she destroyed more palace porcelain on the night she received Kendryk’s letter than the barbarians did during the first sacking of Forli.
Previous snippets are here.
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Yes, yes, and more yes. What a delightful and delish bit.
Aw, thanks!
And here we see here minding her political manners! Love it!
She can behave herself for short periods of time.
Did you say you based her character on you, or are you Gwenneth? 🙂
Haha! Those two are the absolute farthest from me, but in Teodora’s case, I actively have her do and say the opposite of what I would normally do. It’s a way to get in touch with my dark side.
OMG! You have a DARK SIDE??? Now I’m very scared!
I’m as shocked as you are. (But less shocked than Ben, lol) No worries- I plan to keep it strictly on paper. Unless that proves to be …. unsatisfying.
LMBO!
“…destroyed more palace porcelain on the night she received Kendryk’s letter than the barbarians did during the first sacking of Forli.” Nice!
I think deceit in the name of political prudence has existed since the beginning of time…
Good luck with Camp Nano, Christina!
Thanks! Yes, even poor honest Kendryk will do a bit of fudging the truth before all of this is over.
Ah, politics! the art of lying through smiling teeth! 😀
I hope Kendryk is prepared for this . . .
Teodora is planning on having Kendryk for breakfast, so he’s being prepared with a pinch of salt, though personally, I prefer him with chocolate syrup, judiciously applied. 🙂
Did I miss what the letter said last week? I’m going to have to go back and read up. Very intriguing and visual, I really enjoyed the descriptions you used in their meeting. 🙂
Oh gosh, the letter happened months ago. I don’t even remember which snippet. This story is way too long!
Anyway, the letter was Kendryk politely requesting that Father Landrus be given a public trial, which is highly unusual. Teodora had a fit because he didn’t just turn him over to her like she thought he should.
Love it love it love it! Politics will almost always win out over honesty. Not sure whether it’s awesome or terrible, but it’s certainly believable. Great snippet as always! 🙂
Thanks! That does seem to be the way it works out, doesn’t it?
Having fun today with politics, subterfuge and all the joy it brings. Well done!
I’m finding writing about fake politics far more enjoyable than thinking about real politics. 🙂
Great excerpt, Christina! I love that last line! =D
Thanks!
Absolutely loved this. It started off so pleasant and respectful, though the last lines assured us that “correspondence” was anything but. Great work!
Everyone’s trying to play nice for as long as they can stand it. Which won’t be long.
Hahahaha! Love the way you described her temper tantrum. Another fabulous snippet.
Good description of her temper. It’s amazing that she did more damage than those barbarians.
She can smash a lot of teacups once she gets really worked up.
Teodora is an awesome character. I’m excited to see everyone gathered at one spot. Hope Kendryk makes it out in one piece!
I do enjoy writing her, and it was fun to finally get everyone together!
I just love it when pleasant correspondence gets a huge emotional response. What a diplomat/liar the empress is. I hope Kendryk knows better than to be fooled by her act. Great eight, Christina!
She’s a huge liar and everyone knows it. But since she’s empress, everyone has to put up with it.
She masks it well.
I love the way you make words not be what they seem. ‘Pleasant correspondence?’ Hah!
*grin* Love it! Such a great job describing what’s happening under the surface of their seemingly straightforward interaction.
She does lie pretty well, doesn’t she? Good for her, I guess.
Is it intentional that she uses ‘pleasure’ and ‘pleasant’ in the same sentence?
Lying has worked well for her so far, though she’s not used to pretending to be nice. Hence the limited “pleasant” vocabulary.
Empress Teodora sounds like me on my birthday after I realized I wasn’t getting what I wanted. LOL #Brat but I love how she played it cool like true royalty!! great snippet, Christina! the descriptions were very vivid!
Lol! She can behave herself for short periods of time. It makes her advisers really nervous!
Such a fascinating story and I LOVED the behind the scene glimpse of her real feelings, while the surface is all polite. Great snippet!
Hahaha! Great snippet! I love how they are both polite and even warm on the surface. Then, we deduce from the insight in her reaction that they are actually both hypocrites.