Snidbits

As a rare treat, (and since I don’t really have anything else to post, ) I’m going to post a series of pieces from stories that were never finished.  Most of them were going to be shorts, but the inspiration to write them sort of died.  Comment and tell me which one is your favorite, and whichever one gets the most votes… well, you’ll see.

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Robin of Locksley: (Part 2 for “An Outlaw in the Making”)

“Ouch!”  I stumbled back as Will’s wooden practice sword bounced off my right shoulder.  Will laughed,
 
“That’s three points for me.  What’s the matter Robin?  Have your reflexes decided to take a holiday?”

In answer I swung my own wooden weapon in two tight circles, and brought it down, Will blocked.  I spun his sword around, slid mine down to his hilt, then jerked it out of his hand.  It went flying to the side, landing with a clatter on the smooth stones.

“Touché,” I pointed my sword at his chest, a half grin spread across my face.  Will lifted his hands, raising them to the air.

“You win,” he slapped my arm, “Nicely done.”

“Here, here!” said Allen who sat leisurely in the shade. 

“Here, here yourself, why don’t you come here, and see how it’s done,” Will commented.

“No thank you Will.  I’m comfortable where I am.”  He crossed his legs, placed his hands behind his head and leaned against the stone pillar.

“Come on lazy!”  I jumped forward and thwacked Allen across the legs with me sword.

“Ouch!  Bad form Robin.”  Allen leaned forward and rubbed his legs.  I grinned,

“What’s the matter?  The great Allen-a-dale doesn’t want to challenge Robin of Locksley?”  I said pretending to pout.

“You can put it however you like,” Allen folded his arms across his chest.  “It’s too warm and I don’t feel like being bashed around at the moment.”

Love Conquers All

I flung my pencil on my desk then wadded up the paper I had been writing.

“That sounds like I’m a princess locked in a tower pinning for a knight in shining armor.”  I tossed it in the trash.  My best friend Alex looked up from her text book.    

“It’s better than what you said your last one sounded like.”

“Great, I’ve gone from an orphan Annie, to a love sick princess.”  I stood and walked to the window.  Outside my neighbor was mowing his lawn and the hum of the mower drifted up to my window.  Alex moved to a sitting position on my bed and chewed the tip of her pencil.

“At least you don’t have to turn it in until next week.  You have plenty of time to work on it.”

I went back to my desk and sat.  “It’s a dumb assignment anyway.  ‘Write a paper about what you think love is’”. I repeated what the teacher had said.  “Okay, not that easy.”

“Normally you don’t have a problem with writing assignments.  Mrs. Jones just mentions the words ‘writing assignment’ and your mind starts spinning with ideas.”

I shrugged.  My computer chimed, making me jump.

“What was that?”  Alex asked.

“I have an e-mail,” I pulled up my inbox.  “Figures.”

“What figures?”

“Mike and Elise can’t come tomorrow night.  They’ve already ‘made plans’”.

“Well,” Alex closed her text book.  “It was just a dinner.”

“Ya,” I scoffed, “Just a dinner to celebrate my eighteenth Birthday.  Forget it, if it’s not important, it’s not important.”

“I’m sure that’s not what they think.”

“It’s how they act,” I pulled out my history book and began studying.

*     *     *    

Alex threw her Algebra book on the floor, “Uh!  I hate math!”  I closed my own and looked over my shoulder at her. 

“It’s not that bad.”

“Really?  Only Einstein would know this one,” She cleared her throat.  “A girl runs at a constant speed for T minutes to run M km. How long, in seconds, will it take her to run N km if she runs at the same speed?  I’ve reread it so many times I’ve memorized it!” 

I laughed, “How about a break, I can’t wrap my mind around a problem either.”

“Fine by me,” she stuffed the text book and her doodle covered notebook into her backpack.

The Spider’s Lair

“’Come into my house’, said the spider to the fly,” Bran whispered as he stared into the gaping, dark hole that served as a caves entrance.  “Well this is one fly who would rather not.”

The cave mouth stared out at him, a black hole waiting to swallow him.  From deep within came a sound like a great beast breathing in its sleep.  Bran drew his sword and, one step at a time, crept into the black cave.

The King Raven Trilogy by Stephen Lawhead.

I felt inspired a few weeks ago and wrote this review.  I’m itching to make a blog post but I don’t have anything interesting to blog about, (yet) that wouldn’t take up a ton of time.  So here is the first in hopefully a long line of book reviews.  Enjoy! 

P.S. (1,021 words done on chapter 11 today!)

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The Story:  This trilogy is Robin Hood like you’ve never seen him before!  Filled with Celtic mysteries, action and romance this story is perfect for fantasy and history readers alike!              

Book One: Hood 

Bran ap Brychan, hair to the Welsh throne of Elfael, suddenly finds himself an outlaw in his own land.  Hunted by the Norman invaders Bran is forced into the Coed Cadw, an ancient forest of the Welsh borderlands seeped in mystery.  Joined by an old comrade, a wise sage, and a band of outcasts, Bran fights the injustice cased by the harsh Normans, fueling the people’s hopes for freedom and beginning his forest reign as King Raven.   

Book Two: Scarlet 

As the Normans slowly take control of Wales, Will Scarlet of Nottingham sets out to find none other than the famed archer, King Raven.  

Deep in the forest King Raven and his band of followers form a desperate plan to free themselves from the ruthless barons ruling their Welsh land.

  

Book Three: Tuck 

Friar Tuck, the faithful supporter and guiding hand behind King Raven joins Bran once again in his efforts to push the Norman’s out of Elfael.   As one last attempt to free Wales, Bran ignites a rebellion that quickly spreads like wild fire through the Welsh valleys.  Now, forced to marshal his own army in defense, King William the Red marches on Elfael.  What will be the outcome?

 

 Strengths:  From the very beginning you feel part of the characters and what they fight for.  Bran is a very interesting hero in many ways; you care and relate to him on a human level, but yet he is rather unpredictable and therefore quite intriguing.  The way Stephen Lawhead incorporates the Robin Hood legend in the stories is very well done.  What he has created is so believable you can’t help but think, “This is the real Robin Hood.”

Weaknesses:   As for weaknesses, I would say there isn’t any.

Spiritual Elements:   Bran’s mentor, a Welsh oracle (or Banfaith,) named Angharad, sings songs to the “Creator” and often meditates to determine or “see” what the future may hold.  In some ways, her “talents” hint to magic, but her songs of praise and longing to the “Redeemer”, “Son of Glory” and “Jesu”, speak of a different power.  (I will note that her role as Banfaith is of Druid ancestry and she does have special “powers” of healing and foresight, but whether or not they originate from magic or are divine gifts is questionable.)       

FYIs: (There are a few uses of the “B” word.)   This book is not for young readers.  There are a few bloody parts and Bran, when in King Raven guise, is quite frightening.   

Recommendation:   Personally, I loved these books and even own them.  All in all they are great action adventure novels, the characters pull you into the tale with them and the story keeps you turning page after page.  If you love Robin Hood, you will love these books, if you love fantasy, you will loves these books, if you love Historical Fiction, you will love these books, or, if you just love a great read, pick of the King Raven Trilogy by Stephen Lawhead.

An Outlaw in the Making

Hello there!  This is a short I wrote for a writing contest several months ago.  (It won second place!) 

Please read and enjoy. =) 

I sighted down the shaft of my arrow, crouching in the forest foliage, hardly daring to breathe as a deer slowly made its way into my target. My cheek twitching in nervous anticipation, I got ready to release the arrow. Twang! I let fly the shaft. In a matter of seconds it hit home and the deer fell. I rushed from my hiding place to the fallen animal, smiling to myself, proud of my steady hand.
     “There you have it Will,” I said turning to my man servant. “Will?” He wasn’t behind me as I had thought. Blast! I must have concentrated so hard on my tracking that I had failed to make sure he was still following me! I glanced around the trees, but he was nowhere in sight. Grumbling to myself I pulled my arrow from the deer and slung the beast onto my shoulders.

                    *                        *                            *                              *                               *                                  *                                *

     “Will, where have you gotten to?” I thought when I found the road but no Will. Just then the sound of horses could be heard coming up the road. A second or two later a carriage drawn by four horses came into view. I stepped further over to the tree line and out of the way of the pounding hooves. The carriage appeared to be passing me when the passenger suddenly called out to the driver and the vehicle stopped. A footman stepped down from the back, came round to the side and opened the door. A tall man with thick black hair and a curly beard to match marched out. His clothes were lavishly adorned and he eyed me with a pompous indifference.
     “Good day to you my lord.” I said, bowing slightly. “I seemed to have misplaced my man servant; you wouldn’t have seen him up the road would you?”
     “I wouldn’t have noticed him if I had.” The man said indignantly. “Have you been informed boy, that it is against the law to hunt deer in these woods?”
     “Really?” I said, “Then what, if I may ask, is that?” I pointed with my bow at a very large buck strapped to the carriage.
     The man’s eyes blazed. “That boy, is for the prince’s table.”
     “Then it stands to reason that this deer is mine. For if the prince feeds off the deer in these woods it makes no difference if his subjects do as well.”
     “That is where you’d be wrong.” He gave me a curious look. “You’re that young Earl of Huntingdon aren’t you?”
     “Yes my lord.”
     “I wonder why you did not follow the King on the Crusade as your father did.”
     “I would have my lord, but they claimed I was too young.”
     He scratched his chin. “I could change that.”
     I smiled, “You shan’t get rid of me that easily, and seeing how my father was killed at the very gates of Jerusalem, I have no desire to follow in his footsteps, so to speak.”
     “I suppose you got your haughty tongue from him.”
    “No, that would be attributed to my mother, God rest her soul.”
     He was about to reply but was cut off by a great racket in the forest. My smile widened as Will came crashing through the trees onto the road.
     “There you are!” He exclaimed upon seeing me. “I’ve had quite the time trying to catch up. You really need to…” He stopped, finally taking notice of whom I was with.
     “Glad you found me Will. Now if you will excuse me, my lord, we must be going.”
     “How old are you lad,” he asked as I turned away.
     “Seventeen, and a man at that,” I said holding my head high.
     “Mighty young to be tangling yourself up in trouble, and what if the sheriff were to come after you?”
     “Let him come I say. I know what’s right and what’s wrong. If he doesn’t like it I dare him to find me.”
     “Be careful what you wish for lad,” he said stepping back into the carriage.
     As the carriage drove off Will laid his hand on my shoulder. “Mighty bold Robin, don’t you think?”
     I shifted the deer and grunted. “These are interesting times Will. Richard should never have left England. If it comes to the worst, they’ll never find me. I know every in and out of this forest. I could live here for years without a soul ever finding my hiding place.”
     “How about you just show me a few of these “ins and outs” on the way back to Locksley. I could stand for a few of your short cuts. My feet hurt and my stomach says it’s past time for supper. I’m sure Allen must be wondering what’s become of us by now,” he added looking up the road.
     Laughing, I led the way back into the trees. “I shall show you some of my tricks Will Scarlet, but,” I paused. “Not all of them.” Then as fast as I could with the deer on my back I raced off, with Will at my heels and filling the forest with laughter.