Rabbit Rambles

For those who have read (or are going to read) my novel Seeker (The Unwoven Tapestry: Book 1), Meredith is a character you will meet. She's one of my favorites (though, honest, it's hard to choose) and this is a short scene about her: The stormy season was coming, but it didn’t yet smell like rain. The early sky was gray now, but promised to be a breathtaking blue and, as the sun rose, the grass under Meredith’s bare feet sparkled its dewdrops like cherished gems. She used to imagine the little blades of grass were like the fancy nobility, attending balls and dancing and showing off their prized jewelry. Older now, she smiled at the fond memories, no less sweetened in the time since. The hives were nearly awake but she knew they’d be drowsy for a little longer. This was her favorite hive – they all had their own personalities – and she felt they liked her as much as she liked them. The honey was always sweetest, and they rarely stung. Meredith’s family had raised bees for g...

I was impressed with Pietro’s quick action and confidence. He’d seemed out of his depth more than once, but his victory in having Renaud swear fealty was a feat worthy of a principe . I kept a wary eye on Sofia Elena and Paulo Angelo but neither seemed poised to take any brash actions. The Marchesa had yet to take her eyes from her husband, but I expected she wouldn’t make any serious decisions unless prompted, so I kept my attention on Renaud. When we started walking again, Pietro heading to his uncle Vito, no doubt to share his triumph, I saw a small portion of flowerbed had pushed outside of its barrier. His foot caught, he tripped. I reached as though I was close enough to catch him, but a sickening crack shattered the silence as Pietro’s head struck the stone bench where Vito sat. A bloody smear marked the stone and as I watched, a pool spread out from his motionless form. Vito stared down at him in shock. We all stared, aghast, stunned. Captain Collo sprinted forward an...

We watched the sun rise together – no one managed more than an hour or two of sleep between the sounds of guards patrolling, a doctor from the village arriving to examine Tiago’s healing wound, and the general high emotions of the evening. Prevot showed me the set of poisoned knives the Viscontessa Greco had given Captain Dumas, that she’d then claimed. Of the original half-dozen given to the Captain, there were four left – one was in my possession, all but forgotten, and the other was embedded in the assassin’s skull. When Captain Collo knocked and announced my uncle’s arrival, Prevot made sure I had my three-edged knife at hand. It seemed an unnecessary precaution to me, but when he returned the blade and I was able to show the twin, I understood that she’d wanted another layer to her insistence that I had killed the assassin, and not she. Still, she secreted two more of the blades on her person before we went down to break our night’s fast. Everyone had dark circles under the...

The medical ward in my family’s home was surprisingly large and smelled strongly of caustic antiseptic and herbs that made my nose itch. The doorway was large enough to accommodate a large-framed bed if necessary, and I saw a series of wardings. They made me frown in thought – Tiziano had never made mention of a defaulted warding against a shade’s return. I didn’t like it. If this had been common, I would never have had a chance to say proper goodbyes to Tiziano, and I’d only warded against Captain Dumas because we didn’t have the time or chance for proper accommodation. The wardings were around the ceiling of the room, carved into the stone, and large wards were lacquered into the wooden frames of each bed. Odd. Otherwise, it was like any other medical room I’d seen. Beds with clean linens, buckets of sand in every corner, trays of tools, a desk for any nurse or attending surgeon on duty. Prevot took the dessert and dismissed the servant before we entered, and then led the way to ...

The dining room was exquisite. Three crystal chandeliers hung over a shorter table than I would have expected, but the room could easily have fit one three times the size. Tall windows lined one wall, curtained in white to match the tablecloth. I saw intricate, gold and ruby embroidery around the edges of the cloth, and the chair cushions matched the deep, saturated red. Gold-dipped candlesticks were placed regularly, burning the expensive pure-white candles impossible to find far from a noble House – the common folk could never afford them, so chandlers didn’t bother trying to sell. There were countless small bowls around the table filled with nuts, dried fruits, vegetables, olives, lesser salts, garlic, small peppers, and others. I noticed there was no salt cellar. My mind flashed to Tiziano’s teaching and wondered at my uncle’s tactic – by leaving the main salt off the table, he refused to admit his allegiance to either Renaud or myself, as the cellar was always placed before ...

Eduardo had a servant placed a mile away to give warning of House Renaud’s arrival. We turned out onto the front steps to greet the incoming swarm of carriages; the children were perfectly behaved without any prompting that I could see as they stood before their father. I stood at his right hand. My aunt and Tiago were, of course, still abed to rest and recover and so Oscuro stood at Eduardo’s left, while Prevot stood to my right and a few others stood where they chose. Vito was not in attendance. The carriages stopped and a flock of servants from within and from the steps behind us rushed to care for the horses, remove luggage, assist the guests, and anything else that needed immediate doing. My eyes darted here and there – I wanted to see Renaud at last, with my own eyes, and take his measure in person. Finally, I saw him descend from the third carriage and join with his wife, who exited the second. They took hands and kissed each other’s cheeks, and I saw him take her hand throu...