Camp NaNoWriMo // the final day

1 July 2017, 12:00 AM. I was sitting on a stack of cushions in front of the fireplace in our lounge room.

31 July 2017, (ALMOST) 12:00 AM. I am, once more, sitting in the exact same place and thinking philosophical thoughts.

You know actually I'm not thinking philosophical thoughts, I'm bouncing on cushions. But anyways.

July was a big month. I had my cousin staying over for the first week, I had my weekends booked with odds and ends, I had this and that and everything else on.

Plus Camp NaNo.

And yet right now after all the month is past (*glances at clock* technically it's still another little while yet, I guess. :P) I feel a sense of achievement. I feel like I lived this month. I feel like I took time to be with my younger siblings (and my older ones. :P I actually went to bed at a sane time once or twice so we could hang out before going to sleep). I feel like I did just the perfect thing that I needed to refocus my gaze and remind myself of why I spend hours at the computer everyday. Why I pour my heart and energy into words on a page.

It was a good month.


I actually have a story for you today (ironic, I know). At the end of May, I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to do for July Camp. I was going to write Steam Flight. I was going to have a goal of 70k. I was going to spend half of June plotting.

Haha. Ha.
Nope.

None of that actually ended up happening, but I'm so much happier with what I ended up doing. I wrote A Sprig of Green - the idea of which came into my head about three weeks before Camp. I had a goal of 40k. I started plotting three or four days before Camp, and finished with eleven hours to spare with a chapter-by-chapter plot. I then realised that my novel was actually a novella, and so I lowered my word count goal to 25k.

I had so. much. fun.

A Sprig of Green was one of the easiest books I've ever written. It was just the thing my brain needed to get out of the secret agents and criminals mode, and take a creative break to try out something else. It was an exciting adventure of writing. I finished the novella on day fifteen, at approximately 35k. And then I did something crazy.

I didn't start editing.

I meant to. I honestly planned to. But it didn't happen. And that's all cool by me. I really enjoyed being about to roll back on my insane word counts and hours of typing and delve into other things. I finished some critiquing projects (plus started and finished yet another). I learnt-ish how to do a flying jump kick (don't ask xD although if you do ask, you might get access to a secret youtube video featuring my gymnastics skills xP). I got one or two new movies to fangirl over (Homecoming and Guardians of the Galaxy yaaass). AND SO MUCH MORE that I won't bore you with telling. xD


At the end of one NaNo month, I automatically look toward the next. November. Actual real super duper 50k NaNoWriMo. Normally I would be starting to plan out "Ohh I'll write such-and-such project then" but right now. I have no clue at all. I don't know what'll happen between then and now. I don't know how far edits I'll be. I don't know what God has in store. But I'm excited. I'm excited to see everything that he's doing and I'm super hyped to see what he continues to do.

I have a pile of projects that are eagerly awaiting my attention, and I could do an entire blog series on what they are and what needs doing on all of them, but I'm not sure that would be terribly interesting after the first one or two. :) So currently, I'm just meandering along as God opens doors or closes them and I'm just so excited for next month. And I'm also excited to have all my wonderful blogging friends so I can bounce along and hear all the cool stuff about your life happenings too. :D

Only two minutes left. :P


What are you excited for in August?
Who's hoping to do NaNo this year??

Our Time to Fight Back // Guest Post

Today I have my epic cousin J. A. Penrose here with us! She's recently had a mission trip to Myanmar/Burma (google it if you don't know) and since she came back I've been blessed to have her ranting/rambling passionately at me (in her own sort of way). She is legit a real inspiration guys, you should hear her. (Plus we're like twins pretty much so yes.) (In my mum's words we're 'scarily similar.')

She's been doing a few articles on Wattpad -Evangelising and whatnot- and, after reading them for her, I decided to shove it in your faces invite her to guest post on my blog.

She agreed, we both forgot for a while, and then I remembered and here we are! Anyhow. I shall stop blathering on and hand over to her.

- - -

Thank you Jane for inviting me here! (I’m glad to know that you reckon that my change as a missionary is an improvement!)

Well, hi all. I’m Jess, Jane’s crazy/awesome/random cousin! I’ve lately gone crazy with Evangelism thanks to seeing awesome things through God! I’ve lately started a campaign on a writing site called Wattpad, to send encouragement to Christians to Evangelise, and Evangelism to non-Christians as a chance for the Holy Spirit to reach them! 

So, hopefully, after reading this first entry, you awesome guys will mention it to a few people and even look at the rest yourselves! *gasps of horror* You can also, if you feel called, start something like that yourselves! So, that’s it for the rambles from the author.
Enjoy!

“Let no man despise thy YOUTH, but be thou an example of the believers, 

in Word, in Conversation, in Charity, in Spirit, in Faith, in Purity.” 

1 Timothy 4:12 (KJV)

Most teenagers believe that they can do no more than go to school, university, a well paid job, and maybe get married one day. This is the best of what society feeds us. But there is so much more. So much more.

We as a generation need to step out and change. We are the generation of technology, of chaos, of terrorism, but we are also the generation of revolution. We can change the world with every day of our lives and everything we do, no matter where.

From a Christian perspective, this is even more clear. We can bring more people to God. It doesn't matter if you're a Catholic, Anglican, Baptist. It doesn't matter if your skill is rap, art, maths, simple friendliness. We have all been given great gifts from God and they are part of His image! We need to step out in faith and tell the world. We need to use our gifts. We can do so much. Don't just sit there and pray that someone would fix the world. You may be God's answer to your own prayer.

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (NIV)

Let us go out and tell the word. We have all got different gifts.
We need to Rise.

It is our time to fight back.

~ J. A. Penrose~

-read the rest of her to-be-continued series by clicking here-

//ABOUT

J. A. Penrose is a fifteen year old daughter of the most Holy God on High. She is an Australian writer, musician, and evangelist. Her passion is to use her life for Christ's work and His glory. To make a difference and spread some true Hope in this messy world. Check her out on Wattpad, Google+ and her blog and get to know her better!
(Quirky fact: she's a Tolkien obsessed fangirl and partially fluent in Quenya)

- - -

How are you using the gifts God has given you?
Isn't that song so cool??
(okay maybe it's just me though. :P)

Rejoice in the Day

Christmas is nigh. And with Christmas comes much busyness. Last minute organizing presents (if you're anything like me- cough cough), getting decorations up, music, family, finishing up school for the year.

But through all of that one thing should stand out.

Joy.

Christmas is to bring joy and hope and peace to the world. In the most amazing example of selfless, sacrificial love, God sent his Son to us -His enemies- to show us his awesomeness and to die to give us new life.

Life can be stressful, and Christmas too. But through that, can't we take the time to step out of the chaos and really realise what it is that we're celebrating?

For me, I love the chance of holidays to just pull out of the humdrum of day-to-day life and be reminded to marvel at the amazing and awesome things our God has done, and to give Him all the glory.

An internet friend of mine recently did a post on A Time of Peace and that was partially my inspiration for this. It made me start thinking about what I actually think of when I hear the word Christmas. Do I skip to thinking about food and fun and water fights and miss the all-so-obvious Christ? It seems so obvious, and yet it's still so easy to forget.

One of the Christmas songs I quite like is 'Born is the King (It's Christmas)' because the words are so true, and I feel that they really display how Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus. And to celebrate him joyfully.

It's a time to lift up your voice and sing His praise. A time to rejoice with great joy. Because even though life is tough, He is shaping us, and He is working in us. And we can't lose this fight.

Because in Christ the victory is already won.

And if that isn't something to rejoice about, I don't know what is.

So take the time to feel the joy! Pause in the busyness and thank our great God for all that He has done. 

Spare a moment or two, and REJOICE.

This year might've been tough at times, with its fair share of tears and fears and laughter. And maybe next year is looming ahead with deadlines and plans and things that are just so impossibly far beyond your control. And y'know what?

That's okay.

Because our God is bigger than anything we could ever face in this world. And He is holding our lives in His hands.

I can't think of a safer place to be.

Go spread some Christmas joy!

40 Hour Famine - Recap

I LIVED!!!

So. Now that we've gotten past that nice intro that makes everyone relieved because they wanted to hear the ending of my story, I can move onto the important facts.

I LIVED, AND I'M STILL ALIVE.

Would you believe it? Shocking, right?

I thought that I could share with all what it was like to not-eat for 40 hours. Several of these things are stuff I wrote while it was happening, other stuff is what I remembered and attempting to guess what time it was when it happened.


Friday 6:30 - we finished dinner. This is it. Ate extra lots so it would take longer before I was hungry again. Officially 'started.'

Fri 6:40- licked the burrito meat spoon (after considering the consequences: decided it was worth it anyway) and had to delay the official beginning back a couple of minutes.

Fri 8-9:30 - watched "Anastasia" (the bat thingy was HILARIOUS) then went to bed.

Saturday 7:00 - woke up feeling hungry. Well...that didn't take long. Lay around in bed for a while because...there wasn't much inspiration for getting up.

Sat 7:30 - sat at the breakfast bench and watched my little 2 year old sister complaining that she 'didn't like' her breakfast. At least she was allowed to eat it. Pretended that drinking a glassful of water was satisfying enough for breakfast.

Sat 8-9:30 - wrote some Monsieur Scattlocke for much shorter time than normal because the lack of breakfast was making me uninspired.

Sat 10:00 - my stomach rumbled. Woe is me. Disappeared into my bedroom and had a stomach grumbling party with Alice. It's amazing how weird it felt; when you're stomach growls, you naturally want to go eat something but...nope. I attempted to console myself with the fact that there was only a bit over 24 hours left. I discovered that 24 hours left is not a very consoling statement.

Sat 10:30-12:45 - (that time is just a rough guess) distracted myself rather successfully with reading my friend and cabin mate Savannah Perran's (more commonly known to some as Savvy) novella Killing Snow. It was cool. I mean, beta reading for friends is always cool, but it's extra cool when the book's also cool. Like, Snow White retelling with Snow as the villain? COOL. Assassins and mass murderers? DOUBLE COOL. Bards? Airships? Futuristic? I AM TOTALLY IN THIS FOR LIFE. So yeah, it was pretty cool.

Sat 1:00 - Alice dared to bring out the things I had been dreading: barley sugars. The only thing you're allowed to eat (presumably so the sugar gives you energy and stuff), and basically everyone you ask tell you they are horrible (and they're fluro orange *shudders*). I ate one, it wasn't as bad as I had expected. We decided that since we went this long without eating anything maybe we should have two each.

Sat 1:30 - may or may not have gone hyper from the sugar overload...

Sat 2-4:00 - wrote out my beta reader comments for Killing Snow. Didn't have enough time to send them off and had to start getting ready for a friend's 18th bonfire birthday party.

Sat 4:30 - Traveled the half an hour to the party. In the car, it was very strange. I sat still almost the entire time. I NEVER sit still. Normally: I sit, my legs are jiggling, fingers tapping. Then: NOTHING. I honestly just couldn't be bothered to move at all. It was very weird. I was sitting there just staring at myself because it almost felt like my body wasn't mine, At least I was still breathing and still alive. Always a plus.

Sat 5-8:30 - at bonfire party, trying to ignore my dear sister Clare's taunting as she eats chips really loud next to my ear, or flaunts past with a sausage and bread. Luckily Sarah (known to some as Ninja) was a nicer friend and actually half-starved with me just to be nice. I successfully made Zach (it was his party) wary most of the night because of my threatening hints that I might have a glitter bomb birthday present for him. Unfortunately I just couldn't have been bothered to do anything so it was nothing all along. He was still wary though, so it was definitely worth it. Sat talking stories with Sarah while Clare grinned at me as she ate pavlova. NOT FAIR. Pav is the best. (Also, random question for my American followers, do you know what pavlova is? (And I just discovered like, three seconds ago, that pavlova isn't actually an Aussie/NZ thing...uh, okay. Still, I want know if you eat it)) At least there was no pizza (although it had been threatened).

Sat 8:30-9:30 - got home very exhausted and tired. The strange thing was that it wasn't the normal tired. Not the 'my eyes are tired of seeing, my body has no more strength to do anything' but it was a 'I'M HUNGRYYY AND I COULDN'T BE BOTHERED TO MAKE MYSELF DO ANYTHING EXCEPT SLEEP' (or eat, but I wasn't about to just give up). Also, my brain was like a slug. Or there's the way I put it at the time...which was slightly...creative? This is something I wrote at nine to my cousin:

“My brain is mush. It don’t think proper. Won’t. Wow. I’m completely mad. And tired. 
Soup. That’s what my brain is. My brain is soup. 
Hmm...I like soup.
Soup is nice.
Even Broccoli soup, although I’ve never had any. 
Right now, broccoli soup would be just wonderful.
Or pumpkin.
Pumpkin soup is good.
My brain is also a bit like roast pumpkin.
It looks hard on the outside but inside = MUSHY”

Aaand I might've skipped out several of the more crazy lines...You get the picture though.

Sat 9:30-Sunday 7:00 - Slept. Or tried to at least. Getting to sleep was easy, but the rest of the night?...not so much. I woke up, felt hungry, rolled over, went back to sleep. An hour later: woke up, felt hungry, rolled over, went back to sleep. Eventually it was morning though and I could wake up properly and just feel hungry.

Sun 7:30-9:00 - Had a purposefully long shower to give everyone else time to eat breakfast while I was occupied, lay on the bedroom floor reading the bible. Alice and I both agreed wholeheartedly that we didn't need to eat any barley sugars. I knew they'd probably give me more energy and be good for me but I honestly could stand the thought of eating one. I was hungry for something savoury. At normal times, sweet isn't my thing, but when I'm hungry, definitely not. So we kept lying on the floor instead.
Clare came in and decided Alice and I looked completely dead just lying there. I disagreed. I felt uninspired to move, yeah, but dead? *checks breathing* Nope, I'm all good. 

After a while I decided to move and started playing guitar. I played around a bit and...the weirdest thing, when I stopped because it was time to go to church I had a bunch of energy. Nowhere near what I normal have, but it was there. For no reason. It was cool.

Sun 9:30-10:40 - church. It was one of those very rare weeks when our family wasn't actually on anything so we could just come. It was hungry, and surprisingly hard to sing while your stomach is in a perpetual state of almost-grumbling. 

Sun 10:45 - DONE! The first thing we ate was a cubic centimeter of bread for communion. I don't think it's ever tasted that good before. When the service was done we started eating through a packet of Saos (for those who don't know what these are *clears throat* *finds definition on google* Sao biscuits are a savoury cracker biscuit that was launched in Australia in 1906 blah blah blah, you get it now. They're pretty nice. Eating them with Vegemite is quite tasty.) and I'm pretty sure we only ate half the packet between us...

Sun 11:15 - Alice and I went shopping to buy a hot roast chicken or two for a celebratory lunch (YUM).

Sun 12-1:00 - got home, started making lunch. Ate lunch (YUMMY YUM). Basically: WE LIVED!


It was a really cool experience, and I can think of tons of reasons to do it. It made me actually think about all those other people who don't have the blessing of as much food as they want. It raised money toward supporting them (not my insane 5,000 goal that I honestly wasn't expecting to meet anyway. but enough to bless many lives). I realised how blessed I am, with all the things God has given me.

And naturally I had to bring this up: I'll now be able to write more accurately what it's like to actually be hungry. Which is cool.

So the big question, am I doing it again next time?

Hopefully.

My mum used to do it every year for quite a while, and I've always thought it was a kind of interesting idea. So I want to do it again, help out those people who are hungry and don't have the privileges of a hot chicken after 40 hours. It's not much, but it's something (uh, the helping out, not the hot chicken. THAT was something).

What about you? Do you want to give it a shot one year?

Now I can go back to jittering around, eating pizza (virtual and real) and hopefully sparing a thought for those who don't have such things.

This post was actually surprisingly longer than I expected. Hopefully it didn't drag on too much. :)

So, do you know what pavlova is?

(If so, have you eaten any?)

Jane Maree

Getting Hungry for a Reason

This. Will be strange. Just warning you...
Ahem...so I'm going to be doing World Vision's 40 hour Famine for the first ever time this year. It's gonna be...

Interesting.

And hungry.

But I'm still excited about it.

Soo...What's the 40 Hour Famine, Jane?

Glad you asked, Bob. The 40 hour famine is...uh, well...*clears throat* *opens parchment scroll* The 40 Hour Famine is where a bunch of people make a commitment to go without something important to them for 40 hours. Traditionally, it was food, but then a heap of other stuff came along. You set a target of how much money you want to raise. All the money goes to World Vision and they help peoples who are actually starving.

*re-furls scroll*

Oh, and it happens in August. This year it's the 19-21 of the month.

So yeah, check out their website for a better explanation.

And you're going without...?

Food.

Heh.

I know. This is the girl who eats an entire pizza herself (in one meal naturally). This is me. I eat a lot. My parents said that they'd be able to donate to me because they'd have saved so much money from me not eating for 40 hours.

Yeah, it'll be fun.

You said something about donation goals?

I did indeed, my friend, I did indeed. I had (and still don't) no clue how much to set so I just put five thousand. It sounds like a lot. So y'know what I need?

Uh...nope.

Nice try, Bob, except I think you do. I don't even own five thousand dollars so I need a hand with raising that money.

(It feels very weird to be saying this on my blog. Just...random. I don't know why. This is quite possibly the reason I'm pretending to talk to an imaginary person called Bob...)

So, if you feel like donating anything, even the smallest amount (five cents might be a bit pathetic, though Bob) I would feel massively excited. And even if you don't, that's all cool. Just raising awareness is half of the thing, and if you let your friends and family know about the random Aussie blogger who's doing this thing maybe they'll be called to donate.

Even a quick share of my page could do heaps.

There's a ton of people doing this, how am I meant to know who's you?

Ah, good point. Here's a link to my profile: 40HF 2016 Jane. Easy to tell who it is. The one with the dork as the profile pic. That's me.

Aaand that's probably about it. Again, if you want more info, totally check out the 40 Hour Famine Website, and maybe you could even give it a go! Personally, I'm really excited, and I think it's going to be a great experience. Hard, but great.

No food for 40 hours. And, even more seriously, no virtual pizza either. And trust me, that is serious indeed. Just ask any of my Camp NaNoWriMo cabin mates. They'll assure you that we feast on virtual pizza every day. Like...every day.

This, Bob, is serious.

See why it's such a big thing?

But I still think it'll be fun. I'll be able to walk around with my sister, Alice (did I mention she was doing it too? Click here for her page), and sing parodies of the Misty Mountains about food and not being able to eat...

Plus, I'll be able to describe what it feels like to be really hungry much better.

I know. Writers can get inspiration from everything.


Erm...Pretty sure I have nothing else to say now. Thank you to Bob for being here with us today! So...yeah.

Fair Winds!

Jane Maree

If Adventure Comes Your Way - Fragment Ten

Today marks the day we come to the last 'If Adventure Comes Your Way' for this year. I think it's kinda interesting that we finish with Fragment Ten, it almost looks like I planned it. How fascinating. Sorry to say, I'm taking the day off next Friday as we're not around for Christmas. We'll be leaving for my cousin's place on Tuesday. I'm really excited about it! I hope you don't mind that I purposefully finished with an extra big cliffhanger this time...Mwah ha ha, I am so evil sometimes. Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

Option three won the votes by a long shot (Now I'd better check back to make sure I didn't word it quite that way last time...ok, cool, I didn't, we can continue now) which is very nice of you all, 'cause that was also my favourite. Authors are so unfailingly cruel to their characters...

Ahem, anyway, here is your dreadfully-cliffhanger-ended-last-post-of-the-year-story. Read on!

Half a dozen men had appeared from behind the trees. “Surrender, or take the consequences,” one of the soldiers commanded sharply. My heart sank into the ground.

Four of the soldiers held crossbows and they were all pointed at us. The commander took a step forward. “Surrender!” he barked.

I raised my hands slowly, knowing resistance was pointless. Jack followed my lead.

The soldier gestured at us with his sword. “Take them,” he said shortly.

Three of the men stepped forward, one grabbed my arms roughly, twisting them behind my back, the other two went for Jack. He started struggling, but two grown men were too strong. 

“Just go with them, Jack,” I said, hopelessness filling my heart.

The leader of the soldiers regarded me with interest. “What is your name?” he asked. 

I raised my chin defiantly. “Lady Louise De Corlette,” I said.

Jack jerked backwards but the soldiers prevented any more movement. His wide brown eyes fixed on me were filled with shock. My mouth formed and ‘o’ as I remembered that to Jack I was supposedly Louise Conwell, some nobody of no importance. I shrugged inwardly, he was going to find out sometime.

“I see,” the soldier murmured, rubbing his chin. “Very interesting.”

“Shall we take them to the castle, Captain?” the man holding me asked.

The Captain nodded briskly. “Yes,” he sheathed his sword. “You two go behind in case one of these kids try make a break for it,” he instructed the remaining soldiers, then glanced at me. “I recommend they don’t try anything silly.”

My mind dulled with despair as we were marched through the ancient trees, the ground sloping upwards as we climbed the hills. Everything was going wrong, Adventures weren’t supposed to work like this. I sighed. 

Before we moved off the soldiers had bound my hands tightly with a thin cord, and I could barely feel my fingers. I wiggled them just to make sure they were still there.

After tramping through the forest for what seemed like hours the Captain of the soldiers paused and turned back to us. “I’ll go first,” he said. “Send the girl next, then you—” he gestured to the man behind me. “Then the boy can come, followed by the rest of you.”

The soldiers saluted and the Captain disappeared through a narrow gap. I was shoved forward and I gasped as I realised just how narrow the passage was. It was basically a crack between two massive boulders, only just wide enough for a man to pass through without his shoulders touching either side. 

I calmed my heart, trying to blank my mind. Forget the fear, my thoughts became a mantra, keep going, forget the fear. I stumbled out the other side, almost tripping as my foot caught on a stone. A hand grabbed my arm and steadied me. I looked up into the deep eyes of the Captain. Then I looked past him and caught my breath sharply.

A castle loomed ahead, seeming to glare down on everyone in the hidden vale. It was even bigger than the De Corlette Manor, and that was saying something, as far as I’d been aware only the King’s palace could claim that.

“Welcome to the Stronghold of Hacaz,” the Captain said.

I looked up at the distaste in his voice, but his expression revealed nothing.

Soon all the other soldiers and Jack had entered the valley, and the Captain formed us up again and led the way to the castle gates.

I shivered as the gates swung open for us, revealing the dark courtyard inside. Keep going, forget the fear, my mind chanted. The Captain halted us with a wave of his hand.

“Inform the Garrison Commander that we have two new prisoners,’ he commanded three of the soldiers. 

They saluted and turned away, jogging to a low building to the side. The Captain nodded at the remaining men. “Let’s get these kids into the prison.”

I stumbled along behind the Captain, wishing Maree was here. She’d know what to do to escape. I crashed right into the leading soldier when he stopped suddenly.

He steadied me and drew his knife. I cringed back but he gripped my arm firmly, turning me around. The knife sliced through the rope around my wrists. I looked up, dazed, what was going on?

The Captain gestured at the other two soldiers and they grinned, releasing Jack likewise.

“Listen,” the Captain said. “I have a daughter at home, about your age, and a son. I’m not going to be responsible for your capture.”

I stared. “You’re...you’re going to let us escape?”

The Captain shook his head. “No,” he said, and the small hope I felt instantly flickered out. “You are going to be rescued by a giant of a man and he is going to knock out us soldiers and we’ll never stand a chance.”

A smile crept onto my lips. “So when is this giant going to come?” I asked.

“Any time now,” the Captain said.

One of the soldiers behind Jack coughed. “Captain, we will be punished.”

“That is inevitable, Felix,” he replied. “What would you say to your wife if you had just locked up two young children? Or more, what would she say to you?”

The guard, Felix, shook his head. “I agree. I can already feel the folds of unconsciousness approaching.” With that the two soldiers collapsed to the floor.

Jack looked down and nudged one with his toe. “Wow, they’re good,” he murmured.

“You have to get away, there’s a door just down this corridor, first on the left. Hide in there until sundown and then leave through the servant’s staircase,” the Captain said, pointing the way. “Now go!”

The steady, even footsteps of a soldier echoed along the corridor behind us and Jack jumped into action, running down the hall. I sprinted after him, ducking into the side room right behind him. He closed the door quickly, leaning against it heavily.

“Phew,” he gasped. “That was interesting.”

“We’ve got to hide,” I panted, looking around the room desperately. “So they don’t find us before nightfall.”

“The bed!” Jack exclaimed, scrambling over to it. He glanced under it then looked up grimacing, “There’s only room for one, you hide there.”

I hesitated, but a commotion out in the corridor decided me, I ran lightly to the bed, dropping to my stomach and squeezing under it. I saw Jack’s feet disappear as he stepped into a large wardrobe.

The voices and shouting outside continued, and I hugged my arms around me, trying to stop my heart from jumping right out of my chest.

The door was thrown open, and a pair of gleaming boots came into view followed by several more. “We need to search the whole castle,” a voice said. “We can’t afford to lose prisoners, especially just before Lord Hacaz comes back.”

The boots came closer to my hiding place. I bit my lip and held my breath, forcing myself to remain dead still. The rustle of fabric sounded and I found myself staring into the eyes of a soldier. 

My heart froze, and our gaze locked. Then the soldier straightened. “I don’t think anyone’s in here, Sir,” his voice came from right above me. 

The reply came as a grunt and the soldiers walked out of the room. I released a shaking breath, there was another soldier who had some conscience, if this truly was the stronghold of Hacaz he obviously didn’t realise just how ‘loyal’ his troops were.

Hours passed slowly, soldiers hurried along the corridor, and loud voices called all through the castle, but no one came into the room again. Eventually the light began to grow dimmer and a door creaked softly. Jack’s shoes appeared, and I figured I could come out.

My cramped muscles protested to the movement and it was all I could do to keep silent as I struggled to my feet. Jack smiled tightly, his face showing the strain. I wondered if I looked as bad.

“C’mon,” he whispered, padding over to a nondescript door on the far side of the room. “Servants door.”

I nodded, slipping through the open door. Jack closed it behind him and then frowned at the dark corridor. “What way?”

I pointed. “That way,” I said, glad to know something useful. “There’ll be stairs going down to a kitchen just along there somewhere.”

“Well, lead on, m’lady,” Jack said, bowing slightly.

I sighed. “Just call me Louise,” I told him. “It doesn’t really matter.”

He lifted one shoulder in a half shrug and I headed off down the hall, listening carefully for any sign of other people.


The cold night air blew my hair back as we slipped out of the hot kitchen. There’d been so many servants, maids and cooks inside that no one had noticed our presence.

“Let’s get to the stables,” Jack breathed into my ear. 

I nodded and we shadowed along the wall, reaching the stables after a few minutes of tense sneaking. Jack pointed silently at the window and knelt, gesturing for me to use his leg as a step to climb inside.

I heaved myself into the musty dark of the stable, dropping onto the soft hay. Jack was beside me in a moment, peering into the darkness.

I caught sight of a ladder. “We could try the...loft,” I said quietly, remembering the correct word just in time.

Jack nodded. “Ladies first,” his whispered, holding the ladder steady. 

I mounted up the rungs, feeling the rough wood under my hands. Hay dust stirred as I reached the top, stepping from the ladder to the wooden boards of the loft floor. Jack coughed below me and I heard the nervous whicker of a horse somewhere in the stables.

The ladder quivered as Jack started climbing and I collapsed onto a pile of hay, instantly it ceased being so soft and turned scratchy. I was so tired I hardly cared. I was asleep before Jack reached the top of the ladder.


Sunlight streamed through a crack in the roof, right into my eyes. I blinked and sat up, wondering where I was. Memory returned and I almost slumped right back down again. A loud sound stopped me. Hammering and yelling came from just outside the stable.

Jack’s face appeared from the other side of a stack of hay. “Morning!” he said, his voice low but cheerful.

“Why so happy?” I asked, scratching my neck.

He shrugged. “I just have a feeling that today is going to be a good day,” he replied.

“What is that sound?” I asked as more shouts came to my ears.

Jack frowned. “I don’t know,” he said. “I didn’t want to climb down a look until you were up to agree that it was a good idea.”

‘Well, it’s not a good idea, but we’ll do it anyway,” I said, now thoroughly awake.

Jack peered carefully over the side of the ladder while I tried to get the hay out of my tangled hair. “I think it’s all clear,” he called softly before starting his descent.

I jumped down the last few rungs of the ladder, landing lightly on the hard floor. The nearest horse snorted curiously, tossing its head. I rubbed my hand along her neck, twisting my fingers in the flaxen mane. “You’re a pretty girl, aren’t you?” I murmured.

“Louise,” Jack’s voice was very different from the tone he’d used to say ‘good morning’. I spun around.

“What?” I asked, my heart quickening nervously.

He waved me to the window, his face grim. “I don’t think you’re going to like this,” he said.

I took a tentative look out the window and my eyes caught on the object in the middle of the courtyard that hadn’t been there the day before. A gallows. Crowds of soldiers and the castle’s inhabitants were milling around it, talking in loud voices.

A scuffle in the door of the castle caught my attention and I glanced that way. A group of soldiers were dragging someone towards the scaffold. As they drew closer I could see that the unfortunate person was struggling and kicking but to no avail.

I watching in horror as the prisoner was forced up the steps and onto the platform. A dark robed executioner stepped forward, but I wasn’t paying him much attention. 

Now that the prisoner was standing still and raise above all the soldiers I could see them clearly. And what I saw was a small figure, dressed in a muddy wool tunic and pants. Even from that distance and without the oversized leather jacket I recognised her.

“Maree.”

My friend was about to die.

***

1. “Okay,” I said numbly, my eyes still fixed on Maree. “You got a plan?”

2. A second figure climbed the stairs onto the platform, a taste of loathing rose to my mouth as I saw Hacaz again. Dead or given up, am I? I thought, you’re about to find out just how wrong you are. 

3. Maree raised her bound hands, and waved them above her head. “I beleeve I have the preevilege of last words?”

***

I hope I haven't caused any deaths by ending there. It was kinda mean, but I did already admit to that. Looking forward to seeing your votes and opinion on the story! It was another long one...2,191 words...I think I'm starting to make them longer because I've been writing these paragraph sum-up of the fragment (so I know what's happening and don't have to moan and groan so much) and I keep including too much in them. :) Oh well, I don't think any of you mind. See you in two weeks and...

Merry Christmas everyone!

My Life Right Now

   I've been trying to think of another blog post that I could do, when I saw that Clare had done a 'Life Right Now' post, I thought that maybe I should try do one as well, so here goes.

Seeing... the laptop screen, the trees outside the window, the birds in the trees... and that's about it.

Hearing..the annoying humming/groaning noise that the laptop makes, the washing-machine, birds and my brothers.

Smelling... the fresh air wafting in the window.

Tasting...ummm, not much really...

Wanting...to be able to get up to the first branch of a really, Really tall tree, (and really wide as well) so I can climb it.

Feeling...the cool breeze, and the inclination to go outside and climb trees.

Wishing... that it was lunchtime.

Thinking...What?! Thinking? I never do that, much too dangerous a pastime.

Laughing...at myself, I don't know why though...

Dreaming... nothing, well I appear to be awake, if I was asleep I wouldn't be typing this now.

Reading... Brotherband book four, Slaves of Socorro. Well actually I can't read it because Daddy is reading it to my sisters and me as a read aloud...oh, what a let-down.

Recovering...from not being allowed to read Brotherband, but it might take a while to fully recover.

Singing... well, I'm not singing anything, until Clare comes along and starts singing the dreaded song that is probably still stuck in her head. I can hear my 4 month old sister 'singing' though. It sounds so cute.

Wearing...as Clare said, I'm wearing clothes... a dark red velvet skirt and a pink shirt, and no I do not like the colour pink.

Preparing...for being starved, or famished, or something of the sort
   
   Horace said, 'Let's get on with it, Halt, I'm famished.' 
   'Are you ever not famished?; Halt asked, but Horace was already heading for the inn.
~ John Flanagan, Ranger's Apprentice 8, The Kings of Clonmel
   
   'Let's get something to eat. I'm starved,' Ulf said. 'You're always starved,' Wulf replied. 'That's because I'm older than you. I've been waiting longer for my dinner.'
~ John Flanagan, Brotherband 3, The Hunters 

Remembering...that I had forgotten something.

Trying...to work out what I had forgotten.

Questioning...Why, in the name Thomas, the TH isn't pronounced.

Fearing...that Clare will try and get 'Let it Go' stuck in my head.

Watching on YouTube... an El Cid video for school.

Hurting... does that mean am I hurting, or am I hurting something? Either way, no I'm not hurting, myself or anything else.

Calling...no one, I'm hopeless at phone calls, I can never think of things to say.

Working...on finishing my school work, except that I already have, so I can't really...

Emailing... my sister Alice. Usually I don't email, but she sent me a random one so I sent her a random one...it included a funny Olaf video.

Gluing...nothing

Cracking...my big chocolate Easter egg that I haven't eaten yet because I don't like chocolate.

Thanking...God for lovely sunny days, a wonderful family and good books.

Turning...my head,  my eyes, myself...

Realizing...that it is nearly 1 o'clock and I haven't had lunch yet...

Checking...that I saw the time right.

Organizing...myself to go get lunch.

Moving...myself.

Reckoning...that I am really starved now.

Needing...to eat lunch.

Anticipating...lunch...and reading more Slaves of Socorro. 

Regretting...that I didn't eat lunch before.

Loving...the look on your face as you read this.

Googling...the Random House Australia site so I can link to it and 
you can read the beginning of Slaves of Socorro if you want to.

Choosing...to write this.

Smiling...I am, because you are, and smiling is contagious.

~ Jane, Misty Maiden

Autumn Colours

   Now for my first blog about nature. Yesterday Clare showed me how to work her old camera. It works perfectly fine but now that Clare has a big, fancy, professional camera, her little one doesn't get used very much. Although they are no where near as good as Clare's, I took a few interesting photos today and yesterday, so I thought I'd share them with you. 

 

What a beautiful day

To celebrate and say,

That the Lord is good

And that we should

Praise Him in every way. ~Misty Maiden

'Let us Fear the Lord our God,who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.' ~Jeremiah 5:24 ESV

Oh the sun, and the breeze,

Singing, all through the trees,

A song from of lore

Like a wave on the shore

Of the wild, free seas. ~Misty Maiden

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. ~Psalm 1:3 ESV

There are always flowers for those that want to see them. ~Henri Matisse

In the photos above, I spent more time fixing up petals that were blown away by the wind than taking photos! So I hope you like them...

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~Albert Camus

I found a nice autumn-like leaf and a yellow and red nasturtium flower and I thought that it would make a good autumn photo; so I found a red-brown rock and put them all together.... and I think it looks quite good.

No, this is not a photo, it is a drawing of the autumn leaf I found.

“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? ~Job 12:7-9 ESV

Keep your face to the Son, and you cannot live in shadow...

God has made many beautiful things. As you look around today praise God for the blessings he has given to us.

~ Jane, Misty Maiden