AloiseBrennan

Laughter filled the library. Gragri covered his mouth, trying not to disturb the silence, while Essie let hers peal out shamelessly. "You thought he looked like a withered snake?" Gragri whispered in entertainment. "I tried so hard not to think it, but then he made that ghastly hissing sound at his footman and I simply couldn't get rid of it!" She barely finished the sentence before beginning to laugh again. Gragri placed a hand over his chest and wheezed. He wiped his watery eyes as they sighed to calm down. "We're not staying on task very well, today, are we?" Essie said, still grinning. "Agreed, your Highness," Gragri replied, smiling. "B

"...he's a fool, his Highness. Ever since he survived that fever, I say he's been touched in the head." "Don't speak like that, Giselle, that talk will get you sacked!" "Well if he goes choosing any girl he wants, why not someone like me?" "Hush, now, or you will be the fool!" Unfamiliar voices came as if from across a large hall to Joseph's ears as he woke. He carefully opened his eyes and found that he lay slightly elevated on his back in a remarkably soft bed. His body was far too sore and heavy to move. The voices came from a pair of women some twenty yards away, making up other beds that were identical to his. Everything seemed very stra

Off stage Joseph found Sophie sitting on a couch near the stairwell to an upper balcony of the club. He'd just put away his gear in the bed of the truck Chase had borrowed from his uncle and was joining the crowd. She had her hands folded again, looking like a fish out of water versus the pool of girls in midriff-revealing shirts and mini skirts. The next band had barely begun playing, so she had her shoulders slightly hunched against the noise. Taking a seat beside her, Joseph leaned toward her. "So what did you think?" he asked above the sound. He hadn't had the chance to ask her earlier during the sound check a couple of hours ago. He hope

The library was quieter than usual. Essie wasn't sure what made it that way, because she was the only regular visitor. Still, an odd hush sat in the air, as if expecting to be interrupted at any moment. It annoyed her because it kept her from being able to focus on her book. If she couldn't distract herself with a book, she had almost nothing. Bindhmore, the librarian, was archiving, using the notes she had given him with all her corrections to dragonlore. He was especially confounded at how to begin, considering things were so out of order. Essie had offered to help, but he'd insisted that having her Highness working in the library was impro

I'm not afraid of heartbreak anymore If you wanna leave You'll find there's no lock on that door At least not from the inside Break it hmmm Break it hmmm I hate the dark but I keep moving on It sure sounds hard But it feels more like I'm on the run Weighed down by all my pride Break it hmmm Break it hmmm When I unlock a door and you board it up again How do I call you my friend Much less a lover In the end it's just another Lesson learned again I know I did all my best Hey These wasted summers turn into busy falls The leaves will change And I will continue to evolve Not letting go of grace Take it hmmm Take it hmmm My constitution s

I've been sleeping with my window open And you slip right on through You're not here and I'm not in your arms But dreamin's the best I can do When I walked through the snow and up the hill You couldn't follow me When I pulled the trigger and kicked up the gears It was too darn hard to see Well you got in my skin and tied your strings to my bones We sure never danced but these steps are getting old It's not your way to make me move, I do this all on my own It's a haven, it's a hell, it's all I ever want to know Too tall to reach when my heart's stuck underground I'd play my fiddle for the kids if I could Handle the sound Wh

You're just a monster of control Good thing I'm not scared You tried to make everything go your way Well I'm not a woman if I didn't come prepared Misery loves company and I sure gave you a lot You can't say I wasn't there Imagine my surprise when you show up at my door and say "I take back what I said." Oh yeah, that's right It won't work out at all You're just not good enough And I just should move on Oh yeah, that's right There's no life after love And you're not strong enough And you can't move on It was hard, it was a fight But I swear I saw sparks fly Did you think your theories would shoo me away When I knew that something more was l

You can blink ten thousand times But it will not rest you Nearly as well as allowing yourself to sleep And dream You may dip you toes as many times into the water But you will never be clean As you would be if you dove in And washed You could kiss every pair of lips And yet never understand The beauty of taking the time to fall in love With one person forever

Crossing 6th Street with his shoulders hunched against the rain, Joseph scuttled his way to shelter toward the Greyhound bus station. The odd marriage of brick with ceramic tile on the roof had always characterized this place in a way he resonated with. It didn't fit by others' standards, but it held things together and that's what mattered. He was relieved not to be stuck waiting outside and he only hoped that the bus wouldn't be late, like he'd heard it sometimes was. Stepping inside, he whipped his long bangs out of his eyes, the dirty blonde strands making a small smacking noise on his forehead. Compared to the dark storm outside, the yel

The carcass opened their eyes like a poorly cracked egg, membranes straining to separate, and a fear was unleashed in the air, ruining its still and stale appearance. Groaning from the inside out, the carcass staggered onto the polypropylene surface, dried of the dew the dreams had speckled it with half a cycle ago. The carcass made the feeblest of attempts to lift the monolithic weight of their daily disdain for mornings from their shoulders, but to no avail. The weight only threw them out of balance and teetered precious chemicals over the edge until they finally fell and shattered on the desert ground. Having been in this desert long enoug