#Past Life Beckum

[pixieinatalespin]

The Sacrifice

Happy Birthday to the beautiful soul who helped bring this all to life. 

His father’s old rocking chair moved gently back and forth and the motion had put her to sleep. She was safe in his arms. She was safe in the dilapidated house they’d made their own. Safe from the outside world and the wicked people who walked it.

But the gentle rocking and the comforting arms could not keep her mind from finding danger.

Zena cried out and twitched in her sleep.

 “We have to go back.”

The two men reined in their horses and looked back down the road the way they had come, down beyond the wagons that remained and the people that still lived. Charles and Matthew had to lead their people to safety now; their father was among the dead. Everything had changed and it had changed so fast.

The two brothers had been fighting when the first arrows had whistled through the air. Had it not been for Matthew’s good hearing, an arrow might have ended up in Charles’s back. They had been trying to beat each other senseless, trying to hurt each other over a young woman whom they were both in love with.

A young woman who had been left behind. One life to save many. And she had been the one brave enough to make the sacrifice. She had been the one to urge them all to go, to save themselves. She had been crying but resolute as they rode away.

“We have to get our people to safety first. Our duty comes before our hearts.”

“How can you say that!” Matthew snarled at his brother, ready to restart the earlier fight. “She is back there and in danger.”

“And what of these people? What of the children? What of Louisa’s Grandmama? Would Louisa forgive us if we left them to fend for themselves and returned to her?”

Matthew opened his mouth to argue but then he saw the pain in his brother’s face. This was eating Charles up as much as it was him.

“But what if they…”

Charles gritted his teeth and looked at the ground. He could not answer his brother’s question. He could not bear the thought. But he knew what was required of them, and what Louisa had begged them to do. He would not dishonour her bravery by breaking their promises to her.

“We need to keep moving, the sooner we reach the city and safety, the sooner we can go back,” Charles replied after the silence had stretched out.

“But you said…” Matthew looked sideways at his brother.

“I said we have to do our duty first, I said we had to get our people to safety first.”

“Oh,” Matthew grinned at his brother and then spurred his horse on, a wild excitement taking him to be done with duty and rescue their girl. “Well, come on, brother. Get a move on.”

 **

 Louisa had never thought herself to be a very brave person. She screamed at spiders and needed to light a candle before she could move her feet out from under the covers at night. Today she had found a bravery that she had not known, she had stood up to outlaws and negotiated freedom for her people.

Just two hours ago she had been sitting in the back of a wagon loaded with fabric, negotiating with David and Lea for some maroon lace for a dress she wished to make before the next moon festival. She wanted a pretty dress to wear in hopes that someone might finally find enough courage to make his intentions clear.

Now David and Lea were dead, their wagon emptied of all the expensive fabric they had planned to sell. The wagon had left filled with people. Many of the horses remaining with the outlaws, as Louisa did.

The brothers had not wanted to ride away and leave her behind. She had not wanted to be left behind but she had made the bargain and made them promise. In tears, she had made the two men promise to ride to safety with their people and leave her to her fate.

Because of it Louisa had found out she was brave. She had found out that she could be a hero like in the stories. Without sword or shield, she had stood up and become a hero. People lived because of her courage.

She would have been proud of herself if she had not been so terrified.

There were at least a dozen men in this gang of criminals. They were not the outlaws of noble heart, robbing the rich to give to the poor. These were terrible men, scar covered and violent, and each looked at her in such a way that her skin crawled. There was violence in their hunger, and Louisa had heard stories…

She knew what was to come and her mind raced as to how she could avoid it, or at least buy time. Not for rescue, she had sent the two men that might do so away. She hoped to buy time for her escape. Hours had passed already and there had been no chance to escape. The men squabbled over the spoils of their attack. They seemed to fight over everything.

That gave Louisa an idea.

A hand rubbed over her back and Louisa jumped, turning she found a gap-toothed man leering at her.

“Are you the leader of these men?” Louisa asked.

“Ha! He wishes!” Another man laughed loudly.

“So,” Louisa said turning to the laughing man. He reminded her of a rat with his long, thin nose. “Does that mean you are?”

“There are no leaders, we are all equal,” another man said. He looked at the others with an expression that made Louisa think that he thought he should be the leader.

“But if there is no leader, then who will I give myself to.”

“All of us!” Another of the men yelled with great enthusiasm and made a lewd gesture. The others all laughed.

“Oh, that won’t work. I want to give myself to the strongest of you, the leader. Only to the strongest will I give myself to willingly and with great passion. So, which one of you is the strongest?” Louisa moved to a tree stump that was clearly often used as a seat by the gang; the wood was smooth. She crossed her leg up over the other, her torn dress flashing her legs.

“I am the strongest!”

“No, it’s me!”

All the men began to yell each other down. Louisa pretended to be unconvinced by their words. Maybe even a little bored. Inside she was terrified and it was all she could do not to shake in her seat.

The yelling turned to pushing and shoving. Punches were thrown.

Louisa watched the men descend into their darker nature. Knives came out and Louisa nearly screamed as one man stabbed another.

They were trying to kill each other, and it was over her! It was insanity. Louisa took no pleasure in the fact nor in the way they were hurting each other. It was awful. But fewer men meant her chance of survival, of escape, increased.

“Whoever is left standing gets me. And to find out what I can do with my tongue.” Louisa called out the words and smiled, gesturing for the men to keep fighting. She had no trick with her tongue but she had heard one of the women say similar in the last town they had visited. The woman had been trying to get Matthew or Charles to purchase her services. Louisa had thrown an apple at the back of Charles’s head, as he was turned away from her. It had served to ruin any moment that might have been happening.

It was that woman that Louisa now pretended herself to be as she waited for a chance to run.

And then the moment came. There were no eyes on her. Four men lay dead and still the others fought on. Louisa slipped from the tree stump and around the trees, she found a horse. One of her own people’s horse. It knew her and knelt for her to get on. She straddled the horse easily in her torn skirt.

The men did not take long to realise she was gone.

Louisa had been born to people that rode, she had been riding since she was tiny and this stallion was young and strong. He moved swiftly taking them back to the road and hopefully to safety. Louisa rode as hard as she could, never looking back.

Perhaps she should have, she heard a rider approach suddenly. How he had appeared so quickly beside her she did not know. She glanced at him and did not recognise his face from the camp and the fight. They must have had others still out on the road waiting for new travellers. Louisa had not thought about that possibility.

The rider leapt from his horse and knocked Louisa from hers. They fell hard to the ground and rolled. The rough ground damaged clothing and skin. Louisa hurt everywhere. She felt as though all the breath had been knocked from her body and she could not draw more. She rolled around on the hard ground clutching her knees up to her chest as she tried to breathe.

More horses approached and Louisa knew her gamble had failed. Now they would not fight over her. Now they would not leave her free to escape. At least Louisa had tried.

Louisa rolled to her knees and tried to crawl away. The man from the horse grabbed her by the hair and pulled her backwards. He tugged her back beside her before striking her in the face. Louisa scratched his face in retaliation and punched him in the throat. He let go of her.

“Leave her alone!”

Louisa looked up and was surprised to see that two of the horsemen bearing down on them were coming from the wrong direction. She was more surprised to recognise them both. It had been Charles that had yelled out. He was in front of Matthew and he leapt from his horse while it was still moving.

A sound behind Louise made her turn back to her attacker. She found a pistol aimed at her face. She had never seen one up close before. None of their people were allowed to carry one.

“Wench!”

The man pulled something back on the weapon that Louisa could not see and then fired. A figure moved and the figure hit Louisa instead of the bullet.

Charles was struck in the shoulder and he lay against Louisa on the ground, bleeding. Matthew yelled as he leapt from his horse, and his blade ended the other man’s life before he could reload.

Louisa cried out. She did not know what she was saying. She cried out over and over, her arms flailing around…

 “Zena, Zena, wake up, wake up. It was just a dream.”

She opened her eyes, she was back at their sanctuary, no horses, no bad men. Just them. Zena snuggled in against his chest and sighed. “Charles will find us again, Matthew. I know he will.”

Her best friend looked at her strangely. He shook his head and cuddled her tightly. “You’re safe now, Zena. You’re safe.”

And she felt safe. The dream was fading away and there was nothing else but the rocking chair, the sound of the rain and his arms around her. She was safe now, she was always safe with him.

[dustedmagazine]

Aaron Beckum — Obsolete (Self Released)

Obsolete by Aaron Beckum

“Some people say I’m stuck back in time,” Aaron Beckum sings on the title track of Obsolete, his Bakersfield country/new age account of the ills visited upon his head by technology (broadly defined) and love (specifically defined). Without getting bogged down in the question of how much of an author’s life we can or should read into their work, let’s note that, though Beckum is preoccupied with tech and its discontents, he’s a filmmaker and Obsolete is a digital-only release. Sure, Obsolete was recorded to four-track tape and a laptop he assures us was broken, but at the very least, Beckum, songwriter, is more tech savvy than Beckum, character, lets on.

However, even if he’s putting us on, Beckum has learned the right lessons from classic country music: you can do a lot with three chords and there’s not a great distance between funny and sad. The best tracks on Obsolete are simple but not half-assed, and its best lyrics are clever but not self-satisfied. Many prolific country legends have released far worse songs than “Fallin’ Asleep at the Wheel,” and the very good “Credit Card Divorce” could have been a Buck Owens b-side, had he lived long enough to sing about “the lawyer on the internet [who] has three-and-a-half stars”. “Born Forlorn,” the first of Beckum’s renunciations of tech/love, is a real charmer if you’re at all sympathetic to Beckum’s cosmic schmuck schtick, and standout “Whiskey Pyramid” allows him the fantasy of escaping into the past and having Tutankhamen talking him through his post-breakup bender.

Back to Obsolete’s technophobia. There are plenty of good reasons to fear, fight and flee the rise of what social psychologist Shoshana Zuboff calls surveillance capitalism, and while we’ve all felt like saying, “I swear someday I’m gonna drop this phone in the toilet/and flush it out to the deep blue sea,” Beckum is misidentifying the source of his malaise. “Flowers Dead in the Vase” is a jeremiad against selfies which feels about five years late — stuck back in time, indeed. Saying that selfies are inherently narcissistic (more narcissistic than releasing an album? Discuss.) is a roundabout way to get at the real issue: his ex is having fun without him. It’s clever to the extent that you’re willing to put some distance between the author and the song, but either way it plays into that ol’ toxic binary: Men=authentic/Women=frivolous. Fear of new technology is at least as old as the invention of writing, but it’s a lot younger than reading your romantic turmoil onto the world.  

But I’m being hard on him. With his strained, sad-sack voice, burbling 1980s synths, and willingness to describe himself as a “particle beam,” it’s fair to assume that Obsolete is a largely conceptual lark. Taken in stride, it’s a fun one, and when Beckum (mostly) drops the bullshit on what should have been the closer, “Slow Road,” it’s affecting, too. Yes, self-released cosmic country album by a moonlighting filmmaker isn’t a confidence inspiring pitch, but the surprisingly competent Obsolete is a goofy, workmanlike, take on the sound of California country, from Bakersfield to Esalen.  

Isaac Olson

[a-v-a-a-d-0-r-e-blog]

Sportsbook

02/05/2012 - Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Brady set a Super Bowl record for consecutive completions and threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez that helped the Patriots take a 17-15 lead over the Giants after three quarters.

Brady's 16th straight completion going back to the first half found Hernandez across the middle and the second-year tight end broke a tackle by safety Deon Grant to get into the end zone.

After completing his final 11 passes in the first half -- including 10 on a 96-yard touchdown drive that tied a Super Bowl record -- Brady was 5-for-5 on the 79-yard drive that opened the third quarter.

Brady's 16 straight completions tied his own postseason record and broke the Super Bowl record of his idol, Joe Montana, during Super Bowl XXIV in 1990. Brady's 16 postseason wins are tied with Montana for most playoffs victories by a quarterback in NFL history.

Brady also passed Kurt Warner (1,156) to take the all-time lead in Super Bowl passing yards.

The Giants responded to Hernandez's touchdown with a 45-yard drive that ended in a 38-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes to get them within 17-12. The drive was set up by Jerrel Jernigan's 34-yard kickoff return.

New England went 3-and-out after that, with Giants defensive end Justin Tuck sacking Brady on third down and driving the quarterback's left shoulder into the turf.

New York, with good field position at the Patriots 48, turned around and kicked another field goal to get within 17-15. Tynes was good on the 33- yarder.

Earlier, Brady threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Danny Woodhead to end the 96-yard drive near the end of the first half and give the Patriots a 10-9 lead going into the break.

Brady was 10-for-10 on the drive and completed his last 11 passes in the half. The 96-yard drive, coming after the Patriots were pinned in deep by a punt, tied a record for the longest in Super Bowl history.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning was also completing most of his passes.

In fact, Manning started the game 9-for-9 and threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Victor Cruz to give New York a 9-0 lead after the first quarter.

New York also got two points on a safety when Brady was called for intentional grounding on New England's first play from scrimmage.

Brady's pass, under pressure, was thrown 45 yards downfield from the front of the end zone with no receiver in the vicinity and was the sixth safety in Super Bowl history.

Manning led the Giants on a 78-yard drive after that, which included a penalty on New England for too many men on the field that reversed a fumble by Cruz. The drive was capped by Manning's short pass to Cruz behind two defenders with 3:24 left in the quarter, making it 9-0.

The Giants ran 19 of the game's first 20 plays from scrimmage as New England had trouble getting out of its own way early.

But the Patriots started a 60-yard drive that spanned the first and second quarters and ended in Stephen Gostkowski's 29-yard field goal, pulling them within 9-3.

The game is a rematch of the 2008 Super Bowl, which the Giants won, 17-14, on Plaxico Burress' 13-yard touchdown catch with 35 seconds remaining. The game- winning drive, led by MVP Manning, included David Tyree's famous helmet catch.

The game is also a rematch from Week 9 this past season. Manning threw a TD pass in the final minute of that one to give the Giants a 24-20 win over the Patriots.

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<< Patriots lead Giants 10-9 after 1st half Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tom Brady's four-yard touchdown pass to Danny Woodhead ended a 96-yard drive and gave the Patriots a 10-9 lead over the Giants at halftime of the Super Bowl. Brady was 10-for-10 on the drive and comp

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Giants lose TEs Ballard, Beckum to injuries >>

Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Giants lost tight ends Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum to knee injuries in Sunday's Super Bowl against the Patriots. Ballard went down with a left knee injury early in the fourth quarter. Re

Again! Giants top Patriots to win Super Bowl >> Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eli Manning and the New York Giants did it again, beating the New England Patriots with another game-winning drive in the Super Bowl. Ahmad Bradshaw scored on a six-yard touchdown run with 57 seconds remai

Released Underwood reacts to Patriots' loss >> Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former New England Patriots wide receiver Tiquan Underwood, released a day before the Super Bowl, sent dozens of tweets during the game Sunday but didn't have much to say immediately after it was over.

Gronkowski's 1st catch comes on record-tying drive >> Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It took Rob Gronkowski nearly an entire half to make his first catch in the Super Bowl. The injured Patriot, who set the tight end record for receiving yards and touchdowns during the regular sea

Giants defensive line key to another run >> (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - At one point in his life, Jason Pierre-Paul didn't want to be a football player. But after a broken leg ended his basketball career in high school, Pierre-Paul made a decision that sent him on a path to winning a Super B

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[neil-rockind]

Court hears second day of Bar 7 shooting testimony, judge reduces bond (Press - CG Newspapers) | Court hears second day of Bar 7 shooting testimony, judge reduces bond SOUTHFIELD — Through tears, the family of brothers Alonzo Beckom and Carlos Beckum watched as Judge Shelia Johnson announced a bond reduction for the two men detained in connection with a shooting at a local bar. The brothers.... Post has been published on Rockind Law

New Post has been published on http://www.rockindlaw.com/court-hears-second-day-bar-7-shooting-testimony-judge-reduces-bond-press-cg-newspapers/

Court hears second day of Bar 7 shooting testimony, judge reduces bond (Press - CG Newspapers)

Court hears second day of Bar 7 shooting testimony, judge reduces bond SOUTHFIELD — Through tears, the family of brothers Alonzo Beckom and Carlos Beckum watched as Judge Shelia Johnson announced a bond reduction for the two men detained in connection with a shooting at a local bar.

The brothers appeared before Johnson March 22 in 46th District Court for a continuation of their probable cause hearing from Feb. 15.

Beckom, 21, and Beckum, 24, both of Detroit, were arrested Dec. 1 in connection with a Nov. 19 shooting at Bar 7, 24528 W. 12 Mile Road.

Police say the men are responsible for shooting three men during an altercation at the bar. The injuries were not considered life-threatening.

At their arraignment Dec. 2 in front of Magistrate Robin Dillard-Russaw, the men were charged with three counts of assault with intent to murder, three counts of felony firearm and one count of discharge of a firearm in an occupied building. Bond was set at $500,000 cash or surety during the arraignment.

On Feb. 15, Detective Michael Morrish, of the Southfield Police Department, was the first and only person to testify. Morrish told the court that he obtained surveillance video from inside and outside the establishment.

Morrish said he works as a digital forensic examiner at the Southfield Police Department, examining cellphones, computers and information systems for the department.

The surveillance video appears to show Beckom and Beckum entering the building, an altercation that leads to the shooting, the men firing the shots, people falling to the floor, and the two men exiting the building, Morrish said.

On March 22, the first witness to testify was a man who said he was shot at Bar 7 on Nov. 19.

The witness told the court that he was at the establishment, sitting by the door, waiting for a food order around 12:30 a.m.

The witness said he had only been there for about five minutes when he heard two or three shots coming from his left. He said he was knocked from his chair by the crowd fleeing from the shots, and he ran into the men’s bathroom.

In the bathroom, he said, he encountered two women who were uninjured. It was then that he realized he had been shot.

“I said, ‘I’m fine, but my leg hurts a little bit.’ I looked down and I saw a puddle of blood on my left foot,” the witness said.

The man was transported to a local hospital, where a bullet was removed from his upper rear thigh, he told the court.

Morrish was called to the stand to continue his testimony from the first hearing. He said he saw two of the men who had been involved in the altercation at the hospital to obtain their cellphones. Morrish told the court he was in the room with investigators while they were interviewing the men, but he did not participate in the interviews, nor did he take notes, make any type of recording or inspect their clothes.

The defense team revisited the surveillance video shown in court previously, although this time it was significantly slowed down.

Morrish said the video appears to show Beckom walking past a group of six men toward the bathroom. The men have a face-to-face interaction with Beckom, Morrish said, and on his way back from the bathroom, Beckom walks by the group with his back to them. Words are then again exchanged as a member of the group approaches Beckom, who starts to walk away.

As Beckom is walking, Morrish testified, the video appears to show one of the men approach Beckom, then a second man approaches. Punches are exchanged, and Beckom goes out of frame. Morrish said that during that time, Beckom could have presumably fallen to the ground.

When the first shot is fired, Beckom is not in frame, although Beckum is in frame. Gun smoke can be seen in the air.

Another segment of video appears to show Beckom shooting at the group while backing out toward the door.

Morrish said the video only shows Beckom pulling out a gun when he was attacked, and Beckum did not fire his gun until his brother was attacked. The time between the first punch and the shots fired was four seconds, Morrish said.

The defense team took issue with the fact that Morrish was present in the hospital room while officers were interviewing the men involved in the altercation.

Attorney David Rosenberg, representing Beckum, asked Morrish several times if he discussed the surveillance video with any of the investigators.

Morrish said he shared the video with investigators, but it was not discussed and he doesn’t know what the men told investigators.

Rosenberg grilled Morrish on whether the video was discussed with investigators in several questions, particularly the portion of the video where one of the men from the group involved appears to throw the first punch.

“You didn’t see a need to clue in the officers in charge of the case?” Rosenberg asked Morrish.

“The officer in charge of this case was given a copy of the video,” Morrish said.

“I’m asking if you discussed it with him, sir. That’s all I’m asking,” Rosenberg said.

“No, I didn’t,” Morrish testified.

The next witness to testify was one of the men involved in the altercation. The man said he was at Bar 7 the night of the shooting to meet up with “three or four friends there.”

The man told the court that he does not remember words being exchanged between his group and Beckom. He said he remembers being shot, however, and talking to people he was with, but he does not remember the specifics of the incident.

When asked about what was shown on the surveillance video, the man said he saw his friend “socking” Beckom, but he himself never hit Beckom.

The man said he then ran because he heard a gunshot. He was shot from behind, in the back of his upper thigh, he said.

“I didn’t pay much attention to what was going on because I was minding my own business,” he testified.

Johnson said that due to time constraints, the man is due back in court next month to finish his testimony. The man appeared agitated, and Johnson warned him against any outbursts.

During the hearing, defense attorney Neil Rockind, representing Beckom, asked Johnson if she would consider lowering the bond for his client.

Rockind argued, as he had during the men’s last hearing, that the brothers were acting in self-defense.

“I think of all the things I imagine about what the allegations were, and none of that has proved to be true. It’s not a case of two young guys who walk into a bar and shoot it up or some gangland dispute or some fight over a girl,” Rockind said. “The testimony is that Carlos Beckum never pulled out a gun and fired a gun until he saw his brother under attack. There could be some quarrel with how much under attack he was.”

Johnson warned the crowd against any outbursts, stating that offenders would have to pay a fine if they disrupted her courtroom.

Bond was dropped to $100,000, Johnson decided. She ordered the men to not have contact with any of the police officers involved in the case, any shooting victims or any Bar 7 employees.

The men will wear a tether through the duration of their trial, and they cannot use any drugs or alcohol, she said.

While the bond reduction was risky, Johnson said, she believes the public is not in immediate danger.

“I do have a concern because I have young men that are licensed to carry weapons that either reacted or overreacted — and that’s not clear. I don’t know what they might do if presented in another circumstance. I don’t think it’s of the level that I thought it was, so I’m going to change the bond,” Johnson said. “There’s no reason to believe they won’t appear. They have family support. They do have residences. They do have jobs.”

The hearing is slated to continue with more witness testimony at 1:30 p.m. April 19.

via CG Newspapers

[pixieinatalespin]

"Rosalyn!" The Captain called her name as she swept off the ship and down the gangplank onto the wharf. Rosalyn ignored him, her shoulders back and her chin high in the air. His first mate had insulted her and he had laughed. 

The smuggler captain had the audacity to laugh at her like that. It wasn't even that she was a princess, it was that he had found it amusing to see her feelings be hurt, his first mate making her seem like a common whore. 

"Rosalyn, please." He rushed after her as the heels of her shoes clicked on the wood sounding as angry as she was.

He reached her and grabbed for her hand and pulled her back to face him. "Unhand me, Captain. I have nothing more to say to you or your men. I will find my own way from here."

"I was paid to look after you and deliver you and I will."

"You need not mind yourself with me, Captain, I am capable of looking after myself and would prefer the company of those who do not view me as you and your men do."

"I do not..." Kyllian began and Rosalyn cut him off.

"You laughed and clapped Gavyn on the back." Rosalyn glared at Kyllian as she spoke, she could not care less what his first mate thought of her, the jokes hurt because she thought that perhaps there had been something between her and Kyllian. A few more pleasant encounters had led to an illusion however. Princess or not, Kyllian was only too happy to joke with his men about her prowess on her knees. "Now, if you will unhand I will be on my way, you may keep the gold my brother paid you."

"Stubborn bloody woman." Kyllian growled and did not release her hand. "It was a joke."

"At the expense of me as a person not to mention my honour. I had mind to let my guard down to you and now I see how you truly saw me. Our pleasant converse was just for you to...to...see how far you could slide down my throat." She was so angry and her voice shook, tears filled her eyes. She had been a fool to think to turn her affections on a common smuggler, a pirate. She knew better now. 

Though it hurt, she wrenched her hand free of Kyllian's grip and turned ready to leave the man behind forever. 

[pixieinatalespin]

Appearances

My master wasn’t a bad man. In fact he had once been a kind master until he met Nell. It was like the married woman had bewitched him and he changed to please her.

She was truly a witch and rightly the other rhyming slang to go with it. Married thought she was she had taken my master as her lover. To make this fact less obvious to all others, they set up a ruse that it was I who shared his bed. Truly the only time I spent in his bed was the nights when he was not in it. The other nights I spent on the floor.

Nell’s idea.

She said I was nothing more than a dog and she treated me as such. It was a nicer life when my Master Walt did not bring her home.

To keep with the illusion that I was Walt’s lover and pet I was not allowed much life of my own for fear I might give something away. And I was not allowed to even let my eyes linger on a man lest it reflect poorly on my master.

One time I did, and Nell had me beaten for it. Walt seem to try to intercede but what his dearest wanted, she always got.

***

Celeste was a servant girl to a wealthy land owner. Walt Henrickson. She had served him since childhood alongside her mother and father, God rest their souls.

Celeste was a hard worker and a sweet girl, never causing any fuss for her master. She did not know why Nell had picked her to be the one who would pretend to be his lover and live a life that seemed worse than the one she had been leading. Celeste did not know she was beautiful and that this was punishment for being pleasing to the eye and a temptation for her master. The way she lived and was treated degraded her, made her lesser in Walt’s eyes. No longer potential lover but lowly dredge.

Tonight Walt’s lady spent with her husband, now returned from travelling. Celeste sat in her bedding on the floor near the fire darning. She was grateful to be fed, clothed and warmed. Others were not so lucky.

“Are you happy, Celeste?” Walt asked suddenly. The question caught Celeste off guard and she was not certain of the correct response to the question. It could be a trick.

“Excuse me, Master?” Celeste gave him a puzzled look before averting her eyes once again. “I do not understand.”

“It is really quite simple, Celeste. Are you happy? Yes or no?”

“I’m frightfully grateful for all you’ve done for me, Master Walt.” Celeste replied quickly. “I eat so well when I dine in your rooms.”

“Yes, that is all well and good, but are you happy? Are you often found with a smile.”

“I do try to smile, to always have a smile for all I come in contact with.” Celeste replied truthfully.

“But do you wear a smile for happiness?”

“Might I ask why you ask, master?” Celeste replied to avoid answering the question.

“I was simply thinking of happiness. My dearest, Nelly is with another tonight and I find myself jealous knowing what shall transpire between them.”

“You are not happy, master?”

“No, and call me Walt, please, when we are alone.”

“You are displeased that she will be with her husband and share his bed.”

“I am more unhappy that she is not unhappy about it. She was almost cruel in her delight in making sure I knew and would be jealous.” Walt frowned. “Perhaps I should be taking pleasure for myself while she does. See how she likes it.”

Celeste froze working out just where he was going with this. “Please, master, Walt, she will not take kindly to such thing and it will not be you who bears her wrath.”

Walt did not argue though he scowled some. She was not sure whether it was for the truth or that Celeste had insulted his love.

“Very well. I will ask you to share my bed tonight but not to give me pleasure. I would ask you to warm my bed and myself.”

“Please, I am sure she will not like that…”

“You would disobey your master?” Walt growled and she felt should she continue to argue she would bear his wrath, that which he could not take out on lover or the husband.

She felt tears roll down her cheeks knowing that one way or another she was going to get beaten for this. She stood.

“First, go and fetch us food. I am hungry.”

“Yes, Master.” Celeste nodded her head and curtseyed before leaving the room to head for the kitchens. 

[pixieinatalespin]

The Princess and the Pirate - Another time, another life

“I do not wish you to go, Javersyn.” She threw her arms around her brother as they arrived at the gangplank of the ship. The clouds overheard and grown quite thick and large heavy drops began to fall, slowly at first but she felt each one hit her. “But I understand that you must.”

“I do not wish to leave you sister, and I am torn about it.” Javersyn crushed his sister in a bear hug and then stepped back and took her face in his hands to look at her. “Remember, your name is Rosalyn, only the captain has any hint of who you are and I did not tell him exactly, I believe he suspects but I gave him enough gold that he will not ask questions and he will not betray us.” He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Go on, go, and I will find you again.”

She nodded, tears in her eyes and then let her brother go, turning to walk up on board the ship without looking back. The rain started to fall harder as she stepped on board and was greeted by some members of the crew.

“Lookie here boys, the captain’s precious cargo has arrived and we can shove off.”

“I think I’d like to shove in, if you know what I mean.”

The crew crowded around her, most leering at the princess, unaware of her status and such things could get them beheaded under different circumstances. “I do not care to wish to know what you mean.” The princess, now known for this journey as Rosalyn, replied. She was digusted by the way some of them looked at her and she wondered just how safe she would be. “If you will take me to the captain, please.”

“Oh, I’ll take you all right, miss.” One of the men set a hand on her backside and squeezed it and she yelped. “Bad luck to have a woman on board unless she’s here for the crews enjoyment, whores be nothing but good luck.”

“Perhaps you should not think of me as a woman, then.” Rosalyn’s patience was at an end as he tried to cop a feel of her breast. She turned to face him and let her power rise within her. “Perhaps you should think of me as Goddess.” She lifted the large man from the deck with only the power of her mind, she lifted him high and pressed him to the mast. His crew mates started freaking out, there was yelling and some hooting in amusement. Rosalyn lifted ropes with her power and lashed him to the mast letting her magic fall away once he was secure.

“What in Poseidon’s name is this ruckus?” A roar came from further down the ship and everyone fell silent, Rosalyn expected it must be the captain but through the crew she couldn’t see him.

“She started it.” The man on the mask growled. “Just me and the boys having some fun.”

“That was not fun, that was assault and I would hold my tongue or maybe next time I’ll just rip it out.” Rosalyn growled, very much used to being in a position of power, well at least until her step mother had taken to having her locked in her room.