​Allison is seated on a bench off to one side of the palace main entrance when Natalia Burren comes in, followed by an unfamiliar young woman. Having been waiting for them, Allison stands and goes over.
“Her highness is occupied?” Natalia frowns slightly.
“Their highnesses are occupied,” Allison shrugs, “I wasn't told what's up. Just to be here to greet you.”
The woman nods to herself, “This is Felicity Obray,” Turning to the young woman behind her, Natalia continues, “This is Allison Galacia, who has been serving as Nerita's attendant since December, I believe.”
“Just before Christmas,” Allison confirms, “I've been asked to see you settled and oriented and ensure you have what you'll need.”
“Any idea how long the transition will be?” Natalia queries.
“I leave court for a while as of the second,” Allison grimaces, “Although I still haven't heard where I'm going.”
“So only a couple days.” Felicity nods to herself.
Allison shrugs, “The worst is navigating the palace.”
Natalia chuckles, addressing Felicity, “The rest of your belongings should arrive within the next twenty-four hours. Take care of yourself.”
Felicity nods, “Thank you.”
Natalia slips away.
Allison takes a deep breath, “Your quarters are this way.” She leads the other young woman out of the entrance. As they walk, she is aware of being studied.
“How'd you get stuck with the job?” Felicity speaks quietly.
“I'm one of the girls of Black Oak Court,” Allison chuckles, “Eight of us went through Experiment Redemption at Lake Prince. Have you met Nerita?”
“At Camp Streton,” Felicity nods, “I didn't know her well. But I also didn't want to go to Chancellor Hall with the rest of my group.”
“For a contract?” Allison raises an eyebrow.
Felicity shakes her head, “We lost and added too many members while we were with Experiment Redemption. Those going to Chancellor Hall are going to be trained as Society employees. I didn't really want to leave the east continent and Natalia said there was a position here for me.”
“Well, once you've had a chance to look around your rooms, I'll give you a tour and explain as much as I can.”
“Does Nerita still have the tiger?”
“Yes. And he's only getting bigger.”
Felicity grimaces.
Allison unlocks a door and pushes it open, “The rooms around you are occupied by the other servants of the monarch's family. At the moment, that's his majesty and his highness's valets.”
Felicity glances around as she enters the room, “You don't live here?”
“I'm in the old south tower, under Duke Malin.”
Felicity pauses before turning a stunned expression towards Allison, “Duke Lige Malin?”
Allison laughs, “Father of High Lady Laine Malin. I'm guessing I'll also need to catch you up on current events.”
“I'm guessing,” Felicity returns to looking around, “You're talking about Nerita's best friend Laine?”
“Second-in-command of Black Oak Court,” Allison nods, “Whom you aren't likely to see here since she left court after Nerita married.”
Felicity takes a deep breath, “Do I have time for a shower?”
“How about I come back for you in an hour? I need to check on something anyway.”
“Thanks.”
Allison leaves Felicity to get settled in.

​Nerita slips inside her husband's study and settles into the chair beside his. He looks up and over, studying her.
“You look tired.”
“I'm eight months pregnant,” Nerita grimaces, “I'm always tired.”
“More than that,” Derian shakes his head, “Did Laine and the twins arrive?”
“They did. Along with Pelmonts... which's where I left Lucian and Clarita.”
Derian chuckles, “That should keep those two occupied and out of trouble for a while. Need a break?”
“From small children? Definitely.”
He nods to himself, “Kenyon's wondering if you've had any new applications from Experiment Redemption graduates for refugee migration.”
Nerita shakes his head, “Not in a year or so. I contacted Natalia... mostly to see if she was willing to share some statistics with me.”
“And...?”
“The vast majority are already here in Norsecount with no intention of going anywhere. A handful are employed by Society. A few of the last groups opted to remain in Arawn. None are left in Ouestlun, Midkingsen, or on the other continent who aren't Society employees.”
Derian slowly nods to himself, “Not exactly what Cemen Group had in mind, as I recall.”
Nerita shrugs, hands going to her much expanded middle, “I think we had enough of being stuck where we weren't wanted growing up.”
“Makes sense.”

Eventually, Chandra eases the vehicle into a parking garage and finds the spot she wants. They get out and Chandra locks the vehicle before ushering Heidi over to an elevator. Chandra summons it using an ID card, which she also uses to have the elevator take them to the floor they want.
“MSS security isn't bad,” Chandra observes lightly, “My ID only gets me into places I have reason to be.”
Heidi nods to herself.
The emerge into a brightly lit white corridor. Chandra leads the way around to the right and through a set of double doors into a dusty reception area.
“No receptionist?” Heidi raises an eyebrow
“He's been havin' issues findin' anyone he can work that well with,” Chandra chuckles. She knocks on the door of his office and he opens it immediately. Glancing over them, Kenyon steps into the reception area.
“You made it safely.”
Heidi nods, “I caught Natalia kinda at just the right time... got a personal escort across.”
“And that crew?”
Heidi shrugs, “Prob'ly finishing the contract. I got my pay... Maria made sure of that.”
Kenyon nods to himself, “Chandra told you I have a job you could do for me?”
Heidi nods, glancing around the reception area, “Receptionist?”
“Yeah,” He confirms, “I'm hoping you'll be willing to try it, at least. I've been doing it all myself, up 'til now.”
“On top of everything else?” Heidi looks skeptical.
Kenyon shrugs lightly, “It's been okay, so far.”
Chandra snorts, “Depends who you talk to.”
Kenyon ignores her, “You can take a look around. Nitra's pretty sure you can have it all sorted quickly.”
Heidi chuckles dryly, “How many people work outta here?”
“That's my office,” Kenyon points out the door, “This would be yours. There're two more offices around the other way. One's Varick and Chandra's. You'd meet the others pretty quick. Oh, and the office manager at the farm.”
Heidi nods, “Let me see what's here.”
Kenyon and Chandra head into his office while the teen pokes through the reception area and receptionist's desk. She knocks a layer of dust off the various surfaces, studies the telephone and office computer, and tries the chair.
“Gettin' settled or decidin' if you want the desk?”
Heidi glances over to see Caleb enter, “Could be a real entertainin' job.”
“Oh, it'll be that,” Caleb chuckles, “Is he in there?”
“Talkin' to Chandra.”
Nodding, Caleb sits in one of the chairs across from the desk. Heidi turns her attention to rifling through desk drawers. About the time she closes the last one, the office door opens and Chandra steps through. Caleb gets up and goes over to enter.
“Having fun?”
Heidi looks bemused, “He mentioned a farm?”
Chandra nods, “You'll hear about that eventually.” She goes over to sit until Caleb exits the office, followed by Kenyon.
“So...?” Caleb is asking.
“So I have one thing to deal with here,” Kenyon points him to a seat, “Then I can talk to people.”
Caleb nods and goes to sit while Kenyon turns to Heidi.
“What do you think?”
“I'll take it,” She stands, “I'm guessin' there's a whole lotta protocol.”
“Oh, there is,” Kenyon nods, “Let's do some paperwork now and I should have an ID card for you by tomorrow. Once we've done the paperwork, you can meet anyone else here before Chandra takes you to settle in.”
“Okay.” Heidi accompanies him into his office, to review and sign the papers he has ready for her. ​

​Just popping in to say I will be attempting Nanowrimo this year. Hopefully, by the end of November, I will have the first draft of a new Cemen Colony novel.
Good luck to any of you participating and please wish me the same as it's been a while since I won a Nano event.

It seems like no matter how many notes I write myself - whether for characters, storylines, events - inconsistencies and plot holes happen. Especially in the first draft of anything. This is kind of what first drafts are for. These things also a big reason for the editing, rewriting, and proofing processes. One of my pet peeves is published work containing noticeable inconsistencies or plot holes large enough to ride an elephant through. This includes works published through big publishing houses. No one is immune, trust me.
The real trick is catching these things and figuring out how to patch them up so the story actually makes sense to readers. Suspension of disbelief is important to fiction. Anything which disrupts it can lose a reader faster than anything else. That said, I do write my science fiction and fantasy on the premise of 'if I can make it sound plausible, it doesn't have to actually be possible.' I seriously doubt I'm the only one. This is the point of speculative fiction of any stripe.
Sometimes, fixing these things is as easy as a simple rewording of a sentence. I like those ones. But other times, it requires significant rewriting of anything from a paragraph to the entire story. This is a whole lot more work. And it may require a whole lot of mental gymnastics in order to create a plausible work around for the issue. I've had times where this included alterations to events, inclusion or exclusion of characters, the entire storyline going a completely new direction. But sometimes it also allows me to write myself back out of the corners I write myself into. There's always a trade off somewhere.

Wind Valley, July-10
Of the four seated around the table in the large, elegantly decorated dining room, only the three men are actually eating. The woman is sipping her rapidly cooling tea without touching the contents of her plate. The only sounds are of cutlery on dishes. Or at least until one of the men speaks.
“Did she take anything?”
A second man glances up at the speaker, “Her blade.”
“She'll be okay then.” The first man nods to himself.
“You really think so?” The woman frowns, clearly concerned.
“She needs some time and space...” The second man takes a deep breath, “Honestly, so do I.”
“Meaning?” The woman continues to frown.
“Will and I leave for Belstrand tomorrow. We'll be back when we're ready.”
“You'll look for her then?” The first man guesses.
“Long as I'm still able to track her down.”
“And if you can't for some reason?” The woman demands.
The first man shakes his head, “She won't be hard to find when she's needed.”
* * *
Settlement City, November-61
The wind blows scraps of garbage along the alley. Several people huddle down in ragged blankets and other scrap cloth. All of them shiver except for one petite form.
The figure is female, seemingly in her teens, with long, matted, blonde hair and eyes like the cold wind. She is wearing a loose, ragged t-shirt and ancient dark jeans. Her arms, feet, and head are bare. She crouches down against a brick wall, not seeming to see anything around her.
A ragged small child comes running into the alley and launches herself at one of the shivering heaps of blankets. Fabric wrapped arms emerge to pull the child inside the blankets. Moments later, giggling can be heard. Most of the cold faces around them break into smiles. The petite female rises to her feet and walks away.

The silent petite figure pauses at the alley entrance. Pale, cold eyes take in the scene in front of her.
Two ragged women are doing their best to shelter a small girl from a heavy set man wielding a large handgun. Both women are pleading and crying. The child is cowering and whimpering.
Before the petite female can react, the gun goes off twice and the women fall. The child bolts, narrowly evading the man's reach, right into the petite female. The small girl stumbles as the man lunges towards them. Suddenly, something silvery flickers through the air and he falls.
The petite female approaches the prone form and kicks it over. Reaching down, she retrieves a knife and wipes the blade clean on his clothes. The knife vanishes as the petite female turns to leave the alley.
The small girl is shaking as she slowly gets up. She eyes the petite female warily. Then her eyes go to the fallen women. Before she can start towards them, the petite female catches her. The small girl kicks and struggles, but cannot break free. The petite female holds on until the small girl falls limp.

The garbage littered alley looks nearly identical to any other alley in the neighbourhood except for a single symbol roughly scratched into the wall beside the far door. As they approach, the petite female checks on the small girl in her arms. The child is still unconscious. At the end, the petite female shifts the child enough to allow her to raise one hand to knock. A cold wind whips along the alley, redistributing the garbage and causing the unconscious child to shiver.
Finally, the door opens just enough to reveal a poorly dressed, irritated looking woman, who eyes those outside warily, “Wha' d'you want?”
The petite woman shifts the child to one arm so she can pull up the left sleeve of her t-shirt to reveal a tattoo. The woman in the doorway studies it with a rising eyebrow.
“That doesn't entitle either of you to anythin'. Not here,” She scowls, “Not when we can't even feed our own.”
The petite female raises a skeptical eyebrow, allowing her sleeve to drop and shifting her hold on the child again.
“What?” The other woman's scowl deepens, “Times 're hard an' the Church spares no quarter for those beneath their notice.”
Cold eyes study her critically, but the woman's expression only grows darker. Finally, the petite female shakes her head and turns away. As she walks the length of the alley, she can hear the door slam.

​No fiction today. Just my curiosity. Feel free to answer or not.