JUST A LITTLE PECK (A TRENTLEY AND JYNNIA STORY)

Hey everyone! It's that time again: time for another Trentley and Jynnia story!

This month's featured fairy tale at The Fairy Tale Central is Sleeping Beauty! I was super excited to see them focusing on one of the bigger fairy tales, because though y'all know I've LOVED getting to know some obscure stories, I've been waiting for the big ones to start trickling in.

So, as usual, Arielle gave us another fantastic writing prompt on her blog Intuitive Writing Guide, and here it is!

I quite like this installment, if I do say so myself. It was tons of fun to write, and it's also the first time we're in the POV of one of the new additions: our princely brothers, Ali, Houssain, and Ahmed. I also decided that since the theme is Sleeping Beauty, I would introduce a new character, who's actually in Once Upon, my full-length Trentley and Jynnia book. In the book she has a bit of involvement with the Sleeping Beauty herself, but I'll say no more. Enjoy. ;D

Here's the previous story, if you missed it: Giants, Brothers, and Weasels

USUAL DISCLAIMER: These stories are written purely for fun, and if you read them all straight through you'd probably notice tons of inconsistencies and continuity errors. That's fine. Also, although they're about the same characters, these stories aren't attached to my novel about Trentley and Jynnia in any way. Like I said, just for fun!

JUST A LITTLE PECK

 "I sure am glad to be rid of that pest." Ahmed shook his head with disdain as they passed through the gates of Herek's kingdom and back out into the forest.
 "Yeah, I just hope he doesn't get cursed again anytime soon," Jynnia scoffed.

 Ahmed glanced down at her from atop his horse and smiled. "You're sure you don't want to ride?"
 "I'm sure. Thank you." Jynnia glanced over at Trentley, who looked a tad irritated but mostly amused as he walked beside her. Ahmed avoided his gaze.
 "So now it's on to the search for the jewels, yes?" Ali said. "Now that we've dumped off the baggage, it's time to look for a little magic."
 "Yup," Jynnia said. "Although I have to admit, most of the time it seems to find us rather than the other way around."
 Houssain stopped his horse and held up a hand. "Does anyone hear that?"
 They all stopped to listen. A faint, musical sound floated on the air. "What is that?" Jynnia whispered in wonder.
 "Somebody playing an instrument?" Trentley peered through the trees.
 "It doesn't sound like an instrument," Ali said. "It sounds like-"
 Jynnia gasped and pointed. "Look!"
 All eyes followed her finger, which pointed through the trees at a small person in the distance,  faintly illuminated and... flying.
 "What is that?" Jynnia whispered again.
 "It's a fairy," Ahmed said. "Haven't you ever heard of fairies?"
 "Of course I've heard of them, but I've never seen one!" Jynnia's wide eyes were fixed on the ethereal creature. She was flitting about here and there, her wings shedding glittering dust as she went. The closer she came, the louder the music grew. Ahmed smiled. He never tired of hearing the delicate music fairies made naturally when they flew.
 "Let's go say hi to her." Jynnia's voice rose as she sprinted forward.
 The fairy jerked her head up and came to a stop, hovering in the air.
 "Jynnia, I wouldn't-" Houssain warned.
 "Hey!" Jynnia said, darting forward through the brush. "We want to introduce ourselves!"
 Trentley followed her hesitantly. "Jynnia, I don't think she wants to-"
 The fairy gave a little shriek. Holding her up hand, she revealed a wand and waved it in a panic.
 "Jynnia!" Trentley shouted again, running forward and grabbing her shoulder.
 A glowing stream of glitter shot from the wand straight toward them with a quiet hiss. It hit them, exploding into the air like fireworks on impact, and they collapsed.
 The three brothers immediately dismounted their horses and ran over to Trentley and Jynnia, shouting their names.
 Ahmed reached them first. He looked up as he dropped to his knees beside Jynnia. The fairy was gone, leaving only a faint trail of glittering dust behind her.
 "Coward!" he yelled. Way to go. How manly of you, yelling at a fairy.
 "Are they all right?" Houssain and Ali joined him as he gently rolled Jynnia over onto her back.
 Her eyes were closed, but she looked peaceful. Almost as if she were... sleeping.
 Houssain moved Trentley to a more comfortable position. "A sleeping spell," he said. Ahmed glanced over to see that Trentley wore the same calm expression that Jynnia did.
 Ahmed looked down at Jynnia. She was breathing perfectly normally. It really did look as if she were just slumbering in her bed. "There's only one thing to do." He looked at Houssain and Ali with wide eyes.
 "Oh, brother," Houssain muttered, turning his head as if it hurt to look at him.
 "Are you kidding me, Ahmed?" Ali said. "You're going to kiss her?"
 "Well, yeah." Ahmed gave a small, hollow laugh. "I mean, we have to save her, right? And everyone knows that's the quickest way to break a sleeping spell."
 "You're right, we do have to save her. Here, let me." Ali took a step toward her.
 "No!" Ahmed leaned to block his view of her and held his hands up.
 Ali grinned.
 "I've got this," Ahmed said. His hands started to shake as he turned around. "I'll just... give her a little peck and there you have it, she'll wake up."
 "Okay, great, so which one of us has to kiss Trentley?" Houssain said.
 Ahmed rolled his eyes. "Once Jynnia's awake, she can do it." Unless my kiss makes her fall so madly in love with me that she doesn't want to.
 "Are you sure you should do this, Ahmed?" Houssain said. "With Trentley lying right there in front of you? Do you really think Trentley or Jynnia would want this?"
 "Someone has to do it!" Ahmed said defensively.
 He leaned over her, gulping. He didn't realize he was hesitating until Ali said,
 "What's the matter, never kissed a girl before?"
 Ahmed frowned at him. "No, it's just that she's..."
 "What?"
 Ali's mocking tone was making Ahmed want to punch him in the face.
 "Sleeping."
 "Oh. Yeah, I didn't realize. Thanks for the information."
 "Okay, why are you being like this?" Ahmed plopped down on his rear and looked at Ali like a pouting child.
 "Because I'm your big brother."
 "If you don't hurry up and wake her, I'm going to make Ali kiss Trentley so he can do it," Houssain said.
 Ali looked at him in alarm.
 "Okay." Ahmed shifted to face Jynnia again, taking a deep breath. He leaned down. He could swear he heard music.
 "She's coming back!" Ali said suddenly, startling Ahmed out of his trance. Jynnia? He hadn't even kissed her yet!
 But a quick glance up revealed the fairy, flying slowly but steadily toward them. Oh. So that's the music. Ahmed was a little disappointed he hadn't been having the magical moment he had thought.
 "Hello," Ali called, raising an arm in greeting.
 "Hello," the fairy replied. She stopped and hovered a safe distance away, crossing her arms. "I'm afraid I overreacted and put your friends in a sleeping spell."
 "We noticed," Ahmed huffed, throwing his hands in the air.
 "Could you kindly wake them up before my brother loses his senses or does something he'll regret?" Houssain requested.
 The fairy raised an eyebrow but didn't question him. "Of course." She flitted over Trentley and Jynnia and pulled her wand out, seemingly from nowhere. She waved it a bit, and the musical dust grew louder as it spiraled down from the wand over Trentley and Jynnia.
 Ahmed scooted back to avoid the dust. (What effect would an anti-sleeping spell have on someone who was awake?) Trentley and Jynnia began to stir.
 They sat up sleepily, rubbing their eyes. Jynnia blinked a few times. "What happened?" She then noticed the fairy a few feet away and gasped. "You!"
 The fairy frowned and backed away, but Jynnia said, "No, wait! It's so great to meet you! I've never met a fairy before. What's your name?" She scrambled to her feet as she talked, dusting herself off. The fact that she had been under a sleeping spell didn't seem to faze her.
 Ahmed caught Trentley's eye as he stood up, and quickly looked away. It felt as if Trentley could look right into his mind and see him about to kiss Jynnia. And although Trentley was quiet and mild-mannered, Ahmed had a feeling he would not be happy to find out that another guy had tried to lay a liplock on his girlfriend.
 "Winlie," the fairy said, relaxing.
 "It's so nice to meet you, Winlie!"
 Ahmed smiled at Jynnia's excitement. She is so adorable. Still, he had to point out, "Even though she just put a sleeping spell on you?"
 Winlie glared at him.
 "Well, she didn't mean to," Jynnia said. "I mean, she did, but, you know. I understand."
 "Thanks for waking us up," Trentley said, picking a leaf out of his hair.
 Jynnia nodded. She stared at Winlie for a few moments with a big grin on her face. "Did I mention I've never met a fairy before?"
 The corner of Winlie's mouth lifted ever so slightly. "Yeah, I think you did." She gave a quick little shake of her hand, and her wand disappeared. "Well, I really have to be going now. I don't like hanging around too close to the kingdom, you know." She nodded behind them.
 "Oh." Jynnia deflated. "You mean you can't join us for a while? We're just-"
 "Oh, no, I really should be getting back to my cottage," Winlie said again, waving a hand. "But thank you. It was nice meeting all of you, too." She nodded at Ahmed, Houssain, and Ali.
 Ahmed scowled. Yes. This had been such a lovely experience. So lovely.
 He was so busy sulking, he almost didn't even notice Winlie flying away.  "Ahmed? Are you all right?" Jynnia asked.
 He came back to the present and cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah. Sorry. I guess some of the fairy dust got on me and put me in a daze." That was stupid.
 "Well, you better snap out of it. You wouldn't want to kiss anything- er, miss anything." Ali grinned.
 Ahmed shot him a glare that he wished could actually kill.
 Then Trentley shot him a glare that was so suspicious Ahmed could practically see it dripping venom.
 "Um..." Jynnia cleared her throat. "So, has anybody seen any new jewels, or what?" 

OOPS THINGS JUST GOT AWKWARD. And the funny thing is, does Jynnia even know why it's awkward? Does Trentley? xD I don't even know to be honest  I'm honestly so chaotic

ANYWAY I hope you all enjoyed this installment of The Adventures of Trentley and Jynnia! I always have so much fun tying the prompts into the stories (and by that I mean coming up with a story completely around the prompt because I have absolutely no inkling of what the story will be until I see the prompt hehehe). And can you believe it's been over a year since I started doing these?? Wow. o.o

Hope you all have a lovely Father's Day weekend, and I'll see you next week! *gives out parting cookies*

SO! Do we feel sorry for Ahmed, or do we want to put him in timeout? (it could go either way, honestly) What do you think of Winlie? And do you think Trentley knows what Ahmed (almost) did? xD

GIANTS, BROTHERS, AND WEASELS (A TRENTLEY AND JYNNIA STORY)

IT'S HERE. Time for another Trentley and Jynnia story!

It's been a couple months since we left off with our two lovebirds, and, well, it wasn't so pretty last time we saw them. xD Here's the last one, if you missed it: Trouble Comes In Like A Lion

BUT we're back and you get to find out what happened! I'm not going to lie, this installment is kind of a mess and I don't even really know what I'm doing with these anymore. xD They're kind of cohesive with each other, but at the same time I'm pretty sure every one has a new continuity error.
I'm not overly concerned with it, though, because as I've said before, I'm just having fun!

If you somehow didn't know, every month The Fairy Tale Central features a new fairy tale, and a writing prompt inspired by that fairy tale goes up over on Intuitive Writing Guide. This month the fairy tale was Prince Ahmed and the Fairy Paribanou, and I'm pretty sure I say this every time but I think it's one of my new favorites! You should definitely go read it (the FTC girls have a fantastic commentary up that you need in your life), because it's GREAT. I love these brothers so much.

Anyway, here's this month's prompt:

Aaand let's get into the story! (If I'm being honest, this isn't even much a story in itself, and more of a continuation of the last story. But I think you guys will like it.) (also... my titles are getting more and more ridiculous. sorrynotsorry)

   GIANTS, BROTHERS, AND WEASELS

   

 Jynnia felt like a toothpick in the giant's hand as he dragged her down a long hallway in the giant-sized house on top of the mountain. She screamed and clawed at him, but she suspected that it felt like no more than being pecked at by a tiny canary.
 "Let me go!" she demanded, fuming inside at that blasted lion. Prince. Whatever he was. More of a weasel than a lion, that was for sure. I sure hope he's happy that the giant took away his curse in exchange for me. She huffed and took out her frustration in an aggressive bite right on the giant's knuckle.

 He flinched and looked down at her, but his expression held more surprise than pain. "Relax, lady," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you."
 "Then where are you taking me?" Jynnia yelled.
 He did not answer, but a moment later she heard voices echoing down the hall. Curious as to whether they might hint at her fate, she strained to listen.
 "Dad's sending all three of us away? Why?" It was a man's voice, smooth and rich.
 "Maybe he just wants some peace and quiet." A similar voice, though a little younger-sounding.
 "Hey, that camel incident was all your idea." A third voice, higher-pitched than the other two.
 "Yeah, but you two helped." The young voice was undeniably pouty.
 Jynnia couldn't see the owners of the three voices, but she could tell as they continued talking that they were growing nearer. Finally, the giant stopped, and now that she was not swinging in his arm, Jynnia tried to peer around his fist. He held her behind his back, and she growled in frustration.
 "Princes," the giant greeted.
 "Hello there!" The youngest voice, Jynnia thought. He sounded happy to see the giant, for whatever reason.
 "So you've discovered that the sultan has left," the giant said. "Well, truth be told this was not just a visit between two old friends."
 "That seems abundantly clear, given the fact that he has left his sons behind after said reunion." The higher voice.
 "Well, your highnesses, your father left me with a task. He knows what I am capable of, and he offered me exorbitant gifts to find you each... a wife."
 "What?!"
 Jynnia almost smiled at the brothers' unified cry of panic.
 Then as it sunk in what was happening, she began to panic.
 "And do you know what? On the first day, one has practically fallen into my lap." Jynnia felt herself moving again, and the giant swept her from behind his back and placed her gently in front of him.
 Her feet touched the floor, for which she had never been more grateful. She glared at the giant as she dusted herself off and straightened her dress. Then she turned around.
 Standing before her were three tall, dark, and handsome gentlemen, clad in royal Middle Eastern attire and staring at her in surprise. 

     * * *

 The sound of the window shattering made Trentley flinch, remembering the similar sound as the vase had crashed over his head just before he blacked out.
 Almost before all the glass had hit the floor, Trentley threw aside the broom and dove for the window. Climbing out, he realized it would have been smart to keep the broom long enough to knock the leftover broken glass from the windowpane, but he was already halfway out now. And there was no way he was turning back.
 He hit the ground running. Where was he going? He had no idea. But he had an innocent girl and a kidnapper to find.
 "Jynnia!" he yelled, though he doubted she was still within hearing range.
 His feet pounded down a path through the woods, hoping and praying that this was the one that Jynnia and Herek had taken- to wherever he was taking her.
 Trentley ran and ran. The sun was up now, filtering through the treetops and providing a little more light to guide him. He continued calling Jynnia's name, though he feared it did nothing but deplete his energy.
 He didn't know how long he had been running when he heard whistling coming down the path ahead of him. He skidded to a stop, regretting it when he had come to a standstill and the pain caught up to his numb legs. He leaned forward on his thighs and breathed heavily for a moment, squeezing his eyes closed as he tried to catch his breath. But he didn't allow himself to stay still for long.
 The whistling grew nearer, and Trentley stumbled toward it. "Hello?" he called. "Who's there?"
 The whistling stopped, and suddenly footsteps began rushing away. "Oh, no, you don't," Trentley muttered through ground teeth, catching a glimpse of a familiar figure running away through the trees. Trentley took off running again, shoving the pain aside to deal with later. He took a shortcut through the brush.
 When he caught up to the runaway, he grabbed his shoulders and whirled him around to face him. Sure enough, there was Prince Herek, looking very guilty and very cowardly. Trentley held him at arm's length and slammed a fist into his face.
 The prince collapsed, and Trentley stood directly over him and said, "I'm going to ask you this one time. Where. Is. Jynnia?"
 Herek rolled over, seeming to be weighing his options. But he tenderly touched his bruised cheek and swallowed. "The giant on the mountain," he said in a warbly voice. "He lifted the lion curse from me in exchange for her."
 "What?" Trentley fell to his knees, still kneeling over Herek, and yanked him a few inches off the ground by the front of his shirt. With his other hand he held his fist up again.
 "No!" Herek held his hands over his face.
 "Take me to her," Trentley said. "Now."
 Herek hesitated just a moment too long, and Trentley's brought his fist down. But instead of hitting him again, he grabbed his collar with both hands and pulled him up until thier faces were inches away. "She did nothing to you," Trentley growled. "She cleaned. Your. House. And this is the thanks you give her." He almost added something about a disgusting snake, but decided not to waste his words. "You will take me to this mountain now, and you won't even think of trying to run away."
 "And what will you do if I don't?"
 Trentley shook him. "Prince," he said mockingly. "You don't want to find out."

     * * *

 "Are you all right?" The prince with the higher voice, who was a tad shorter than the other two but looked to be between them in age, hurried forward and placed a caring hand on Jynnia's shoulder.
 "Yes, thank you," she said.
 "Why were you carrying this fair lady around like a rag doll?" the tallest brother, the first voice she had heard, said incredulously.
 "I was careful," the giant said. "And your father will be quite glad that I've already found one of your wives."
 "Absolutely not!" Jynnia said, turning to look at the giant specifically when she said it. These three men seemed kind, and she did not want to hurt their feelings. "I'm not a prize to be won, and besides that, I'm already taken." She turned back to look at the brothers, pleading for help with her eyes.
 The youngest brother gazed at her with what she feared was a bit too much fondness.
 "We won't force this girl to marry any of us," the shorter one said, looking up at the giant indignantly. "Surely this isn't what you think our father's conditions were."
 "Prince Ali, your father gave me one task: to find you wives. He gave me no conditions or restrictions. He also did not tell me that you were allowed to refuse."
 "Our father would never stand for this," the oldest one said, nodding toward Jynnia. "He wants us to find wives that will love us, not be forced to marry us."
 "Yes, well, there's a lot about your father I think you would be surprised to learn," the giant said. "And I don't believe he's giving you any choice. Now, it's up to you to decide who gets the girl."
 He turned and walked away.
 Jynnia looked at the brothers carefully. She didn't think she had reason to fear them, but she had been surprised before.
 "Hello," the one called Ali said. Now that the giant was gone, they could formally meet. "My name is Ali. These are my brothers."
 "I am Houssain," the oldest one said with a reserved smile and a nod.
 "And I'm Ahmed." The youngest's eyes glittered when he spoke to her.
 Jynnia smiled at them in spite of herself. "I'm Jynnia," she said, hesitating for a moment and then dropping into an awkward curtsy. Was that appropriate behavior for meeting royalty? "Would you please help me? I was taken from my boyfriend and forced to come with the giant in exchange for a curse to be lifted from some lousy prince."
 Ahmed's smile faltered when she mentioned Trentley.
 "Which prince?" Houssain asked, brows furrowed.
 "Prince Herek," Jynnia said, getting the name off her tongue as quickly as she could.
 "Oh, brother," Ahmed said, rolling his eyes.
 "You know him?" Jynnia watched their faces for reactions.
 "Yes, we've met him quite a few times," Ali said. "He's always getting himself in trouble. And other people, too."
 "Did he tell you how he got cursed?" Ahmed said.
 Jynnia shook her head.
 Ahmed chuckled as if that were no surprise. "Yeah, well, let's just say that you don't want to mess around with that giant."
 Jynnia smirked. "The same way you don't want to mess around with a camel?"
 Ahmed paled.
 "Okay, well, anyway, we've got to get you back to your boyfriend," Ali said. "But I suppose we'll have to sneak around Tellor."
 "The giant?" Jynnia asked.
 "Yeah, that's him. Let's get our horses and get this girl out of here," Houssain said.
 Jynnia couldn't help but smile. How lucky she was to have come across such kind people!
 She accompanied them to the end of the vast hallway, wondering where their horses were. It turned out that giants' rooms were the size of a small barn, and the horses were stabled behind the last door.
 "The only condition is we have to take them out the back door," Ahmed said with a grin, nodding toward the door on the wall outside the room. "Tellor doesn't want little surprises being tracked down his hallway."
 Jynnia laughed.
 The brothers saddled up and led the horses outside. Jynnia had to wonder if they were used to saddling their own horses; clearly there were no servants here, but these were princes, after all. But they seemed to be plenty comfortable doing their own work.
 Ali and Houssain mounted their horses, and they both turned to speak to Jynnia when Ahmed quickly said, "You can ride with me." He held his hand out and motioned for Jynnia to step up.
 Jynnia smiled hesitantly at him, but allowed him to help her onto the horse. He swung up behind her, and they began riding around the house.
 She began having second thoughts about riding with Ahmed when he seemed a little too comfortable putting his arms around her to hold the reins.
 "Hallo, Tellor!" Ali called to the giant when they rounded the house, as if they had not just seen him minutes before.
 The giant stood looking out over the valley with his arms crossed. Is that all he ever does? He turned and looked at them out of the corner of his eye but did not seem impressed by their presence.
 "We're taking the Lady Jynnia for a ride through the forest, to get acquainted with her and decide which of us she likes the best," Ali said jovially. Jynnia almost laughed.
 The giant didn't respond, and the brothers didn't seem surprised.
 They rode down the mountain a ways before speaking. "Where is your boyfriend?" Houssain asked Jynnia.
 "Herek locked him in his cottage," Jynnia said.
 "Then guide us to the cottage."

     * * *

Trentley made Herek walk in front of him, to lead the way and avoid any opportunities to escape. The sun was climbing high and Trentley could feel the sweat beginning to drench his forehead. "How much farther to the mountain?"
 "I don't know," Herek said, his voice almost monotone. Trentley couldn't help but grin. Herek acted as if he were a horse and Trentley had beat the spirit out of him. "Maybe another hour or so."
 A few minutes down the path, voices began drifting toward them. Trentley peered around Herek to see.
 "Oh, no, not them," Herek muttered.
 "What?" Trentley said.
 "Pests," Herek sighed.
 So whoever it was, they weren't pals with Herek. Therefore, they wouldn't help him escape.
 "Wait, that's not a pest," Trentley said, his heart stopping as he looked more carefully through the trees. "That's Jynnia!" He left Herek and ran toward the three approaching horses.
 "Trentley!" Jynnia, seated on one of the horses, threw her leg over its neck and slipped to the ground. The man riding behind her had to move his arms quickly to avoid being kicked.
 Trentley and Jynnia met each other on the path in an embrace. "What happened? Did he hurt you?" Trentley whispered into her hair.
 "No, he just dropped me off to a giant," Jynnia said. Her voice started out soft but rose in anger when she saw Herek behind him. "You cowardly pest!" She stormed toward him.
 Trentley was left standing awkwardly in front of the three men on their horses. He was certain that the youngest-looking one was eyeing him rather angrily. "Uh... Hi," Trentley said.
 "Hello," the broadest one said with a nod. "My name is Houssain, and these are my brothers, Ali and Ahmed."
 "They were so kind, Trentley!" Jynnia's voice came up behind him again. Apparently Herek was forgotten. "They helped me escape from the giant that that weasel gave me up to in exchange for taking his curse away." She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder but didn't look.
 Trentley looked to where she was gesturing. Herek was gone.
 Houssain followed his gaze and urged his horse forward into a gallop. "You're not getting away with this, Herek! Save yourself the trouble and get back here!"
 This situation was almost too humorous. Trentley and Jynnia looked at each other in amusement.
 "Thank you," Trentley said, turning back to Ali and Ahmed. "I'm so glad Jynnia was lucky enough to run into you."
 "No need to thank us for being decent human beings," Ali said good-naturedly. "Would you believe that giant expected us to force Jynnia to marry one of us?"
 "I'm glad that didn't happen, too," Trentley said with a sheepish laugh. "No offense."
 "Of course." Ali winked.
 Ahmed still looked rather perturbed.
 Shouts of protest began to grow near, and they all turned to see Houssain returning with Herek draped over his saddle. "I got him," he said. "What should we do with him?"
 "I suppose we should return him to his kingdom," Ahmed said. "But not without making an awful spectacle of how horrid he is."
 "Ahmed, what did I just say about being decent human beings?" Ali scolded.
 Ahmed cracked a grin. "Yeah, but this is Herek we're talking about."
 Ali glared at him but had no argument.
 "And where will you be off to with that jewel of yours?" Houssain asked, nodding to Jynnia's hand.
 She looked down. She had almost forgotten she was holding it. "Well... We'll be looking for the next one," she said, feeling safe to reveal their mission to the princes. "There are a lot of them out there and they're making... bad things happen."
 The brothers all glanced at each other. "Would you be averse to our joining you?" Ali asked. "We have an affinity for finding shiny things." He chuckled.
 "Yeah, and Dad apparently doesn't expect us back for a while," Ahmed mumbled.
 "And perhaps traveling in a group would be wise. It seems you run into trouble with just the two of you," Houssain added.
 "You have no idea," Trentley said with a quiet laugh.
 "What do you think?" Ali said.
 Jynnia glanced at Ahmed. He looked hopeful, yet still sulky. Then she looked at Trentley, who shrugged agreeably. "Okay," Jynnia said. "We'd love for you to travel with us. I guess we owe it to you, anyway, for what you did for me."
 Ali waved his hand dismissively.
 "All right, well..." Jynnia looked at all her new companions, then at Trentley. "Where to next?"
 "If you don't mind," Houssain said, nodding toward the limp prince draped over his horse. "We have this weasel to dump off before anything." He seemed amused to use Jynnia's word for Herek.
 Jynnia laughed. "Of course. Let's go."

You know how sometimes you write something and even though it's not meant to, the whole thing just feels super amusing?? Yeah, that's what happened here. Hence the ridiculous title. xD And that's also why I threw in the "this situation was almost too humorous" line. Everything just seemed to be running away from me like a chicken with its head cut off and I was fine with that. xD

Quick apology for not getting this up last week as planned! I know it's not a big deal, but I hate not posting just because I'm a huge procrastinator. xD It's a work in progress.

Well, that wraps it up! I hope you enjoyed this somewhat all-over-the-place installment of Trentley
and Jynnia's story. At least, I felt like it was all over the place? Maybe you'll see it differently. I hope so. xD

What do you think of the three brothers? Do you think they'll be good traveling companions for Trentley and Jynnia or do you think they'll get in more even more trouble now? xD 

THE FAIRY TALE TAG!

HELLO EVERYONE AND HAPPY SATURDAY. Today I'm bringing you a tag that I meant to do a long time ago but forgot about and, well, here we are.

Back in February, the ladies over at Fairy Tale Central created a super fun tag dedicated to, of course, fairy tales! And, yeah, I meant to do it in actual February but how about April instead? xD

It's kind of appropriate to do this right now, anyway, since I'm working on Once Upon and of course it has eeeeverything to do with fairy tales. So, let's just get into some fairy tale goodness!

What’s an obscure fairy tale you love?

I don't know how obscure this one is actually considered, but The Twelve Dancing Princesses is probably my favorite one that I've become familiar with recently!

If you got to choose Disney’s next animated princess movie, what fairy tale would you choose to be adapted?

I want to say The Twelve Dancing Princesses again, because that would be gorgeous. But I feel like Disney would take one or two of the princesses and focus on her instead of giving the spotlight to all the princesses, and that would be a disappointment. So I'll go with Snow White and Rose Red, another fairy tale I've come to love recently. Everyone loved Frozen, so I think Disney could definitely have a big hit with this sister story!

What is the first fairy tale you remember hearing when you were a child?

Oh, I have NO idea. xD Snow White or Cinderella, probably, because of the Disney movies. But as far as the first original fairy tale I read, I think it was The Little Mermaid. (that is considered a fairy tale, right??) I remember that specifically because I was so disturbed by how different it was from the Disney movie.

If you were to embark on a fairy tale quest, what necessities would you pack in your bag?

Well, obviously I need food and water. I'm definitely gonna need a book (or maybe two or three). I'll be taking a sword (although I'm not sure I could actually fit that in my bag...) and pretending I know how to use it.

I'm also gonna need a frying pan and no, it's not for cooking, thank you very much.

What’s your favorite fairy tale trope?

I... don't even know. So I'm going to go with animals-to-lovers (lol sounds like enemies-to-lovers), such as is the case in The Frog Prince, The Wounded Lion, and Snow White and Rose Red. (Although may I just say that I would MUCH rather my prince to start out as a bear or a lion than a frog.)

If you could be any fairy tale character archetype (the princess, the soldier, fairy godmother, talking animal, mischievous imp, wise old woman, evil stepmother/sister, etc.), who would you want to be and why?

I mean... why wouldn't I pick the princess?? Then I get the prince charming, the fairy godmother, AND the talking animals. I mean, you know, BEING the talking animal would be great, too, but everybody wants a talking animal in their lives, right??

And I would get some stunning dresses, too.

What animal/mythical creature would be your sidekick for fairy tale adventures? 

Well, I said in the Fantasy Month Blog Tag that I would take Tinker Bell with me, so that would definitely be an option. As far as an animal? I feel like I would want a talking fox or something. I don't know. Something cuddly that I can chat with. xD

What is your favorite historical era, and what fairy tale would you love to see in that setting?

World War II!! Oooh, what WWII fairy tale would I want to see...

OKAY OKAY OKAY. I just got this image in my head of a girl being held in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany and one of the German guards falling in love with her and turning into a soft, caring man and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST WWII RETELLING, PEOPLE. I really want to write this now. o.o

If you could change a fairy tale’s villain into a hero, who would you choose and why?

Ooh, what an interesting question. Maybe the Snow Queen? Because we all love Elsa, right?

Do you prefer fairy tales with happy endings or sad/tragic endings? why or why not?

I mean... who would prefer sad endings to happy endings? Of course I always love an ending that tugs at your heartstrings or, you know straight-up tears your heart out, but there has to be some kind of joy or hope at the end. Otherwise, what was even the point of the story? xD

This was such a fun tag! I'm not tagging anyone specific, but if you love fairy tales, definitely grab this one! :D I'll drop the questions below.

– What’s an obscure fairy tale you love?
– If you got to choose Disney’s next animated princess movie, what fairy tale would you choose to be adapted?
– What is the first fairy tale you remember hearing when you were a child?
– If you were to embark on a fairy tale quest, what necessities would you pack in your bag?
– What’s your favorite fairy tale trope?
– If you could be any fairy tale character archetype (the princess, the soldier, fairy godmother, talking animal, mischievous imp, wise old woman, evil stepmother/sister, etc.), who would you want to be and why?
– What animal/mythical creature would be your sidekick for fairy tale adventures?
– What is your favorite historical era, and what fairy tale would you love to see in that setting?
– If you could change a fairy tale’s villain into a hero, who would you choose and why?
– Do you prefer fairy tales with happy endings or sad/tragic endings? why or why not? 

Small writing update! I thought about doing another Camp update post today, but since I haven't finished yet, it wouldn't have been very exciting because I wrote an average of like 12 words for about five days in a row. xD BUT I'm back at it now and I'm almost done!! Aaand I'm off work this whole weekend. COVID cancelled some long-awaited plans but I can't even be mad about it because I now plan to finish my book and AAHHH this extra free time is just what I need. Wish me luck!!

What's your favorite fairy tale? Would you rather be the princess or the talking animal? Wrimos, how are these last days of Camp NaNoWriMo going for you? 

TROUBLE COMES IN LIKE A LION (THE WOUNDED LION FLASH FICTION!)

Hello everyone! EXCITING DAY TODAY because today I bring you another installment of THE ADVENTURES OF TRENTLEY AND JYNNIA. *confetti*

So, if you didn't know, every month there's a new writing prompt on Intuitive Writing Guide to go along with the featured fairy tale over at The Fairy Tale Central. (and if you don't know what FTC is, GO BURY YOURSELF IN ITS GOODNESS. RIGHT NOW.) This month the featured fairy tale is: THE WOUNDED LION!

I had NEVER heard of The Wounded Lion before. And if you haven't either, you need to go read it right now because it's one of my new favorites. The heroine is just so sweet and kind and, I mean, LIONS.

Buuut I digress. I'm excited to share with you the newest Trentley and Jynnia story, brought to you by the writing prompt of the month!

DISCLAIMER: If you've read my past Trentley and Jynnia stories, do nooot expect continuity or anything. xD These stories are all so vastly different, it'd be hard to stay consistent with only a couple weeks at the MOST to write them each month. I just write these for fun and your entertainment, so I don't focus too much on minor details (or major details, let's be honest xD).  (I do have a full-length book I'm working on about Trentley and Jynnia, which you may remember me talking about last NaNoWriMo. That's separate from these stories and is therefore not affected by the continuity or lack thereof. xD)

All right, here it is! (another disclaimer: I fully acknowledge how awful my titles for these stories are xD)

TROUBLE COMES IN LIKE A LION

 "Is that what I think it is?" Jynnia gasped and ran toward the woods.
 "Jynnia, wait!" I should know better by now than to try to slow her down. Trentley watched her running toward the forest, her dress flapping around her knees in the wind. Even a nice evening stroll couldn't go as planned, with her. He smiled as he walked toward her at a much slower pace, feeling a surge of love for the wild-hearted girl before him.
 "It's a cottage!" Jynnia threw the excited words over her shoulder.
 "Jynnia, might I remind you that last time you ran into the woods in a hurry, we got followed by a dwarf? And I got turned into a bear?"
 She stopped and grinned back at him.
 "And it was in the forest that you got turned into a frog." Trentley reached her and put his hands on his hips. "Bad things happen in the forest, Jynnia. Very bad things."
 Jynnia laughed. "Stop teasing. It's a cottage, Trentley. A cottage in the woods! I have to look at it!" She darted the last few yards into the trees.
 Trentley sighed but kept smiling and followed her.
 When he joined her again, she was peering in the window.
 "Jynnia!" Trentley said, amused. "You can't just peek in people's windows."
 "Nobody's in there," Jynnia said. She ran to the door and gently tried the knob. Trentley was about to say something about breaking into someone's house, but the door easily opened.
 "Yikes, it's a mess in here," Jynnia said, stepping inside. Trentley followed her.
 "Guess we'll have to clean it," Trentley said.
 Jynnia gasped. "That's a great idea!"
 "No-- Jynnia-- I was just--"
 But Jynnia had already flung the door wide open to let in the dim forest light and began work tidying up the one-room cottage. Trentley stood in the doorway watching her with a smile.
 "You're something, you know that?"
 "I had to!" Jynnia said, holding her hands out. She had an empty vase in one hand and a dirty pillow in the other, and a big smile on her face. "It reminded me of a fairy tale I read once."
 "Oh, boy," Trentley said under his breath, standing up straight.
 "Plus, won't it be so lovely when someone comes in here-- whether they live here or they just need a place to stay for the night-- and it's all neat and tidy? What a dream."
 "Exactly what fairy tale, Jynnia?"
 "Huh?" Jynnia looked up from sweeping the floor with a broom she'd found in the corner. "Oh, the one about the girl who finds a wounded lion in the woods and he turns out to be a handsome prince."
 "Jynnia, what if there's a jewel--"
 "Guess that makes you my handsome prince."
 "Jynnia, it's getting dark, maybe we should--"
 A growl, loud and agonized, silenced them both. Jynnia shrieked.
 Trentley spun around.
 For a few moments there was nothing. Then, limping toward them through the trees, was a young man. He held his thigh as if it pained him, and grimaced as he walked. He wore rather royal-looking clothing, though they were dirty and torn in places.
 He seemed distracted, but finally looked up and saw Trentley and Jynnia. Stopping short, he demanded, "Who are you?"
 Trentley hesitated and reached back to take Jynnia's hand, pulling her close to his side.
 Jynnia pressed herself to him and looked at the newcomer carefully. "Random question for you. Are you a lion by any chance?"
 Alarm flickered across the man's face, and he squinted at her. "Why would--" He suddenly looked behind her, through the open door. "Wait. Since we're asking random questions, have you been cleaning my house?"
 "Oh, uh... this is your house?"
 "Told you!" Trentley muttered.
 The man ran to the door-- or limped as quickly as he could-- and peered inside. "It wasn't even this clean when I found it," he said in amazement. "Why did you clean it?"
 "I, uh..." Jynnia shrugged, amused by this situation. "Just thought it would be nice."
 He stood up straight and looked at her with interest. "You never told me who you were."
 "My name is Trentley," Trentley said.
 "And I'm Jynnia," she said.
 The man squinted at them. "I am Prince Herek."
 "Prince?" Jynnia sputtered, looking up at Trentley open-mouthed. "So, uh, back to that last question I asked..."
 Prince Herek gave a pained smile. "Yes, indeed, I am a lion. At least, during the day I am. Truly, during the darkness is the only time I can retain my real form. Cruel, isn't it?"
 "I'm sorry," Jynnia said. "Is there anything we can do to help?
 Trentley wanted to erase her question. Something didn't sit right with him about this man.
 But the prince's eyes brightened, and he stepped closer. "Such a kind soul," he said. "First you clean my house, then you offer to help me from my curse."
 Trentley looked around for a jewel. There had to be one somewhere, and he felt the smartest thing would be to get it and get out.
 Prince Herek eyed Trentley, and Trentley eyed him back.
 "Come, Sir Trentley," Prince Herek said, backing slowly through the doorway while keeping his eye on Trentley. "Let me give you something for cleaning my house."
 "But I wasn't the one who--"
 "Let me give you something for your lady, then." He had disappeared into the cottage.
 Trentley looked at Jynnia. "Stay here," he warned, and stepped toward the door.
 Before he could even cross the threshold, Herek emerged with a vase-- the one Jynnia had been holding earlier-- and smashed it over Trentley's head.
 Jynnia screamed, and white light flooded Trentley's vision. 

      * * *

 They stood on the side of a mountain.
 Jynnia's legs burned. Her feet hurt. Her wrist was sore from Herek's pulling on it the whole night.
 Tears spilled from her eyes. Exhaustion and worry made it hard to remain standing.
 "Okay, so you've locked my unconscious boyfriend in a cottage, and you've dragged me through the forest all night, and now you've dragged me up a mountain. What's next?" She paused and glared at him. "What happened to your limp? Didn't seem to be bothering you when you were doing the said dragging."
 In the growing light of the rising sun, Herek shifted back and forth on his feet uneasily. "When I'm a lion, I'm cursed with a multitude of injuries. When I turn back into myself at night, the effects from those injuries carry over for only a few minutes. Now, we're wasting time." He pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to her. 
 Jynnia gasped. It was the jewel that she had been waiting for.
 "Give this to the giant that lives at the top of the mountain," Herek said.
 "I was afraid you'd say that." Jynnia reached out for the jewel but hesitated. It was hers and Trentley's goal to collect all the jewels and keep them safe so that they didn't affect anyone else. Was giving it to a giant a good idea?
 "Why can't you do it?" she asked suddenly.
 "Because..." He glanced nervously toward the top of the mountain. "I..."
 "You're afraid," Jynnia said. "He's the one who cursed you, and you're afraid to face him again."
 He looked at her sheepishly.
 I don't believe this. "So, you're sending a girl to do it for you?"
 "Listen," he said defensively. "The giant has a soft spot for ladies. And magic. So, when you give him that jewel and ask him to unenchant me, he'll do it. It'll be fine."
 "Who is on my mountain?"
 The ground shook. Jynnia stumbled to her knees as a massive shadow loomed over her.
 When she turned around, the giant stood looking down from the top of the mountain. "You," he growled, sounding strangely amused.
 But he wasn't talking to her. She followed his gaze behind her, and gasped when she saw a battered and bloodied lion where Herek had been a few moments ago.
 The sun had come up.
 "Why are you here, cursed little vermin?" the giant asked.
 Jynnia noted the irony of the hulking lion before her being called little.
 "Please, I've brought you an offering," Herek said. Jynnia could not help but jump when he began talking in his lion form. "Please, in exchange for unenchanting me?"
 His voice shook, and he looked as if he might collapse at any moment. "The jewel," he said when Jynnia did nothing.
 "Oh, uh..." She looked down at the jewel in her hand and held it out tentatively toward the giant. No time to reconsider now.
 The giant knelt down and leaned toward her. It took all she had not to flinch or step back as he leaned his enormous body down the mountain and met her gaze. Her hands trembled.
 "I don't want the jewel," he said, as if he had thought about this long and hard. "I want her."

      * * *

 Trentley sat up quickly, making his already aching head hurt worse.
  Cottage. Herek. Jynnia. Lion.
 "Jynnia!" Trentley yelled, springing to his feet. He ran to the door, but crashed into it when he tried to exit. After recovering from that impact, he shook the doorknob violently, but he was stuck inside.
 And he had the feeling that something was very wrong. 

MUAHAHAHAH haven't left you guys with a cliffhanger for a while, have I? ;)

While I was writing this I thought about the fact that it's Trentley and Jynnia's goal to round up all the magical jewels because they're causing problems... sooo, they're basically trying to find the Infinity Stones. xD How about a crossover??

Speaking of Trentley and Jynnia, my goal for Camp NaNo is to finish the first draft of their full-length book I mentioned earlier! I wrote the first 50k last November but never got around to finishing it. I was fully planning on working on Fall Into Time for Camp, but here's what happened: I was having trouble getting into it and then I started thinking about Trentley and Jynnia. The end.

Buuut really: since Once Upon (the tentative title for Trentley and Jynnia's book) is newer and fresher in my mind, I think I'll be more successful in finishing the first draft. And I figured I should go ahead and try to do that, rather than keep spinning my wheels on a story that I've been struggling with for months, and let Once Upon become old news.

SO. Once Upon, it is. I haven't done a lick of planning, so we'll see how this April goes. xD

Soo what about you guys? Have you ever heard of/read The Wounded Lion? How do you feel about being left on a cliffhanger?? (hehehehehe) And who's doing Camp NaNo??

COLD-HEARTED (A SNOW QUEEN STORY!)

Hellooo, beautiful readers! Today I'm super excited to be sharing another Trentley and Jynnia story. Feels like it's been a minute, yes?

If you didn't already know, every month The Fairy Tale Central features a different fairy tale. (This month it's The Snow Queen!) And then Arielle, one of the ladies behind FTC, shares a writing prompt on her blog inspired by that fairy tale. Here's this month's prompt:

And the original post: HERE

It's tons of fun and if you haven't taken part yet, you totally should!!

So, before you read this story, just a reminder that these are FAAAR from perfect. Lol. xD They're actually quite a mess and parts of them make no sense. I don't put a whole lot of time into making them cohesive with each other, because I just try to have fun with them and get to know my characters a little better. I'm also writing a full-length novel about Trentley and Jynnia that will eventually be the first book of a series, but many of the elements in these stories are inconsistent with that. Like I said, these are just for fun. And thank goodness for that because WOW are they a mess. xD (Honestly, it's like I take them less and less seriously ever time I write one. :P)

This story may have been the longest of these so far... and HA, I had to change my original idea because it would have been ever longer. xD There's just so much going on in the Snow Queen story, and so much to work with. But I did get a bit inspired for a book later. ;D I just looove the snowy atmosphere and I'm excited about someday writing a much bigger story for this world.

Well, anyway. A warm welcome-back to Trentley and Jynnia, and I hope you enjoy!

 "Ready?" Trentley smiled at Jynnia, his face brighter than the dazzling snow covering the world around them.
 "Ready." Jynnia laughed for the pure joy of the day.

 They sat on their sleds, pushed off, and flew down the hill. The sound of the runners whooshing across the snow filled their ears. Soon two more sounds joined: the sound of a body hitting the snow and then of said body groaning.
 Jynnia saw Trentley's tumble just before she took her own, and rolled off her sled laughing. When she sat up, Trentley was sitting in the snow rubbing his eyes. "Are you all right?" Jynnia called, still smiling. Her smile died when she saw that he kept rubbing his eyes and did not answer her.
 She stood up and rushed over to him, holding a hand out. "Are you okay?"
 Ignoring her, he shook his head and opened his eyes, blinking as if there was sun shining in his face. He looked around him, a disgusted look on his face. "Ugly," he said under his breath. "Ugly, ugly..." Finally his gaze rested on Jynnia, and the repulsed look on his face didn't go away as his voice rose. "Ugly, ugly, ugly!"
 Jynnia's mouth dropped open. "What? What's ugly?"
 Trentley stumbled to his feet, nearly knocking her over as he tried to get his balance. "You! You... everything!" He blinked, as if it pained him to have his eyes open.
 Jynnia tried to comprehend what he was saying, but all she could see around her was beauty. Snow, white-blanketed trees, the sparkling spectacle of winter. "Trentley, I don't understand. You're not making any sense."
 Trentley was clutching his chest with one hand now, his other hand rubbing his eyes vigorously. "Did you get something in your eye?" Jynnia asked. "Let me see!" She stepped toward him and tried to pull his hand off his face.
 "No!" Trentley swiped at her. Jynnia gasped and jumped back, tears immediately blurring her vision. Trentley never acted this way. Something must be seriously wrong.
 Something nagged at her mind, but her foggy, distracted mind couldn't identify it. Tears streaming down her face, she rubbed the back of her neck and thought hard, but she felt numb.
 Her eyes fell on Trentley's sled that he had tumbled off of moments earlier. Just a few feet away from where the sled had come to a clumsy stop, something sparkled in the snow, casting a bluish light on the white ground. "Yes," she whispered, her eyes wide. "That's it!" She pressed her fingertips into her temples trying to will thoughts into her head. "Snow," she muttered. "Ugly. He says things are ugly."
 "Be quiet!" Trentley yelled. It sent a pang into Jynnia's heart, but she ignored it and kept racking her brains, mentally flipping through her big fairy tale book at home.
 Heart.
 Jynnia gasped and stood up straight, whirling around to look at Trentley. Snow. Heart. Eyes.
 "Trentley!" she cried, not caring if he yelled at her. "Trentley, there are splinters of the mirror in your eye! And your heart! We have to get them out!"
 Just then, Jynnia heard something approaching, and turned to see a sleigh pulled by a reindeer coming through the trees toward them. Jynnia gasped. There was no doubt now that she had thought of the right fairy tale, for there on the sleigh sat the Snow Queen herself.
 After all, it couldn't be anyone else in the world.
 She sat impossibly tall in her seat, wrapped in snow-white furs and looking down on Trentley and Jynnia with a severe look on her face. The only thing around her that wasn't white was the brown animal that pulled her sleigh.
 "Touch him and die!" the alarming woman yelled, her expression changing little.
 Jynnia gawked at her. "Excuse me?" she yelled back at her, turning to face her head-on. The confrontation called to her, but she changed her mind and went back to Trentley. That was more important right now.
 "Trentley," she said, her voice shaking. She was not sure what was happening, but she had a feeling that somehow the stakes had just risen several notches.
 Trentley was standing there, no longer covering his eyes, but gazing at the Snow Queen as though she were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life. Jynnia, personally, thought she was rather unbecoming, with her harsh white skin and lack of a smile.
 And then she saw what was happening. With the shards of glass in Trentley's heart and eye, the queen was taking advantage of the situation and enchanting him. She wanted him for herself. For what, Jynnia did not wish to think about.
 The queen descended from her sleigh and advanced toward Trentley quickly, determination in her eyes. Deadly determination.
 "He is mine," the woman said. Her voice boomed, and the world around them crackled like a frozen lake. Trentley began stumbling toward her.
 "No," Jynnia said. Tears began to choke her, and she reached out for Trentley. "Trentley, don't go to her! She's got you under a spell!"
 The queen turned her icy eyes on Jynnia, making her feel quite cold. The woman lifted a hand to her lips, kissed it, and then blew the kiss toward Jynnia.
 Jynnia frowned. Why on earth was this woman blowing her a kiss?
 She was surprised to actually see the kiss floating through the air, in the form of a bundle of snowflakes hurtling toward her. Before she could dodge it, the kiss landed on her forehead, and could spread throughout her body as if ice was flowing through her veins. She cried out and faltered, nearly falling face first in the snow. She called Trentley's name again, but he didn't even acknowledge her.
 "No!" she sobbed. She could feel her strength fading; whether it was from the queen's kiss or the cold, she didn't know. But the space between her and Trentley was growing dangerously greater than that between Trentley and the queen.
 Jynnia bent and balled up a handful of snow, then threw it at the queen. Luck or fate aided her weak arms, and the snowball hit the queen right in the chest. Of course, that did nothing to slow her down. But it was the only retaliation she could think of.
 "Leave him alone!" Jynnia screamed.
 "Listen to her," the queen said, looking only at Trentley. Her voice was like a soothing song. "Listen to that awful voice. Don't look at her," she said quickly when Trentley moved his head as if to turn around. "She is quite ugly. Everything is ugly except for me. Keep your eyes only on me."
 Jynnia bent again for more snow, and as she reached down she saw the queen's movement out of the corner of her eye. When Jynnia looked back up, it was too late to escape the second kiss soaring toward her. It hit her in the cheek, and Jynnia felt her very bones freeze and threaten to crack. She cried out, louder than before, and fell in the snow. Even as she struggled on the ground, she tried to shape the next snowball with her trembling, aching hands.
 The Snow Queen had Trentley by the hand, and he was about to step into her sleigh.
 Jynnia could barely move, and Trentley was falling farther and farther away from her. Her heart hurt as she watched him step into the sleigh. She was about to lose him. She could not lose him.
 "Kiss me, young fellow," the queen said to Trentley. Jynnia's stomach turned.
 "No!" Jynnia cried. "Trentley, it'll kill you! Don't kiss her!"
 Trentley looked at the queen, and he seemed to be considering it.
 Jynnia managed to pull herself through the snow on her elbows, but she knew her speed was no match for that of the reindeer's once the sleigh started moving. As Jynnia crawled, sobbing, her tears freezing to her skin, her elbow bumped against something.
 She looked down and saw the jewel that she had seen earlier. She had crawled right over to where it had been lodged in the snow.
 The queen sent her one last kiss.
 Jynnia was so cold now that her hand shook as she moved it to grab the jewel. She was moving as slowly as if she were in a dream, but she knew that the queen's deadly kisses of ice would not be so.
 The kiss flew toward Jynnia. She felt it hit her right in the temple, and heard the spintering of freezing blood and aching bones.
 But at the same time, she grasped the jewel in her palm and squeezed it as if it would escape.
 Suddenly she felt the magic coursing through her body, melting the ice that had been paralyzing her. She heard and felt her blood crack as it melted, and finally she was able to stand again. She had survived the queen's third kiss, which she knew in her fairy tale book would have killed her. And now she would make sure Trentley was a survivor, too.
 "Trentley!" she yelled, as loud as her dry throat would allow.
 He turned around, his attention drifting from the distracted queen, who looked quite angry that Jynnia had escaped her kiss of death.
 "Well, are you going to kiss me or not?" the queen asked, her voice shaking. She grabbed Trentley's face and turned it roughly back toward her.
 "We've been over this, your majesty," Jynnia yelled. "Kissing you would kill him, and I happen to value his life right now."
 "Shut up!" the queen said. "Kiss me," she said again as she looked into Trentley's eyes.
 "Look at this!" Jynnia called, holding up the jewel for Trentley to see. She held it above her head as she hurried toward him, both as a reminder and a shield. She didn't know just how much the jewel would protect her should the queen try anything else, but she felt safer with it on display.
 "No!" the queen shrieked. "You will not take him away from me!"
 "You won't take him away from me!" Jynnia shrieked back. She hurried her steps, praying the magic in the jewel would keep the queen from attacking. 
 Trentley was looking at her, disgust still on his face at the sight of her, but he blinked as if confused. "Let it go, Trentley!" Jynnia yelled. "Look at me! Don't think about the queen's spell! Don't think about the ugliness in the world!"
 She reached Trentley, took one of his hands in hers that didn't hold the jewel, and pulled him off the sleigh. She pressed his hand to his heart. "I know there's a shard of glass in there," she said. "You don't have to let it control you." She left his hand there on his chest and gently placed her hand over his eye. "And I know there's one in there. Think about warmth, Trentley. Don't think about anything else. Just think warmth."
 He still looked confused, although perhaps beneath the surface Jynnia could see some sort of fight.
 "Trentley," she sobbed, still holding the jewel out toward the queen. The warmth emanating from it seemed to hold her at bay, standing there with her hands held up in front of her. "Trentley, get better. Please." She took a deep breath from her tears and impulsively stood on tiptoes to kiss his eye.
 She let her lips linger there for a few seconds, willing warmth to seep through his cold skin. She felt nothing happening, but oh, she hoped it was working.
 When she stepped back, she saw tears flowing down Trentley's face. A tiny speck glinted as it fell to the ground. The shard. It was gone.
 "Trentley! Are you you again?" she cried, holding her hand over his heart in hopes of getting rid of that shard too.
 Trentley blinked a few times. "Jynnia," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."
 "Trentley!" Jynnia sobbed. She wanted to throw her arms around him, but they still had the matter of the Snow Queen to deal with.
 "You," Jynnia said, turning to stare her down, still holding the jewel in front of her. As she proceeded toward the woman, the queen backed away from the warm light around the jewel. "I don't know where you came from, but go. Get out of here and don't bother anyone anymore."
 The queen glared at her. "You're lucky this time," she said as she backed toward her sleigh. "But next time won't be as fortunate for you." She slapped her reindeer with the reins, and they sped away. Jynnia only hoped that somehow, with the jewel in hers and Trentley's possession, this story would end and the queen wouldn't be able to harass anyone else.
 "Trentley," Jynnia said when the queen was gone. This time she did throw her arms around him, and it felt so good to feel him return her embrace.
 "I'm so sorry, Jynnia!" Trentley said, and she could hear the pain in his voice. "How could I ever say those awful things to you?"
 "It's okay. It wasn't you," Jynnia said, wiping the tears from his face before they froze.
 "What happened?" Trentley whispered, shaking his head and rubbing his eyes as if to get any last remains of the shard out as he could.
 "I suppose when you fell in the snow, the shards from the mirror were in there and got lodged," she said. "The jewel was nearby, after all. Causing trouble, as always."
 Trentley laughed. "Well, I'm just glad it's over."
 Jynnia nodded. "I'm glad you're back. Now let's put this jewel with the others." She tossed it in the air and caught it.
 "First we have to race again," Trentley said. "Our last one ended kind of sourly."
 Their laughs rang off the snow-covered trees, the sound more beautiful than all the winter wonder around them.

Yes, there was a "Let It Go" joke in there. XD

Also, I sort of forgot to write the story around the prompt at first... haha. Oops. So you can probably totally tell that's just kind of weirdly inserted in there AND tweaked a bit. Should I admit that? Probably not. But we're all honest here. xD

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this installment of The Adventures of Trentley and Jynnia! (Working title. XD) Definitely check out the prompt and write your own!

Have you read The Snow Queen? And have you taken part in these prompts? (Because you should give it a try!)

NaNoWriMo: Weekly Update #1!

Week one of NaNoWriMo is over!

Which means that we are all at least slightly less sane than we were on November 1. As you can tell by the fact that I'm pretty late on this update.

I'm not going to even try to write an introduction, because I'm tired and worded out. So just enjoy this update. xD

(There are snippets, too. Messy snippets. Random snippets. Definitely not a snippet from each day because I'm not that organized but I hope you enjoy anyway.)

I had the whole day off, which was absolutely lovely. I started writing about 9:00 that morning, but I didn't quite power through thousands of words the way I'd imagined myself doing all day... I get quite distracted, people. xD

But, despite not knowing how I wanted the story to start at all going in, I actually found it quite easy to write the whole first chapter once I got started. And... I actually loved it. :O Of course, it's more than subject to change later, but as for right now, I think it's the perfect beginning to this story and these characters.

OH YEAH AND THE CHARACTERS. Guys, literally a few paragraphs in I was already getting emotional because I love these characters so much. xD Trentley and Jynnia are legit the SWEETEST and I want all the best for them. And maybe it's weird to talk about your own characters like that but HEY. Don't judge me. I love them, okay?

I took a break in the afternoon and didn't get back to writing until that evening. I only wrote a few hundred words, but it took me over 3k, so I was pretty happy with that! It's not my record word count for the first day of NaNo, but I've almost doubled my target count so I'm content. Plus I bought some chocolate, so I'm ready for the next few days at least. xD

Word count: 3018

My opening lines, which I'm a little bit in love with. 

Work and family time kept me away from my story until after 8:00 that night. I finally sat down to write... and got stuck.

This is what happens when you don't outline, people.

I wish I was the kind of person who outlined religiously. It's so much easier to just write and write and write without stopping that way. But no, I'm the kind of person who waits until there's no time left to plan her story and then realizes I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S SUPPOSED TO EVEN HAPPEN IN THIS THING. So, that's how my NaNo's going to go.

BUT as I sat and thought and thought and thought (such an exciting time), something came to me that I think this story needs. And it'll help me move things forward.

Also, apparently I either thought too much or too little because one of the sentences I wrote that day was "she smoothed her napkin in her lapkin."

NaNo is claiming my soul already. 

Word count: 722

First of all, I just want to say that the first few hundred words of this day were written after midnight... so I considered them to be written the day before. But the NaNo website doesn't agree with me. So. That's why my word count for yesterday was so low. *rolls eyes*

Church and family time kept me away from writing for much of the day (I'm going to have to do something about that family of mine...), but I still got a good bit of writing done. I did some in the morning before church (thank you, Daylight Savings Time, for giving me that extra hour of sleep!!) and then some in the evening.

I'd been listening mostly to my playlist I made for this story, but this day I branched out and listened to a bunch of Ivan Torrent's music. His stuff is seriously amazing, guys. (Thanks Alexa, for introducing me to it!)

Word count: 3156

I'm having way too much fun writing a straight-up sappy couple.

Don't run away yet, it's not as bad as it sounds. But guys, I've intentionally kept romance out of my books. Not because I have a problem with it, just because most of my books don't need it and I see no reason to put it where it doesn't belong. And then I come along and write a FAIRY TALE ROMANCE. It's quite different for me, but I'm actually having a blast. xD Trentley and Jynnia are my OTP, not gonna lie.

Anyway, this day I was able to get quite a few words in, despite having to work. In fact, I wrote the most this day than I have any other day so far, AND I hit 10k!!

I'm so happy about this, because I'm pretty sure this is the earliest I've ever reached this milestone! The story is flowing along pretty well, and I'm having so much fun. I didn't outline a thing and planned precious little, so the fact that I haven't gotten stuck yet is actually amazing.

Word count: 3299

So, as per the normal writer's behavior, I spent all day at work thinking about my story and JUST WANTING TO GET HOME AND WRITE ALREADY. And then, lo and behold, I got home and avoided writing like the plague. xD

BUT I was able to get wordsss in! (way too late at night, yes. but shhhhh.) I thought I was going to write the turning point of the story this day, but I didn't quite get there. Words were racking up, though, and this just meant I had an exciting scene to springboard off of the next day! ;D

Also, for the past few days I've written more every day! Which I'm super excited about.

Word count: 3325

On this day I didn't start writing until about 11:30 PM. I only wrote a few hundred words. And there's really no more that I need to say about that. xD

Word count: 512

In which Jynnia is a total rebel and doesn't even care.

I'm actually pretty proud of myself for this day. I didn't get a ton of words written-- although I did make my daily word count goal set by NaNo--, but I made time to write. Even though this was my day off, I knew I was going to be gone most of the day and pretty late, so I set aside a few minutes in the morning to write before I left my house. And I think I got the majority of my word count down then. That night I was able to catch up and make it past the "required" 1.6k.

I also wrote The Thing this day. Aka, the moment in every story that you look most forward to writing right off the bat, where everything starts going crazy. ;D (Also, fun fact: I wrote The Thing on day seven of NaNoWriMo last year, too!)

Word count: 1864

Total word count for the week: 15896

I'm super happy with my word count this week! Last year my word count for week 1 was only 9.6k. I'm not sure how it went the previous years, but I think 15k might be my record for this point in the game.

The writing's still going pretty smoothly. I had a bit of a discouragement as I was talking to my brother about my story and we throwing around all these different ideas and questions and I realized... there's still SO MUCH about this story that I don't know.

But this is just the first draft, and while it's a LOT smoother than my past several first drafting attempts have been, I know it's going to get messy. That's okay. I'm still having so much fun and I can't wait to see where the rest of this story goes. :D

Also, this is super random, but I just wanted to say that I have another story coming to Havok this month! Careful What You Hunt For will be published on Thanksgiving, November 28th. I'm so excited and, well, thankful. ;D Can't wait to share it with you all!!

And with that, thanks for reading! AND KEEP WRITING!

How was your first week of NaNo? Is it going as expected, better or worse? What's your favorite thing about your story so far? And can you believe Thanksgiving is so close??