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 HIGHLAND COURT CHRONICLES:

ALMENDRA'S QUEST

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SNEAK PEEK

HIGHLAND COURT CHRONICLES:

ALMENDRA'S QUEST

SNEAK PEEK    

Almendra opened her eyes on the seventh chime of the clock. She quickly sat up, stretched, and smiled. Just then the door to her room opened and a large grey wolf came in with a tray on his back. In fact, his thick fur was dark brown, but it was so liberally streaked with grey that he looked almost grey at a first glance. 

    “Good morning, Woo,” said Almendra, her face splitting into a grin. She pecked the wolf on the nose and took a large mug of hot tea from the tray. Breathing in the familiar scent of mint, she clutched the cup in her hands and raised it into the air like one would a goblet at a feast, her hazel eyes alight with humour. 

    “Cheers!” she said loudly and “May today be the day!” before bringing the cup to her lips, an expression of bliss on her face. 

    Woo walked towards the window and drew back the curtains with his teeth – the sky outside was murky grey. Almendra drank up her tea and placed it back onto the tray just as Woo left the room.

    In one big leap, she bounded out of bed, ran across the carpeted floor, and slipped behind the screen, her long brown hair flying around her in merry waves. Behind the screen, Almendra picked up a thick rope, lying in a coil on the floor, with an iron hook on one end, then wound it around a huge wheel it was fixed to on the other end, opened the window, and threw the rope down.

    A second later the hook hit the ground with a clunk. Dancing on the tips of her toes, her frilly nightdress flapping around her ankles, Almendra waited until the rope gave a jerk before pulling it back upwards, gripping the handle and turning the wheel with practiced ease. When the rope hit the ledge, she drew it in – now with a bucket full of water. 

    Almendra heaved the bucket off the hook, poured the water into a spacious bathtub and sighed; she knew from years of experience that it would take her many more buckets of water to fill the claw-foot tub for her morning bath. With another sigh, Almendra hooked the empty bucket back onto the rope and carefully lowered it down. 

    “This is ridiculous,” she muttered as she waited for her granny – the only other person in High Castle – to fill it in the kitchen below. “I mean, do I really need to take a bath today as well?” she asked, raising her voice and leaning out of the window when the rope gave another jerk. “I had one yesterday and the day before and the day before that and every single day of my life! I don’t even have time to get dirty! I think I’d like to know what that’s like…” 

    Her granny cleared her throat. 

   “There’s a lot to be said for greeting each other first thing in the morning, Almendra,” she said coolly. “It would certainly refresh our morning routine and provide proof that I have actually taught you some good manners over the years.” 

    Almendra groaned. Her granny insisted that she should take a bath every single morning. Almendra believed that it wasn’t strictly necessary, because she always took a bath in the afternoon anyway. But it was no use arguing with her granny about that. Lady Mildred was inexorable on that and many other points. But Almendra didn’t give up hope. Today was no different. The bath itself wasn’t the issue, of course. Almendra would simply do anything to break the routine. 

    “Just today, what do you say?” she persisted when Lady Mildred reappeared downstairs with another bucket. 

    “Almendra Ravenlock, you are the High Lady of the Upper Kingdom – ” she began in that infuriating manner that always made Almendra grind her teeth together. 

    “I know that!” she interrupted with another groan. “I also know that there’s no such rule that states that I have to take a bath every single morning without fail.” 

    “There are many rules that are neither written nor spoken of,” retorted her granny in an icy voice. “However, they are no less important than those that are, and their lack of record does not liberate you from the duty of following them.” 

    Almendra rolled her eyes. 

    “In any case, today may very well be the day Prince Frederick arrives and you want to look your very best when he does,” added Lady Mildred gravely. “Don’t forget that according to the fateline he is our only chance at saving the Upper Kingdom. But much depends on you. After all, he must fall in love with you first!” 

    Almendra could hardly forget something that had been mercilessly cudgeled into her brain. However, she was beginning to have her doubts on that score. Prince Frederick didn’t seem to be in any hurry to come. Apparently, he hadn’t been apprised of the importance of their predestined engagement or the fateful part that he was supposed to play in the fate of her kingdom. 

    “Well?” snapped her granny, jolting Almendra out of her thoughts. “That wheel won’t turn of its own accord!” 

    “I wish it would,” muttered Almendra, making a face, though not before retreating back into the room. She gripped the handle of the wheel and began to turn it again, praying that today would finally be the day the course of her life would change for good.

(c) Farida Mestek

BLURB

"HIGHLAND COURT CHRONICLES:

ALMENDRA'S QUEST"

What is it about?

Almendra Ravenlock, a seventeen-year-old ruler of the Upper Kingdom, has never set foot outside the grounds of the royal castle, believing that beyond its gates lies a deadly curse left behind by the same group of rebels that attacked her kingdom and sent her mother to her early doom fifteen years ago. Isolated from the rest of the realm, with only her cranky granny and her loyal wolf for company, she waits for Prince Frederick of the Lowland Kingdom to come and set her free. There is a prophecy that strongly suggests that he is the one to win her heart and save her kingdom.

However, when an unexpected messenger arrives and tells her that the prince is at death’s door after an attempt on his life and that she is the only one who can save him, Almendra grabs at the chance to fulfill the prophecy on her own terms. As she travels through the realm with her wolf and her new friend, Almendra unearths a horrifying secret buried deep under the rebels’ lair, discovers that her life and her kingdom are in as much danger from them as ever, and that the prince she is determined to save might not be the one meant to save her or her kingdom after all.

NEW BOOK TITLE

 "HIGHLAND COURT CHRONICLES:

ALMENDRA'S QUEST"

coming soon...

 NEW BOOK

COMING SOON

"A Secret Arrangement" - now available at Smashwords

A tale of forbidden love between two men blossoming against the backdrop of Regency England

Henry Chadderton's father earned his wealth in trade, but he looks to elevate his son to the gentry through marriage into a titled family. And so it is that Edward Montford, the second son of an impoverished baronet, accompanies his twin sister Emma to London in order to introduce her to her future husband.

Henry neither appreciates being ordered around nor has any intention of marrying anyone. Then he meets Emma—and Edward—and falls in love with the wrong sibling, setting off a chain of events that will cause arguments, bloodshed, jealousy, and scandal. But Henry will endure it all if it will eventually lead Edward to him.

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An important book announcement

If you follow my blog then you know that I’ve been struggling to publish my books by means of finding a literary agent or a publisher for ages. Literally. To be sure there was a time when some of my books were published by small independent publishing houses as electronic books. However, that was a very long time ago and on such a small scale that it hardly made any difference whatsoever. Now I’m sitting on a number of completed books and I’ve finally decided to get them out there into the world through Smashwords and Amazon. I mean, what’s the point of writing books and not sharing them with anyone, right? Which is why in the course of the next few months I will be re-publishing some of my old books as well as publishing books that have never seen the light of day before. Hopefully, some of them will finally find their reader.