Diverting Pastimes

1

After breakfast, Burt was wandering through the duchess’s huge town house, simply enjoying yet another day off from mucking out the stables and lifting sacks of grain. He was convinced he had the better part of the deal he and his beloved Lady Ann had made, even if he had written her a note to give her the fortnight off.

It still seemed incredible to him that he’d been able to write that note – and sign it with her very own signature; but it wasn’t the only change he’d noticed in his education. He was finding it easier and easier to discuss the arts and culture with grandmamma – something he never could have done before; and he really enjoyed it. He thrived on the intellectual conversations he was having now if truth be told.

Dr. Frank Fletcher is a mental health professional who arbitrates what is 'real' everyday. He's heard nearly every possible delusion. However, this newest 'Jane Doe' has a new one. Of course her story is a hallucination because the world just doesn't work that way, right?

At Last Drustina meets with her foe. The two armies meet on the South banks of the River Mersea where the Brunbah Creek enters the Mersea Estuary.

No need for maps, this is just a straightforward, 'stand up - knock down' fight.

A NOTE REGARDING THIS STORY.
This is a fictional chronicle of a normal hardworking guy named Jack. The federal government made him an offer he couldn't refuse. All they asked was for Jack to go undercover to help the U.S. Government ensnare a terrorist.
Any resemblance of the characters depicted in the story to actual individuals is coincidental. All events are the sole responsibility of the author. None of the scenes in this story depict minors engaged in any sexual encounter.
This story has been previously posted on other sites. It is being posted here with a strong rewrite; some new chapters have been added. I had my BFF Monica Rose edit the material so it should be more readable. Marina

Marina: [email protected]

@ @ @ @

A Quiet Strength - Trial and Tribulation
by Anon Allsop

-Part Three-

-Four-

His hands stinging from the cold, Etu continued to smack it against the bole of the tree, its impact scarring the bark deeply. To have come so close to his beloved and to lose her in this snowstorm would seem almost unfathomable to the young warrior. Always before his eyes, the swirling snow blowing in his face, seemed merge everything into one ferocious gray fog.

Desperately wanting to strike out in search of Aponi, yet he knew that once he left Machk, he might not find him again. So, the young brave did the only thing he could and continued to strike the limb against the trunk of the tree.

23

Preparations for battle continue as Drustina re-connects with her own forces on the River Mersea. The first strike against the Viking main force proves successful and enables Drustina to relinquish command of the northern salient at the Wallasey while she rejoins the main combined force of Saxons and Mercians and is forced to assume command to curtail the bikering between Kings Ethelred and Edrinor.

"Yes," he replied. "You saw the video where you explained everything."

"No," I retorted. "That wasn't me. It was Dexie."

"Again," he reminded me, "It was you as Dexie. This isn't the first go-around for you."