Finally finished ^^;;
At 24,000 words I'm not sure I can call it a short story >_>; medium story?
Anyway. Tried hard to keep various details in setting accurate, but there are many I unintentionally screwed up. I'm told the story works anyway ^^;; So don't hate me too much for screwing up the castle and whatall.
To be posted in four parts, since there's no other good way to break it up. Hope it proves to be worth the wait, and I'm sorry I've bitched about it all week ^^;; But I like it, tygait and sky liked it, and sammikins gave it high praise indeed.
For the record, it is
really goddamn difficult not to use contractions. Also, I tried to keep speech relatively accurate but of course it's likely only cheesy. Still, it was fun ^_^
Okay, I be quiet now.
Alas, I seem to have no good icon for this.
( always there I )