Waiting for Rebirth

It’s Me Me Me Monday! Here’s a little more of Damian/Christopher in ‘Waiting for Rebirth’, my prelude to ‘Tales of the Navel/The Shadow Forest’.  I’m picking up right where I left off on Saturday.

Far less so was the sign. I tried not to look at it, but it creaked in the wind, drawing my unwilling eye to the image of a woman’s rounded belly. Specifically, a woman’s belly button.

“The Navel,” I said, feeling my face color. Whoever owned this establishment had a sense of humor.

“Come on in!” Damian said, ignoring the sign completely. Perhaps he was used to it, or the sight of women’s bellies. This thought made the heat creep up my face. Something tense and almost angry uncurled in my belly.

Damian smiled slightly at the sight of my face. He said nothing, only opened the door with a bow. Something tinkled, sending clear, light bell-like sounds in the air.

I looked at the doorway and saw some wind chimes. Ah, yes, I remembered those, as well.

I blinked, as the darkness of the store overwhelmed me. For a moment, I thought it would swallow me, but I wasn’t in the Shadow Forest any more. My eyes were simply adjusting to stepping out of the sunshine.

 

 

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Waiting for Rebirth

It’s Rainbow Snippets’s time! Every Saturday, six sentences of GLBT fiction are posted and shared. It can be your own. It can be someone else’s. It just needs to be GLBT.

To read a wide variety of samples of GLBT stories, go here https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/

I’m going to pick up right where I left off on Wednesday with ‘Waiting for Rebirth’. This is the prelude to my ‘Tales of the Navel/The Shadow Forest’ series. It takes place before my novels; ‘The Hand and the Eye of the Tower’, ‘Stealing Myself From Shadows’, and ‘A Godling for Your Thoughts?’ It also takes place before two other stories; ‘Unwilling to be Yours’ and ‘Be My Valentine…Snack’. I’ll be posting a fragment of ‘Be My Valentine…Snack’ on Valentine’s Day.

He gestured to a sign over the door of a small cottage. This dwelling nestled between others, peering out with a bold, sparkling window at the street. A skull and a deck of cards lay on a bed of purple velvet, keeping watch at the window.

Strange. I recognized these items the moment I saw them. The skull’s death’s grin might have scared some people. I found it comforting.

Waiting for Rebirth

It’s QueerBlogWed, so here’s another update for Damian/Christopher and ‘Waiting for Rebirth’!

“Oh, how lovely!” Juno cooed, clasping her hands together. “Gabrielle is far too solitary! If she can’t have a husband, why, a child may be the next best thing!”

“Exactly!” Damian said. He beamed at Juno, outshining her completely with his toothy grin. “We’re about to see her right now, if you’ll excuse us?”

“Oh, of course, of course!” Juno couldn’t scramble out of the way fast enough. “Oh, how lovely it was to have met you, Christopher! I look forward to seeing you at the Navel!” She said some other things, as well, but I didn’t hear them, since Damian pulled me away with undue haste.

“Be careful what you say to Juno,” he said in a low voice. “She may seem harmless, but she has a vengeful temper, if she thinks she’s been slighted. Plus, she’s a regular customer of ours.”

“You mean at this shop of yours?” I asked, trying to keep pace with him. I wanted to walk at Damian’s side, but he moved fast. “The Navel?”

“I know, it’s a bit much, considering the town is called ‘Omphalos’.” Damian rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed. “For Gabrielle, there’s no such thing as too much. She’s my master, so there’s a limit to how much I can point this out.”

“Not to mention my mother,” I said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. “Even though I suspect she’ll be as surprised by this as I was.”

“Don’t you just love surprises?” Damian flashed me the same smile he’d aimed at Juno. It was hard to withstand its brightness, even if it was false. “Ah! Here we are!”

Waiting for Rebirth

Welcome to ‘Waiting for Rebirth’, the prelude to ‘Tales of the Navel/The Shadow Forest’. I’m posting it in segments on Monday (Me Me Me Monday on Queer Sci Fi), Wednesday (QueerBlogWed), and Saturday (Rainbow Snippets). If you’ve missed part, look at a previous blog. Yes, I’m offering this particular story free, in the hopes that you’ll buy ‘The Hand and the Eye of the Tower’, ‘Stealing Myself From Shadows’, ‘A Godling for Your Thoughts?’ and the rest of ‘Tales of the Navel/The Shadow Forest’ once they’re published.

I’m picking up right where I left off on Saturday (see the previous entry)

His walk was graceful, confident. A few people nodded to him and smiled, as he passed. One plump woman in a floral tunic blushed at the site of him, covering her mouth slightly with a chubby hand.

“Hello, Juno,” Damian said, offering Juno a dazzling smile. It was completely different than the smile he’d given me. Juno giggled in response.

“Oh, Damian, fancy seeing you out in the evening!” she chirped. Bright, sharp green eyes darted to me, taking in every bit of me. “Who’s this?”

“This is Christopher,” Damian said, taking my hand, and drawing me closer. “He’s Gabrielle’s son, well, in a way. She’s adopted him.”

This was all unknown to me, but I didn’t contradict Damian. Something warned me not to say too much in front of this plump, giggling woman. Her jowls wagged too eagerly, in contradiction with the predatory gleam in her eye.

Waiting for Rebirth

Welcome to Rainbow Snippets! Every Saturday, six sentences of GLBT fiction are posted and shared. It can be your own. It can be someone else’s. It just needs to be GLBT.

To sample a wide of variety of GLBT snippets, go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/

Here’s where I pick up with ‘Waiting for Rebirth’, right where I left off on QueerBlogWed with Damian and Christopher. (The post before this picked up right where I left off on last Saturday.)

A shop wasn’t necessarily safe, depending on what was being bought and sold. In spite of my doubts, I followed Damian out of the garden, through a little gate, which led to the street. This gate was different than the one I remembered. I stepped off the green grass and onto a smooth, hard road. I didn’t remember roads being so smooth, or easy to walk upon.

Damian strode ahead of me, as if this smooth road was nothing particularly special.

Waiting for Rebirth

It’s QueerBlogWed! I’m going to continue with my prelude to ‘Tales of the Navel/The Shadow Forest’. Here’s a little more Damian/Christopher in ‘Waiting for Rebirth’. I’m picking up right where I left off on Saturday.

“A lot can change in the real world, while you’re lost in the Shadow Forest,” Damian murmured. His hand was resting upon my shoulder. It was an almost possessive gesture. I was both touched and a little alarmed. “This is Omphalos. Perhaps you remember it? It’s a refuge for those who are different, as well as a place to find unusual items.”

Omphalos. The word meant ‘navel’. I wasn’t sure how I knew that. I glanced at the people walking in the street. None of them looked familiar.

“It’s all right,” Damian said, once again. The gentle kindness in his voice was soothing. It would be so easy to trust that voice, but trust had gotten me into trouble before, I was certain of it. Trust led to being stolen by shadows. The problem was I didn’t know enough about where and when I was. I had to trust someone, at least a little, just to find my way around. “The Navel is a shop, a place where people come and go to purchase things. You’ll be safe there.”

Me Me Me Monday

It’s ‘Me Me Me Monday’! Here’s some of more of ‘Waiting for Rebirth’, in case you missed QueerBlogWed and Rainbow Snippets. I’m picking up right where I left off on my last ‘Me Me Me Monday’ with Christopher taking Damian’s hand and stepping out into reality.

I was standing in the middle of a garden. I’d once loved gardens. I remembered that, now. There was a gazebo behind us, covered with trailing vines and purple flowers. Roses grew in clusters upon the green bushes all around us.

A gasp of inarticulate delight escaped from me, as I looked up at the sun, the blue of the sky. Afterwards, I looked down at the spongy green grass beneath my feet. My feet were bare.

I realized I was wearing a short white tunic, belted in around my waist. It exposed my legs. I felt cold.

I looked over at Damian, who was dressed very differently. He was wearing sturdy blue pants and a white, short sleeved shirt. There was a tiny, green dragon at the right hand breast of the shirt.

“I’m dressed wrong, for where I am,” I said, slowly. I could feel my face heating up. It was bad to wear the wrong clothes in the wrong place. It could be very bad, if you wore too little. “Aren’t I?”

“Don’t worry,” Damian said, with a reassuring little smile. “The shadows are still close, so if you wish to be wearing something else, you can. Just picture what you wish to wear.”

It was a little alarming to know the shadows were still close, but I knew what to do. I closed my eyes. I visualized Damian’s blue slacks, hugging his calves, with his white shirt, open at the collar.

Something rough was rubbing against my legs. These pants weren’t exactly comfortable. I could feel myself scowling a little. The shirt wasn’t comfortable either. It felt rough.

Saturday Snippet

It’s time for #RainbowSnippets! Every Saturday, six sentences of GLBT fiction are posted and shared. It can be your own. It can be someone else’s. It just needs to be GLBT.

To read a wide variety of samples from GLBT stories, go here! https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/

I missed last Saturday, due to being sick. I’m glad to be back for this one! I’m picking up with ‘Waiting for Rebirth’, right where I left off on #QueerBlogWed. ‘Waiting for Rebirth’ is my prelude and introduction to ‘Tales of the Navel/The Shadow Forest’. I posting it in segments as a gift here, in the hopes that it will kindle your interest in the rest of my stories which take place in that universe!

I looked in the direction he’d nodded. I nearly fell over my own feet in surprise.

The road lined with cottages seemed familiar, yet it was different. Once, it had been a village. This was a town. There were larger buildings nestled between the cottages. There were a lot more shops. A few people were walking along the road, but I didn’t recognize them.

QueerBlogWed

It’s QueerBlogWed! A day to post and share anything GLBT! I’ve been sick, so I’ve missed Rainbow Snippets and Me Me Me Monday this week, alas. I’ve already posted a little more of ‘Waiting for Rebirth’ at my Facebook Author Page. Here it is, once more, in case you missed it. Plus, a little extra. 🙂

‘Waiting for Rebirth’ is the prelude to ‘Tales of the Navel/The Shadow Forest’. It takes place before ‘The Hand and the Eye of the Tower’ and ‘Stealing Myself From Shadows’.

“I’m dressed wrong, for where I am,” I said, slowly. I could feel my face heating up. It was bad to wear the wrong clothes in the wrong place. It could be very bad, if you wore too little. “Aren’t I?”

“Don’t worry,” Damian said, with a reassuring little smile. “The shadows are still close, so if you wish to be wearing something else, you can. Just picture what you wish to wear.”

It was a little alarming to know the shadows were still close, but I knew what to do. I closed my eyes. I visualized Damian’s blue slacks, hugging his calves, with his white shirt, open at the collar.

Something rough was rubbing against my legs. These pants weren’t exactly comfortable. I could feel myself scowling a little. The shirt wasn’t comfortable either. It felt rough.

I looked down at my short sleeved shirt and the blue pants I now wore. They didn’t look as good on me, as they did on Damian.

“Don’t worry,” he said with a little wink. “For me, it’s a gesture of independence to wear jeans and a polo shirt, after all the ruffles and tight collars my aunt used to dress me up in. For one as small and slender as you, something softer may be better.”

I watched, as he closed his eyes. I was small and slender? I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. I watched Damian and wondered about this aunt who used to dress him up in ruffles.

Something soft brushed against my legs. A light cloth, light as a kiss, covered my chest.

“There, just like what Aunt Duessa used to make me wear, only without the tight collar,” Damian said, with another merry wink. “The black velvet looks a lot better on you than it ever did on me.”

Black velvet? Yes, there had once been black velvet clothing. Damian released my hand. I felt a little sad at that, but I ran my hand down my new pants. They truly felt wonderful.

“I wish I had a mirror,” I said, remembering mirrors. There had been laughter, a girl looking at her reflection, as she tossed her golden hair over her shoulders.

“I can arrange that,” Damian said, as he nodded to the left. “There’s one at the Navel, if you’ll follow me?”

QueerBlogWed

Welcome to #QueerBlogWed! Today, we blog and share anything GLBT we might wish to.

I’ve decided to offer up another segment of ‘Waiting for Rebirth’, picking up right where I left off on ‘Me Me Me Monday’. This is the very first story which takes place in ‘Tales of the Navel/The Shadow Forest’, setting the stage for all my other stories. I’m hoping if you’ll enjoy this, you’ll buy my novels in the same universe when I finally self publish them. 🙂

I was standing in the middle of a garden. I’d once loved gardens. I remembered that, now. There was a gazebo behind us, covered with trailing vines and purple flowers. Roses grew in clusters upon the green bushes all around us.

I gasped at the sight of the sun, the blue of the sky. I felt the crunchy softness beneath my feet of grass. How vivid and green it was, not to mention delightfully damp!

Cool air nipped at my bare legs, which were exposed under a short white tunic, belted in around my waist. How long it had been since I’d even noticed my attire! Clothes were important, though. I dimly could recall that, how much people expressed themselves or judged each other based on what they wore.

I looked over at Damian, who was dressed very differently. He was wearing sturdy blue pants and a white, short sleeved shirt. There was a tiny, green dragon at the right hand breast of the shirt.