Copyright
J.B. Norman
Pela watches in silent amazement as Amara lays down tome after tome on the bookseller’s counter.
“I’ll take Krimson Katja and the Roving Reavers,” the Elf declares. “And Krimson Katja vs. the Chaos Queen, Krimson Katja Meets the Werewolf, Krimson Katja vs. the Malicious Brain, Krimson vs. the Sinister Brain. And, of course, Krimson Katja & Ronan Wayfarer vs. the Vampire-Lord & the Nefarious Brain.”
By the end of her literary splurge, Amara is walking away with a stack of books that’s about two Pelas tall.
“Hey, Amara,” Pela offers as they make their way through the streets. “If you like that kind of adventure stories, you should talk to my Mom. She could give you a whole nother stack of her books. She’d autograph them, too.”
“Yes. Your mother is an author, isn’t she?” Amara replies.
Pela nods. “Yeah. Eleonora Strahlend. She used to be an adventurer, but she retired after she had me,” she explains. “Now, she writes books based on the adventures she had back then.”
“She sounds like quite a remarkable woman,” Amara notes.
Pela smiles broadly. “Yeah! Mom’s great! She always —” She face falls when she suddenly remembers that Amara has lost her own mother.
“S-sorry,” she stammers. “I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”
“It’s quite alright,” Amara answers. “I appreciate your concern, but I lost Mother a long time ago. I’ve learned to manage.” She shrugs. “And, honestly, I’d rather you didn’t treat me like I’m made of glass. I do miss Mother, but I’m not going to start bawling every time someone mentions their mother.”
Pela nods thoughtfully. “Well, if you get lonely, you can borrow my Mom for a bit,” she offers. “I’m sure she’d love to talk all about Krimson Katja with you.”
“Thank you, Pela,” Amara answers with a smile.
“And I mean, hey, most of the writers is Porthaven all sort of know each other,” Pela continues. “Mom could probably set you up for a meeting with Howard R. Morton.”
She nods to the towering stack of pulp literature in Amara’s arms.
“With that many books, you’ve got to be his biggest fan,” she notes. “I’m sure he’d be thrilled to meet you.”
At the prospect of a meeting with Realmgard’s greatest living author, Amara struggles to maintain her composure.
“My dear Pela,” she says, all but visibly trembling with anticipation. “I don’t mean to impose, but I would like to request that you arrange this meeting as soon as possible.”
“Yeah, I’ll see what I can do,” Pela notes.
“I will forever be in your debt,” Amara says.
Pela shrugs. “It’s not a big deal,” she answers.
“I respectfully disagree,” Amara says. “The chance to meet Howard R. Morton in person is rather a huge deal.”
Pela opens her mouth to response, when her attention is caught by a familiar figure passing by.
“Oh,” Pela says. “Hey, Dude Manguy.”
“Hello there, Pela and Amara,” Dude Manguy answers. She points to Amara’s stack of books. “My personal favourite is Krimson Katja and the Fields of Fire.”
FYI: most of those names are inspired by the titles of El Santo movies.
Dude fought a lot of brains…
The rest of my writing exercises are here. This scene is from August 2022.
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