Prologue: The Calm Before the Storm October dawned cool and gray over the approaches to Cádiz. On the quarterdeck of HMS Victory, anchored off the Gulf of Cádiz, Admiral Horatio Nelson stood as if carved from bronze, cloak billowing, telescope in hand. Twenty miles to the south-west, the combined Franco-Spanish fleet under Vice-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve lay at anchor off Cape Trafalgar, their great hulls creaking...

Chapter 04 – Building fame I sometimes frequented the taverns with John or Robert or both. In the beginning, I wasn’t perfectly disguised, mostly for lack of experience, so even with my scarred face, someone would get the hunch that I was a woman. And in one of these times, a group of sailors from a merchant ship decided that since they hadn’t been getting laid for months, they would look over my scarred face and have fun...

Chapter 03 – First combat One evening, ten days later, we were two days from our destination when the look-out saw sails appear on the horizon. He was good, yes, but what helped him was that the falling sun made the sails reflect for a few moments. It was a fleet of at least five ships. No matter who they were, it was better to flee as quickly as possible. The captain gave orders to change course, going in a direction tha...

Chapter 02 - The escape and the crew acceptance I walked fast, running from a corner to an alley, from a shadow to another, and when I reached the docks, I could see that the non-Spanish ships were already recalling their crews to leave at the first lights. Most of them would carry a number of citizens with them when sailing. And the Galleon, alone, wouldn’t be able to chase any of them, mostly quick merchant brigs made f...

Chapter 1 – Introduction and betrayal “Keep your guard up higher, Cyndria!” “But father, I’m tired! And why should I learn brawling or using swords and knives? I’m a woman and I don’t need it!” In the beginning, I found it fun to exercise with my father in fighting and swordsmanship, so as to have some dedicated time with him, but now it was getting boring. It’s A.D. 1780 and I’m the barely fourteen years old daughter of...

I like it here. I’m not doing anything big, just staring across a carpet of blue flowers, but it feels meaningful. They stretch to the tree line in the distance and smell like spring to me. A breeze kicked up a few minutes ago, causing the flowers to dance. I think they’re celebrating being alive again. I can’t help but sway my shoulders with them. Of course, perennials never really die in winter. Something’s brewing unde...

July 28, 1969 I leaned against the brick in the alley, smoking my cigarette. Man, I needed a break. Don’t get me wrong, I’d sought out the Stonewall Inn for a bartending gig. It was the only place in town where I could breathe without fear that someone would notice I was doing it differently. But sometimes, after watching boys holding boys, shame twisted my gut. Don’t get me wrong, my shame wasn’t about who I was, but abo...

Talvia was still breathing hard from the terror of the situation. It was something she had been scared of ever since she had started living alone. That someone might come and take her away. It wasn’t common, but it did happen sometimes to little girls and young women. Maybe Bivala would stay closer to the hut from now on as a result. Maybe Bivala would even live inside it. The thought gave Talvia hope. Now, she tried to f...

Never had Koushik come to this part of the main village before. It was situated on the very edge of the cluster of huts, and only a few miles from that, the village ventured into the nearest rainforest.  If Abbu and Ammu knew where he was right now, they would yell at him and never let him out until he was grown. But Ammu and Abbu did not have to know, did they? And his guard could be dim-witted at times, so Koushik did...

Taraneh stood in front of a mirror, and compared the reflection to a picture published in an old newspaper. There was hardly any resemblance. It was not merely about the age, but mostly about the spirit. In the picture, published along with an interview with her, she looked hopeful and determined, but now, she couldn't even fake those emotions on her face. Taraneh used to write for children and teenagers of Iran. She even...

The mule stood still in the morning hush, its ears twitching at the wind that moved in dry currents through the mesquite and creosote. There was a silence about the land that did not welcome voices, nor did it yield to memory without cost. The man moved slowly through it, burdened not just by age but by the weight of something far heavier than years. A weight shaped like absence. In the lean shade of the adobe wall, he cr...

Thirty-nine years old 1519 Master’s dead. Master’s dead! I still can’t believe it’s true. My stomach knots and coils while I drag myself along the winding, hidden passageways leading to his workshop within the bowels of the monastery. I steady myself before opening the door, thinking about the way I’d left him. Regret tugs at my heart. Once inside, I slowly walk around the room. Everything is still as I remembered, yet it...

How did I get here? All alone. Where is my company and my friends? Are they dead or wounded? I'm trying to clear my head from the constant bombing. I am a medic. I ran to the nearest hole made by the bombs. I covered my head and thought back to what happened. I remembered I was treating a wounded soldier. Then the shell hit nearby and knocked me over. The captain grabbed me and said, "Get out of here, run to the forest. I...

I remember the joy of your laughter as we escaped to our meadow. Up there amongst the trees and those grass-covered hills, we giggled and danced in the dappled sunlight. With those mischievous eyes you would dare me, and I would strip off my dress and, laughing with delight, we would wade into the stream, splashing and yelling as we immersed ourselves in the icy water. Afterwards, we lay on that tattered old blanket as we...

Sir Oswald had left the room to see Lord Duckham to his coach, after his Lordship had inspected the new stables and made a very surprising presentation to Jack. So surprising, such a shock that, as Becky pressed against him, he was still wrestling with the problem of how to approach what it was now imperative for him to admit. Then he heard the sounds of the coach pulling away. As the room door began to open, they jumped...