Snippet Saturday: Public Scene

Snippet Saturday is the brainchild of author Lauren Dane, wherein a group of authors selects thematic excerpts from their work and shares them on Saturday mornings. This Saturday the theme is public scenes. In One Thousand Kisses, our hero Embor Fiertag is Primary of the Realm (along with his twin sister) and prides himself on his willingness to interact with his "public". Thus, I have chosen this scene where he is doing just that for today's snippet. From Chapter Three:

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The laundry fairy accepted Embor’s bundle of soiled fabric with a scowl. “This reeks. What have you been doing, Primary?”

Embor raised an eyebrow but explained since it might help her cleanse the fabric. “I encountered the Serendipity triplets.”

“In a pigsty?” The tiny blonde cast a stasis spell on the bundle to prevent cross contamination.

“In the garden.” All Court members had PAs to lighten the workload, but since the Incident, it was frowned on for anyone to distance themselves from basic survival skills. For Embor that meant handling personal business like laundry himself. Sometimes.

“Well, don’t do it again.” She tossed his clothing down a chute.

“It’s not on my schedule.” His upcoming meeting with Jake would hopefully be free of children. And Talista. He stifled an abrupt yawn and frowned.

Happily, she missed his display of weakness. She scribbled his name in a paper book, a method of recordkeeping in vogue since the Incident as well. Much had changed in the past forty years.

“Do you know how hard it is to get whites white?” she complained. “Who decided white exercise clothes were a good idea anyway?”

The question seemed rhetorical so he didn’t respond.

“Your sib’s outfits are bad enough,” she continued. “If she’d dress like a decent fairy, I wouldn’t spend more time on her clothing than anyone else’s at Court. Don’t think I didn’t notice that yellow leather outfit. Leather! Might as well have been wearing a meat sack. What is wrong with her?”

Another rhetorical question, he hoped. He abhorred Skythia’s garish clothing as well but didn’t want to go on record as having stated it.

The woman regarded him with a craftiness that didn’t match her apple cheeks and corkscrew curls. “I might not be able to get these done in time for your next workout.”

Embor drew himself up to his full height. “I have several sets.”

“The others aren’t ready either. You’ve been exercising so much lately. One might think you were working off steam.”

That was no secret. Court became contentious as Primary assessments approached. At least he’d quit attempting to convince the Elders to fund a full-scale humanspace search mission and had redirected his energies. They were foolish to ignore the danger posed by the renegade agents and their insider knowledge about the AOC. Embor was many things, but he wasn’t a fool.

But he did need to enhance his stamina with moderate exercise. If he encountered Anisette in the gardens at the same time, well, he was fond of multitasking.

“A logical conclusion,” he conceded. “I am the Primary. There is stress involved.” He seemed to be informing people of this a lot lately.

“You’re not coming here to visit with me, that’s for certain. I’m surprised you haven’t paid for pick-up and delivery.”

“An unnecessary expense for something my assistant or I can handle.” Interacting with citizens like the laundress allowed him the opportunity to gauge his constituency. He spoke to at least one voter on a weekly basis.

“Skythia doesn’t worry about thrift. So what’ll it be, Elder?”

Always there were hidden fees. “I can offer—”

“Ten transportation globes, Realm-wide. And information.”

“Information?” Globes he’d expected. But information?

“That’s my new rate for next-day delivery.” Banging and clattering echoed up the chute. She opened the wooden door and stuck her head in the hole. “What in the gnome-stick are you doing down there?”

“Tripped!” a voice echoed up the shaft.

“We’re training another sorter,” she told Embor. “Laundry’s big business with the influx of human clothes, and hardly anyone can do it. But now let’s talk about you.”

“Your sibs don’t ask ten globes for a job they’re already well-paid to do.” Many Court services were privatized, the suppliers allotted a base amount from the treasury.

“My sibs couldn’t magic a water stain out of a dishrag.” She slammed her book closed and placed another on top of it. “Do you want clean clothes or not?”

He crossed his arms. “What’s your clan name?”

“Serendipity.” She smiled. “We’re small, but we’re loud.”

He could see the resemblance to Talista, if not Anisette. “Seeking information about Court activities could be considered treasonous.”

She laughed. “That’s not the kind of information I want.”

Was it so important to chat with a constituent this week? He didn’t have time for this. There was an Elder Court session in three days, and he had to prepare new arguments, consult with his cabinet, attend some negotiations with Greenland, sit advisory in the Younger Court on judicial matters, consider an appointment with his physician about his sleep issues; meet with Jake Story about their clandestine project, coordinate with the Commission for Truth about the AOC, insinuate himself into Princess Anisette’s good graces and banish Warran of Clan Torval. For something.

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Places to buy One Thousand Kisses (ebook):

All Romance Ebooks
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Books on Board
Diesel Ebooks
Fictionwise
Google Books
Mobipocket
Powells
Samhain Publishing
Sony

Jody W.
www.jodywallace.com * www.meankitty.com

For more public scenes, be sure to visit the following authors and say hello to some of the new Snippet Saturday posters in the list!

Mari Carr
McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Lacey Savage
Sasha White
Jody Wallace
Leah Braemel
Lauren Dane
Beth-Ann Mason
Shiloh Walker
Denise A. Agnew
Eliza Gayle
Alison Kent