Living in a Dream

Edith Hargrove was born in the winter of 1872.  Her parents, Frank and Daisy Hargrove, were factory workers.  The Hargrove family lived in a shoddy tenement with four other families, an unrewarding life.  They paid rent on their overpriced room to an ungrateful landlord; they worked sixteen-hour shifts in the factory; and on top of this, were attempting to raise a child they did not intend to have.

( Prologue )

This is now; it is when the crow spreads his dark wings and releases all thought. He propels himself toward the sky with the grace of a lady and lands on a street sign not far away. His eyes scan the darkness for any sign of life, and once he finds his mark he stares, and the grace is gone, and fear is shocked into the fluttering hearts of the little girls who see him.

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( Background )

I don’t know if I like all of the freedom your mother has given you,” Daniel said.

I shrugged.

“Listen,” I said, “You can try to make up for the time and influence you lost, if that’s what you want to do.  I’m just thinking that you fucked up in the beginning and we’re not gonna have a happy ending. You’re not the only one of us who has missed out on his son’s life, but unlike you, I didn’t have a choice.”

“I'm sorry.”  The words were barely audible, lying quietly on the edge of Daniel's breath.

“I bet you feel like a bastard for pushing my buttons now, right? Truth be told, you’re the lucky one. If you really want to be a part of my life, you only had to wait seventeen years for your chance.  I’m never gonna see Rowan again.”

Daniel drove in silence for the rest of the trip.

Fuck you for letting me fall.

The palace at Cair Llannerch; indeed, the whole country of Brigden was in mourning for Queen Ríonach.

It was late in October when Queen Ríonach was called out to West Country. Her stay in West Country was pleasant, and she lodged with the affluent Leannain family. During Ríonach’s stay the Lady of the household gave birth to a child; in fact, Queen Ríonach, being a close personal friend of Lady Róisín Leannain, traveled to West Country just as soon as she received word of Róisín’s labor.

( Chapter 1, Part 2 )