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'The Passing Bell', ONC2022The Passing Bell" is based on Prompt 62: The old man you've been taking care of at the hospital has passed on. And in their will, you've been given their Wiltshire mansion. It's your first day in the house but something seems off; and, Prompt 65: You were told if you find a bell in the woods to never ring it, or you will be cursed! While hiking deep in the forest, you-literally-stumble across a bell.The title comes my checking on the use of bells in England in older times. Bells gave information. i.e., summoning to church, or announcing a death (knell). A passing bell was rung to call a curate to a person about to die. The death bell was rung when the person died. The funeral bell (formerly lych or corpse bell) was rung for the funeral.Two bells appear in this story: Hydd's bell, and St. Duncan's bell.April Waverly cared for Drew Ramsey the last few years of his life. He leaves her his Wiltshire farm, Oakton, in his will. However, there are conditions: 1) she must live at Oakton continuously until Ostara; 2) she may not marry or have a relationship until the month after Ostara; 3) Ramsey's religfious group, the Pelham Druids, must be allowed to worship at the King's Oak until Ostara; 3) she must attend the seasonal festivals of the Pelham druids until Ostara in place of Drew; and, 4) she must maintain Oakton as is until Ostara.…

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American divorcee April Waverly learns she is the heir chosen to inherit Oakton, Sir Drew Ramsey's home farm. Elderly, crippled, sinister Drew promised to repay her for her carer role in his last few years. He loved two things only in this world: his Siamese cat, currently Nala, ancient and sharp-clawed; and Oakton. The Ramseys received Oakton as a reward from the Conqueror through marriage to its heiress, and Drew would do whatever was necessary to keep Oakton in the Ramsey family. He was the last Ramsey, and he was prepared to solve this problem.April agrees to the obligations to inherit Oakton, for in addition to its worth, she loves the farm and Wiltshire. Ben Muir, Drew's unctuous lawyer and heir to the rest of Drew's large fortune, has control of Oakton and her until she actually inherits after Ostara. He wants her to inherit Oakton, for reasons she cannot discern. He knows too much about Oakton and her, and she begins to stand up for herself against him. The Spring equinox festival of the druids is the occasion for her to become Mistress of Oakton.A local sheepherder mentions the curse on the heir of Oakton to her, but laughs it off, as she is not a Ramsey. A bell that summons and repels a spirit monster goes missing, to the frenzy of the Oakton Druid cult. April hears footsteps following her around the Lodge at Oakton and items are displayed for her to find. Sheep are killed by a mysterious predator, and the guard llama is constantly alert. She finds a dead man floating in a bog at Oakton. She is falling in love with the handsome local vet who cares for the farm's animals, and thinks her feelings might be returned. April wants Oakton, not just the land and its value, but the home and future it promises her.Ostara nears, and April must face the forces that want her body and soul, and hope for help from those who stand against the evil that haunts Oakton.…

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Short and long poems of many kinds.…

JaneQuill28

Science fiction short stories.crazyp01 first arrivals completion tag.*…

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Anela (Ringworld 7-CR} circles the GV2 star Anelon in the Hermes Cluster. The endless day this makes is alleviated by a Nightshade, a half-ring that orbits within the orbit of Anelon. The Nightshade blocks the sun to make artificial night, where stars never shine.Solon abandoned Anela 125 years ago in the third year of the Grolon War. In RingYear 4 (RY4), the Nightshade failed. The architects and engineers were gone, leaving no one to repair the damage, and no space equipment to work with. The Nightshade broke up with some chunks the size of continents. Some parts disappeared, perhaps into the sun or wandering anywhere in the galaxy, but a few still orbit, casting sporadic, brief night shadows on the Ring.In RY125, Joss Anders lives in Hemmler City, managing the City's Recycling center. His Second-Class Degree in Mathematics, Astrophysics, and Celestial Navigation does not come with the near-automatic opportunity for marriage and child licenses. He lives the singleton life, common to most adult Anelons under 40. He and his best friend, Renny, enjoy the opportunities Hemmler City offers and find short or long-term Nightmates, known as friends with benefits.Joss's life takes an unexpected turn for the better, and over the next few months, he lives a future lost after college. Many anomalies begin to puzzle and worry him. Nightshades cast their shadows more often. Standard weather patterns change for the worse. Crop shortages raise food and drink prices. The birthrate is twenty-seven percent lower than twenty years ago.Joson repeats the calculation with the same result: the endless day of Anela will end.…

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Entries to various contests and other stories. Short stories, drabbles, and so on.…

JaneQuill28

Metty Griffin, working her way through college, meets Alexei de Moreno, cousin to Crown Prince Marco of Almurias, when Marco is banished to Charleston for misbehavior by his grandfather, Prince Sebastian of Almurias.Alexei is recovering from injuries and PTSD received in the training during his military training and is obsessed by his feelings for the beautiful Jessica, who is pursuing Marco relentlessly. Jessica follows Marco to Charleston. Alexei begins to heal, become disenchanted with Jessica and begins to fall in love with Metty.Metty feelings for Alexei turn into love, but she is not sure she can love someone so different from her working-class family.She decides the relationship must end when he returns to Almurias, and to be with him while she may. Marco dallies with the lovely, venal Madison, as Jessica waits for the opportunity to capture Marco and become a princess.…

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Max Kingsbrooke survives the purge of his family by Olga, his sister. She conspires to rule Avalon by becoming the last mage. However, Max shares power with her as long as he lives. He escapes to Greenfield, on Earth where he lives with his Uncle Nash, an earthman, the widower of Joanie, his mage aunt. He blocks passage from Avalon to Earth--the Ordinary, and withdraws from most of Greenfield life by using his magic to go unnoticed--invisible when he leaves his Uncle's cafe.He takes the bus to Greenfield to study and relax, unnoticed by the students and staff, until one day, Darcy, an Ordinary girl, speaks to him on the bus.He is frightened because he believes Olga sent the girl to track him down and arrange for an assassin. When he realizes that Darcy has no connection with Avalon or Olga, he gets to know and like her more than he expected, and to like Greenfield in the last few days before the Solstice, when barriers weaken and Olga may send after him.…

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Various contest entries.…

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King Uther of Forland is old and failing. His grandson and heir, Prince Richard, lives the good life: anything that gives him an adrenaline rush. He gives cursory attention to his duties and means to keep living the life he enjoys.The prosperous Duchy of Westmere can only be inherited by a male. The Duke of Westmere, Prince Sean, despises the Royal Family for shunning his parents when his father married a commoner they called unacceptable.Richard dies unexpectedly. Sean, now King against everyone's wishes, is the one man who can keep the Kingdom together. And he wants to break Forland in two.With no choice but Sean, the Royal Family and Government plot to keep Sean in line by marrying him to a cousin. He has other plans for his country and his heart. He wants to marry Isobel, twice-divorced, beautiful, scandalous and ambitious. She wants the advantages of being Queen. Sean is forced to meet any number of hopeful young women but plays the field. He decides to force the Family and Government to allow him to marry Isobel by selecting the least suitable girlfriend he can find.Pam is a clerical temp, a foreigner, and the opposite of princess material. She's no Cinderella, beautiful under her rags, but a tired young woman who lives paycheck to paycheck. They have nothing in common.Sean tries to hire her to pretend to be his girlfriend. She says it is deceitful. Her mother's financial troubles lead her to accept. He arranges generous compensation for her help that will relieve her financial quandary if she can make Isobel look good. Their relationship is platonic despite appearances. He starts to depend on Pam more and more. He misses her when she is away. Sean is pushed to choose his cousin by the Government, Isobel by his desires and Pam by his heart.The Family demands he marry his cousin and the Government begins to favor Pam. She wants to return to the US. Sean must choose between his heart and his country or find a way to unite them.…

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Poems for the Poetry Camp.…

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Anthology of stories, tales, yarns and other happenings of love, romance, heartbreak, and relationships.An Anthology of Tales, Stories, Yarns and other Happenings of the Heart…

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Its 2025. Viv saved for years to spend the summer in London and England and take theater and film classes. Now she's there, visiting places she'd only read or seen in pictures, and tracking down some of the places in Pop's (her great-grandad) diary from his World War II days there. The church of St. George was the location of the George and Dragon Gate, lost in bombing during the Blitz. Legend says you can pay the fare and travel to the past. Pop's diary had pictures and identification of the gate, and she shares the information with Duke Ernst von Saxe-Alte, and Otto, his cousin, Germans making a film at her Uni. Viv and Arthur travel to 1936 London and return to a London under Nazi rule. Ernst and Otto, neo-Nazis , traveled back to 1930's London and guided the Nazi's and their allies to world domination.Viv and Arthur alone can try to undo the changes Ernst and Otto made before Ernst captures them.This story contains some war and soldier, army of occupation and violence and war crimes associated with World War 2. Such scenes may be triggering.…

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Lexy Logan struggles to restart her life in Manhattan after Covid. One stormy night, she must evacuate her apartment. She waits by Central Park for the fireman guide to return when an unusual lightning strike blacks out the neighborhood.When the world clears, Lexy is trapped under an abandoned horse carriage and it's morning. A man in a Superman costume lifts the carriage off her. He insists he is Superman, her favorite superhero. EMTs arrive to help her, and 'Superman' vanishes. She waits for transportation to a hospital when a dark-haired reporter interviews her. He claims to be Clark Kent, of Metropolis, shows her the Daily Planet building, and has never heard of New York City. EMTs sedate her when she becomes hysterical. The last thing Lexy hears before falling asleep is that they will take her to Lex Luthor Medical Center.…

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Gary goes to Rance's Halloween Party as Stella escort after her fight with Rance, her boyfriend. Rance, the high school's star football player hosts a big party hosted. Rance has vodka to enhance the punch.Gary and Rance walk Stella and Berry home before curfew, but Stella insists on breaking into the Maze at the fair after hours. The Maze is much bigger than Gary thought.…

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Seppo has existed 110 years, the last 49 passing as human: a career as astronavigator, marriage, raising a son, retired, widowed, living in Drisk on the Moon Colonies. He has a cat, Moonstone, and hangs out with Nina Abernathy, his bestie, hoping to live out his last years in peace.If, and when, he is discovered, his existence will be discontinued, for his kind are not considered alive.…

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ONC 2021 Fanfiction prompt 13 and Romance Prompt 71.This novella is a non-canon version of Superman, with some of the same characters and places.Lexy Logan is sent from an Earth like ours where Superman is a fictional character to one where he is a real man, Clark Kent. Clark befriends her and helps her live in his world until she has to leave. She falls in love with Clark and tries to hide her feelings to protect them both, but he falls in love with her, and can't hide his feelings, but they accept what they can share until she must leave.…

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Short stories for the Halloween Vault 3D 2020 and Halloween Vault 2021 are collected here. Table of Contents lists the stories.…

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Gloves Up! LayethTheSmackdown presents a multi-genre smackdown.…

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On Earth in the 26th Century, Modern Era, Terrans can breath water, have extra arms or eyes, fur, scales, be taller, shorter or any genemod they want from the day they turn 18. The one thing humans can't do is travel outside Sol System. Every attempt has ended in death for every astronaut who has gone to another star.The alien Yanans find Earth and form a friendship, although they cannot admit Terrans to their explorations of the galaxy. Roystan6 (Roys) wanted to travel to the stars more than anything else. His wealthy parents run a prominent genemod lab, but there is nothing they or the Yanans can do to send Terrans to the stars. His first genemod the day he turns 18 is the beginning of his resolve to make starfarers of Terrans.…