Flashback and Flashforward

Thank you Fel, for hosting a wonderful blog hop, where we can trip all over the place flashing back left and right, but don't have to be chemically induced to do it! I can't wait to read all the entries!

I am flashing back to November of this year...I participated in the wonderful magical prolific word inducing NaNoWriMo! I have not shared this with anyone yet...The first few paragraphs of Zelera's Revenge (the sequel to Return of the Crown) to be released later this year...so I'm flashing backwards and forwards and getting all dizzy. This is first draft, so still rough. Craving your opinions should you care to share them.


Ravyn squeezed her eyes tight, the silky fabric fell over her shoulders, caressing her as it slid down her skin. Her dreams came true today. Today she'd marry Blade.
The door crashed open.
Ravyn glimpsed her wild-eyed mother in the mirror before her. Her normally calm and patient mother rushed into the room, her hands clutching the dresser for support. Her breath came in ragged gasps. "Kes, Kestrel! Where are you?" Her voice rose into a shriek. Her stormy blue eyes devoured the room, hungry for her son, but it was empty save for Ravyn and Lady Angelique.
"Mom, Kes isn't here, he's with Nurse Mayweather." She took a step toward her wide-eyed mother, shivers of fear danced along her spine setting her senses tingling.
Lareina stared past her daughter, sinking to the floor. "They're gone," she whispered, "gone".
"That makes no sense. Where would they have gone? Today of all days. Kes is the ring bearer." Ravyn dropped to her knees and put her arms around her mother. "Surely they’re just working off some of his energy," she patted her mother's hand and kissed her pale cheek. Lareina began rocking back and forth, unheeding of anyone or anything.
Ravyn turned a nervous eye to her Lady in Waiting. "Angelique, go get my father, please."
Angelique nodded before she raced out the door, her slippered feet sliding across the polished tile in the hallway.
Ravyn slid her legs out to the side, her silky dress twisting and crumpling beneath her. "Mom, shh, it's okay. I'm sure they're just out in the gardens."
Lareina lifted a trembling hand and turned it palm up. Her eyes carried a weight of guilt that threatened to drown her in a sea of culpability. A crumpled piece of parchment emerged from her tight grasp.
"What is it?" She reached for the note, but her mother’s fingers still gripped it tight.
"No, no, it can't be," Lareina murmured. She stared past Ravyn still searching for signs of Kes.
Ravyn unclenched her mother's fingers and the paper scraped across her skin further grating Ravyn's nerves. Her stomach knotted and she spread the parchment out across her lap. You should have killed me when you had the chance. -Z