Crystals-Part 10

Old Noddy was not in his garden.

“Well Rinna, what do you suggest we do?”  Cherry asked.

Rinna looked around.  “I know he has a library!  He let me borrow a book once.”

“All right, let’s go.”

*

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The two elves flipped through pages and volumes of books.  Rinna kept getting distracted by the intricate bindings and exotic titles.

“Something helpful would be good to find,” Cherry said as Rinna pulled out Aqueous Animals.

“Of course,” Rinna put it back, causing another book to fall.

“Cherry!”

“What?”

“Does Historic Royal Escapes sound helpful to you?”

“Yes!” Cherry took it and flipped through.  Illustrations of everything from summer camps to romantic beaches covered the pages.

“This looks promising,” Rinna pointed to a picture of a mountain.

“I guess the winter royals don’t have much in the way of ‘escapes’.” Cherry said as she looked at the picture.  White walls and light wooden flooring with little in the way of opulence greeted her.

“At least we have a destination!” Rinna said, pointing to an annotation in the margin: Wynter’s place when she wants to be alone.

*

“Your highness, our search parties were unsuccessful.  I am sorry.”

Princess Autumn raised her head, revealing puffy, bloodshot eyes.  “Keep looking.  She is out there somewhere.”

“Your highness,” the guard bowed, and left.

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Princess Autumn sighed.  Going without sleep was not good for her attitude.  Every hour, another need appeared, and she grew angrier at Wynter.   She massaged her temples and sighed again.  There is work to be done.

*

Hello!

Aren’t you glad it’s May?  Our trees are finally blooming. ❤ !

Final exams are almost done, too!  Hope all of your lives are going well right now.

What’s your favorite season/month?

❤ ,

IrishAG

Crystals- Part 8

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Autumn Kingdom Guard

“Lady Autumn, I mean, Princess,” a guard said, “Princess Wynter is gone.”

Autumn was panicked.  “I’ve only been princess for a few hours!”  Coming to herself, she thanked the guard and encouraged extra diligence.

The party was rapidly cancelled, worried guests pouring into the night.  Princess Autumn followed them.  Snowflakes were swirling with the leaves.  Autumn stopped in her tracks.

“What is it?”  Fleurette asked.

“There has never been snow in this kingdom before.”  was the faint reply.

Sommar placed a hand on Autumn’s shoulder.  Autumn breathed deeply.  “We’ll think of something.  We will find Princess Wynter, and speak with her.”

“Your highness, this is an act of treachery!” exclaimed a guard.

Treachery.  The word slapped the chilled air and hung there.

“We will consider it.”  was all Autumn said, dismissing the guard.

“At least she can’t have gone far.”  said Fleurette.

“Oh yes, she could.”  replied Sommar darkly.

“Enough!” Autumn said.  “We will deal with this like we were taught, like princesses!”

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Wynter had quickly conjured ice horses, and an attached sleigh.

“Hyah!” she drove them away.  Snow gathered on the ground, and Wynter’s tears were frozen on her cheeks.  No one will find me.

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Hello!

I’ve been experimenting with editing real-life photos and putting them in photostories.  What do you think?

Hope you’re all doing okay and enjoying Crystals!  Do you have a favorite character?

❤ ,

IrishAG

Crystals- Part 7

“Princess Wynter?”  Fleurette looked all over the palace.  No one knew where she had gone, or when she’d be back.

In the side corridor by the ballroom, she heard sniffling.  A brief search revealed a young elf, crying behind a flower urn.

“Oh, sweet pea,” Fleurette knelt beside her, “What’s wrong?”

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The elf raised her head and pointed.

“The corridor?  I know, the dark is scary.  When I was little, I needed a glow worm.  He lit my room.  And see?  The moon lights the corridor even now.” she rose and opened a heavy curtain.  “Just like my glow worm.”

The elf did not stop.  Fleurette looked about the corridor, following the finger.

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A frozen gnome gleamed in the moonlight.

*

“Artfully, dreadfully frozen!”  Sommar said to Autumn when Fleurette had brought the news, “Only one could have done this.”

“You don’t think…”

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“Who else has ice powers?”  Sommar challenged.  “And he’s our only contact with Queen Elaina!  Do you think that is a coincidence?”

*

Wynter stumbled out of the palace.  Get out, get out, get out.  They have power here.  She ran to the stables.

Above her head, snow began to fall.

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Hello all!

Hope you have all been safe + healthy!  Did you know that today is National Close Friends day?

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Here is a virtual rose, with love from the IrishAG site!  Spread the love, and feel free to use the above image.  😀

What did you think of this installment of Crystals?

❤ ,

IrishAG

 

 

Crystals- Part 6

Hey readers!  Just a quick reminder: this story is based on The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen.  The other installments, if you haven’t read them already, are in this order:

  1. Prologue
  2. Part 1
  3. Part 2
  4. Part 3
  5. Part 4
  6. Part 5

Okay, back to the story!

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“Hello Fleurette!” Autumn said, coming up after a particularly tiring dance.

“You seem flushed.”

“Of course!  You can’t tarantella without a little exhaustion.  If I was a human, I’d go straight to Italy.  Fashionable cities, dry heat…”  Autumn extended her arms, eyes closed as if she could feel the breeze.

“Oh, but Elfwyld is ever so much nicer than the human world!  Just think, there would be so many humans, you wouldn’t know them all!”

“That’d be the wonder of it.  Everything new and different.  But it would be scary, at first.  There’s Sommar!  I’m glad someone got her to dance.  Where’s Wynter?”  Autumn looked around, but the ballroom was full of other elves.

*

The side corridor was cool.  The night wind breezed through the open french doors.  Noise from the ballroom was muted where Eegrek led Wynter.

“I regret to inform you of your parents’ deaths.”

“Wha- no!  They were going to meet me here!  After their business!”  Wynter felt sadness evaporate in the heat of her anger.  “They promised!”

Eegrek stepped back, not knowing what to say.  She overtook him in a stride.

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“How did it happen?” she hissed, a tear slipping down her porcelain cheek.

“It was an evil trick, your highness.  An evil magic practitioner made a vision of suffering gnomes.  Your parents went to help them, and…” he made a helpless gesture.  “I am sure they have gone to their reward.”

“Oh yes.” she said chillingly, clutching an unfortunate leaf that had blown in and freezing it.  “Surely.  You gnomes, hmm?”

“Are you mad?”  Eegrek asked.

Wynter only smiled.

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The plot thickens…

I never really liked the story of the Snow Queen when I was little… What are some of your favorite fairy tales now?  When you were younger?

❤ , IrishAG

Crystals- Part 4

The newly-crowned princesses had a ball that night.

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“Oh Fleurette,” complained Autumn, “I hate dresses!”

“But you look so pretty in them!”  Fleurette gushed.

The gnome, Eegrek, had told Autumn to change into “more elven clothing”.  Autumn frowned in the mirror.

Sommar read in the corner, while Wynter gazed out the window at the flame-colored foliage.  She exhaled, creating a snowflake.

close up photography of snowflake
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“Wow!”  Wynter turned and saw Fleurette.  “Do it again!”

“I don’t really do it on demand, usually it’s a more natural thing…”  Wynter protested.

“Please?”  Fleurette made puppy eyes.

In response, Wynter sighed deeply, making another snowflake.

“We should go down soon.”  Sommar interrupted.

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Crystals-Part 3

castle walls surrounded by trees
Outside of Fall Palace

When Sommar walked up the steps, only a solitary elf was at the top of them.  Which was good, because Sommar hated pomp.  The elf introduced herself as Posie.  Sommar saw someone watching her from the window.  She followed Posie to the Council, where the other Ladies were assembled.

I’m the last one!  She thought in dismay, grateful for her dark complexion that hid her blush.  As she sat, a gnome waddled to the middle of the room.

“Ladies of the seasons, we welcome you to the Fall Kingdom.  We hope this council will be friendly and fruitful.”  The familiar words washed over the Ladies, who had heard them addressed to the Princesses before them.  The gnome allowed for quiet murmurs of agreement.  “Today is special, because for the first time, all of the Season Princesses are replaced by an individual from their respective kingdoms with extraordinary gifts.  They are the ladies Fleurette for Spring, Sommar for Summer, Autumn for Fall, and Wynter for Winter.  As this pleases Queen Elaina, we will begin.”  His eyes skittered to the side.

All the ladies rose in a practiced way and formed a line to be crowned.  “Lady Fleurette, of Spring.  You have promised to live by our Season’s Laws and have completed your education.  I pronounce you Princess Fleurette of Spring.”

Fleurette almost did a happy dance.  “Thank you.”  She stepped away.

The same was done for Sommar and Autumn.  The gnome hesitated for a moment when Wynter approached.  I foresee darkness and chaos.  “As Queen Elaina wishes, so it shall be.” he mumbled uncertainly after proclaiming Wynter a princess.

 

A little tiny update

Hey guys!

Happy 2018, by the way.

So, I haven’t posted in a long time.  The biggest reason is all the crazy back-to-school and other changes lately.  But also, I found out that the camera I use isn’t working well.  The battery’s probably the problem, so I’ll have to find one of those…

But when I come back, I’ll have a bunch of posts in the works!

Thank you for your patience.

❤ , IrishAG

P.S.  Here’s a picture of Saige, taken by Gymnast03.

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Happy Valentine’s Day 2017

Hey everyone!  Happy heart day!  I hope your day is full of family, fun and treats!

To celebrate, I dressed up some of the dolls as… (guess!)
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Have you guessed yet?

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Brynn, Noa and Elana from AG Life!  (Saige as Brynn, Elizabeth the 1st as Noa, and Josefina as Elana.)  In a recent episode, they made popcorn.  And we had 4 doll popcorns from the Lea movie event, so it was perfect!

Grace Thomas, being the baker that she is, had to get in on the fun, too!  She made tarts for Valentine’s day.3-17-16 010.JPGHere’s a shot from “her kitchen”.   🙂

3-17-16-013Voila!

How did you celebrate Valentine’s day?

❤  ❤  ❤  ,

IrishAG

Crystals- Part 2

Cast:

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Nellie as Lady Fleurette

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Saige as Lady Autumn

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Addy as Lady Sommar

Part 2

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Lady Fleurette was excited.  Today she’d be coronated!  She would start her job as the Spring Princess.  Her mother had been very nervous about letting her go by herself to the Fall kingdom, which made Fleurette a little miffed.  But then, I did get my long locks accidentally burned off… and didn’t wear my hat, and freckled… she thought, fingering her now above shoulder length hair and fidgeting.  Her mother’s words from a few days ago came back to her:

“Sit still, Fleurette!”

“But I’m so antsy!  I’ve never seen the whole council, and Spring is only two seasons away!”

Her mother had smiled in spite of herself.  “You’ll need to be calm for the council, though.”

Fleurette gazed at the moving scenery, letting her mother’s words fade back into her memory.

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     Lady Autumn breathed in the leafy air.  Fall, the season I’ll be in charge of.  Soon.  She loved everything about Fall: pumpkins, leaves, apple everything, and something Humans called Halloween, where children dressed up and ate too much candy.  And the fashionable clothes humans wore!  She’d tried to replicate one, with orange skinny pants and a billowy top.  Even her curly red hair screamed Fall.

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     She blissfully turned her freckled face to the sun.  Since it was “her” season, the council would be held at her palace.

“I’ve gotta get back!”  she yelped, running home as fast as her boots could carry her.

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     Lady Sommar was busy reading in her carriage.  Or, that’s what she was supposed to be doing.  She was actually staring out at the leafy trees, mourning that her season wouldn’t come for many months now.  Maybe the Queen will want a shorter Spring, her optimistic side hoped. But that’s still forever away!  Her dramatic side groaned.  She just couldn’t focus on her book, although she loved reading.  She daydreamed stories while sunshine streamed through the leaves and kissed her dark face.

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Hey guys!  Can you believe November’s almost over?

So yay, new characters!  Their costumes were super fun to create.  Gymnast03 helped a lot, especially with Autumn’s outfit.  Feedback would be awesome!

❤ , IrishAG