- a continuing celebration of
-
Fifty Years of Pratchett
Β© 2023 Duleigh Lawrence-Townshend. All rights reserved. The author asserts the right to be identified as the author of this story for all portions not previously copyrighted by Terry Pratchett. This story or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a review or commentary. If you see this story on any website other than Literotica.com, it has been copied without the author's permission.
This is a work of love, a fan fiction. Many of these characters are the creation of Sir Terry Pratchett, as is the multiverse in which they live. If you would like to find out which of these characters is or is not a creation of Terry, please contact this author. This tale was not written to steal the fame that Sir Terry rightfully earned, but to enjoy one more romp in the shadow of Cori Celesti and remind the world of what we lost on March 12, 2015.
"One day I'll be dead and THEN you'll all be sorry."
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Terry Pratchett, 28 Nov 1992 on alt.fan.pratchett
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ENCHANTRESS 7
The Royal Family
{
With parenthetical annotations
}
Hollie Worblehat-Stein always wanted to be a witch, but she didn't realize how lonely it was. Ever since they visited Agness Dempsy's cottage and got her first black cat, Trei, she knew that being a witch was for her, but it's such a solitary job. Sure Carl, Alphie, and Bertie were always around working on the duke's farm which was all around her, and a different witch stayed with her every night. And another witch came by almost daily for training on one thing or another... so it wasn't a lack of people that made this a lonely job, it was a lack of the
right
people.
Her family was gone... Mom and Dad and her four younger siblings were living in the castle over in Lancre Town, it's only two miles away as the crow flies, but she's not a crow. There's a ridge of rock called Breeders Peak to climb over to get there typically. Her older brother Marlon was living in the Watch House in Creel Springs until the Duke's house was built, and she was left behind in the cottage that she grew up in, a witch's cottage, and she always felt alone. She only had her cat Trei and her baby gargoyle Gula to talk to. {
all gargoyles are named Gula
} She toiled in her herb garden with her garden gnomes guiding her as she tilled the soil and plucked weeds. "This one be ready for pickin' lassie," said Mac McTill, her tiny head gardener as he pointed out an herb nearby. "She's best fresh, but she'll dry properly if you hang her stem up." Mr. McTill was four inches tall, which made him short, even for a garden gnome.
"Thanks Mister McTill," and Hollie plucked the herb called Husbands Button and was studying it, memorizing its tell-tale signs of ripeness when a small Lancre Watch carriage rode up.
"Miss Worblehat-Stein, I was sent by the king to collect you."
"Constable Markus Ivers I wouldn't go with you if you were driving the grandest coach in Lancre." Suddenly Hollie didn't feel lonely anymore, but she wasn't going to tell him that.
"Why are you treating me like that? I'm just here to give you a ride."
"I can ride my broom, thank you." She kept her back to him. She hasn't actually learned how to get her broom to fly yet, but she can hover quite well, and if there's a stiff breeze to blow her around it's almost like flying.
Mark sat in the carriage fuming, then he took the king's advice. He got out of the carriage and limped to her on a crutch. The beating he took during the Battle of Creel Springs will take a long time to heal, his right knee was still in a splint, it may never flex properly again, his left arm was in a plaster cast from shoulder to hand, his right eye covered in an eye patch. He scooped her to him with his cast and held her tight, her tight round ass pressed against him making his pain even worse. "Why are you being so obstinate?"
"Why are you avoiding me?" she demanded.
"Because you deserve a proper man!" he nearly shouted, "not just a collection of bits that may never join back together suitable."
"You took that beating to protect me," she whispered. During the Battle of Creel Springs, he delayed the attackers long enough for her to get her brothers, sisters, and grandmothers into their bookstore lock the door and get away through L-Space leaving him behind to face a mob of mercenaries bent on destroying the village and killing everyone in it. She turned around and looked at Mark, he was a good-looking man, even with the bandages, cast, one black eye and one covered by a patch. And knowing that he took that beating to protect her was the sexiest thing of all. "I told you, when your healing is done, my mom can put everything back to right. She won't interfere with the healing process."
"I don't know if she can fix my... my..." he sighed in exasperation. Mark took some savage kicks to the testicles and it's only recently that he's been able to walk.
"Who says she can't? I'll ask her."
"No... it's embarrassing." He didn't want to bring that up to the queen, not in the least.
"She's got six kids, you got nothing new to shock her."
Mark's eye bugged open in surprise. "She... I... wha?"