by Meg Cowley
In the weeks since her father’s announcement, no amount of thinking and rethinking had managed to give her a solution. There seemed to be no honourable escape from her predicament. The fear she had felt that night over dinner had not vanished, instead returning with malicious glee to torment her again at whatever waking moment it could.
A dress had already been laid out for her. It was pretty, she could not deny it, but knowing what it symbolised made her want to burn it rather than wear it. Her skin crawled as the maid’s cold fingers buttoned it from the back. There had been no time to send for fabric to have a new garment made. Instead, an older dress had been altered, fitted with lace trims and resized to fit with perfection. I preferred it how it was. She fingered the lace with dislike.
Although the dress was not optional, breakfast was out of the question thanks to her roiling stomach. She turned away the plate, instead going to the stables – taking care not to catch her dress in the mud – to see Alia. Alia never failed to calm her, and, as usual, the horse moved to greet her with a gentle whinny, nuzzling her shoulder and nibbling at her palm for treats.
“Nothing for you today, girl,” Eve mumbled, leaning against Alia’s neck and closing her eyes.
Eve stayed there for as long as she could, until the inevitable occurred.
“Eve!” her father’s voice rang out in the distance. “Eve!”
“Wish me luck, Alia,” Eve whispered.
~
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About the author
Meg is an author and illustrator living in Yorkshire, England, with her partner and their cats (overlords) Jet and Pixie.
Meg has her parents to thank for her vivid imagination – they fed her early reading and drawing addiction to the point where Meg spent years inhabiting the school library and hiding under the covers at night with a torch, unable to stop reading. The first story Meg remembers writing as a child was about a clever fox (but thankfully that tale is long lost). At school, if she wasn't reading a book under her desk, Meg was getting told off for drawing in her classwork books!
Mostly Meg is inspired by nature and great works of art and fiction. She likes to experiment with new ideas and finds being an author and illustrator tremendously exciting and motivating! Meg usually works best when fuelled by earl grey tea, margherita pizza and characters who won't do what they're told. Generally, Meg prefers to live in her own or other peoples' fictional worlds (where bills and chores don't exist).
In the real world, Meg has a BA (Hons) degree in Primary Education and previously worked in accountancy after leaving school. She has completed a variety of private commissions and personal design projects since 2004, mainly digital fantasy/semi-realism paintings. In her spare time, when not writing, reading, drawing or fulfilling her other duties, Meg enjoys recurve archery, hiking, sleeping and cooking.