Page 1868 -- CXCV.

((Triple Saturday -- Page 2 of 3))
He had to relax. Everything was probably fine. They were in the dining room. Everyone was being seated. He just had to focus on finding his assigned spot. His eyes half-panickedly searched among the triangular name cards for “Hector Goffe.” There were so many tables, all pristinely decorated, but the Queen’s was the largest and at the center of the room. That one would probably be reserved for all the Belgrants and Lumenbels, though, right? He wouldn’t be assigned there, would he? He’d have been placed somewhere--

Nope. His name was right there at the Queen’s table, only one chair away from her. And that one chair between them had the name “Lynnette Edith” assigned to it.

He was going to have to sit next to Lynn.

Of-fucking-course he was.

He closed his eyes, rubbed his forehead with one hand, and inhaled deeply.

It was going to be a long dinner.


Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Five: ‘The furtive banquet...’
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The media was finally allowed into the castle, but only to take photographs of the enormous gathering before dinner. They were soon ushered back out by the security staff, presumably so as not to disturb the guests while they were eating.

Hector appreciated that, at least. The last thing he wanted was to have this miserable meal televised.

Unfortunately, it also had the effect of lessening the overall tension in the room, which seemed to make people more comfortable talking.

Hector was not one of those people.

But perhaps Lynn wasn’t, either, because she was remaining noticeably quiet.

The person sitting on his left, however, was very much one such talker. Not that Hector minded. Prince David of House Lumenbel was someone he was most interested in listening to.

“I’m glad to see we both made it back in time for the Gala,” said David.

“How was your time in Intar?” asked Hector, thankful for any excuse not to look to his right.

Page 1867

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“I am sure they will be happy to see you as well,” said Helen.

‘Yeah, no kidding,’ said Mehlsanz. ‘Darsihm wouldn’t shut up about you the other day. It seems you left quite an impression on him, Garovel.’

‘Oh, really?’ laughed Garovel. ‘That makes me happy.’

There arrived a knock at the door, and the amusement on the Queen’s face diminished suddenly. “Enter,” she said loudly.

The same guide from earlier poked her head into the room. “Dinner is ready to be served, Your Highness. Everyone is gathering.”

“I see. Thank you, Willow.”

The young woman bowed her head lightly and disappeared again.

Helen inhaled deeply. “I suppose we had better make an appearance.” She stood, and her gigantic dress moved beneath her like a suddenly disturbed sea. Lynn had to step out of its way.

Hector stood up as well.

“Let us speak again later tonight,” said Helen. “There is more I would yet discuss with you.”

Hector just gave her a nod and followed her out of the room.

Somehow, he ended up walking next to Lynn.

It didn’t seem like there would be enough time to say much of anything to her, but he still couldn’t help being intensely conscious of her presence. She was so close. All of his discomfort from earlier came rushing back, stronger than ever, and his neck felt suddenly rigid as he tried not to glance awkwardly at her.

It was just a short walk. No big deal.

But she was right there next to him...

And she was looking damn good, too.

Oh, shit, he’d glanced at her, hadn’t he?

And she’d noticed, too. He could see her looking at him in his peripheral vision.

Shit shit shit shit.

TZKS will return on October 6th

Hey, everyone. I'm sorry for the radio silence all this time. It's been a hell of a year for my family. I meant to give you guys an update ages ago, but I just kept getting distracted and putting off, and time got away from me.

I guess I needed more time away than I thought. I'm very sorry for taking so long to get back to you. I can't thank you enough for all the support you've given me over the years, but especially lately. Many of you have sent me emails expressing your concerns, and I can only thank you for your kind words.

But yeah, I'm still not QUITE ready to start posting again. I'm gearing up for it, though. Going through my notes. Rereading. Reminding myself of lots of thing. And actually writing new text, of course. That part's pretty important.

I'm gonna do what was working for me before, which was building up a backlog. That's my current game plan. As the title of this post says, I just need a bit more time to get back into the swing of things. Thank you for your patience.

In the meantime, however, there is something you guys could do for me. Considering how long TZKS has become, and how many mysteries still permeate the text, I've begun wondering which of those mysteries you guys are most eager to get answers to.

Or in other words: what are your most burning questions?

Of course, I'm not promising to answer them anytime soon, as I have many plans for when and where I want to reveal certain things, but I'd still like to hear from you guys on this. The feedback could prove very helpful, both in the short- and long-term. So please leave a comment, if you can think of anything.

That's about it for now. I'll see you on October 6th. And as always, thank you for reading.