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By Alice Salvage, Jillian Devries, Jack Glisson and 4 more

The first ever compilation of short stories from the Scribbler Collective.

Because all seven of us have very diverse interests, there is sure to be something here for every fiction lover. 
Authors include Jillian Devries, Alice Salvage, Pandora Jarvis and Lucas Snyder (as well as some others.)

Give the book a try and let us know what you think!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scribbler Collective
• Release date: Jun 21, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201646059

Alice Salvage

I am a fantasy author who would rather be writing than online in any way. Of course, that's not a viable business model for self-publishing, so I found my friend Jillian to do the marketing and online whatnot for me. Of course, she does have books of her own, but apparently lots of time on her hands

Book preview

Dedicated to Apple autocorrect. May you finally learn that no one EVER wants to type ‘ducking’.

Compiler’s notes

So, I know that the others are going to disagree with this, but I’m taking credit for this compilation finally getting published. I was the one who chased them down and wrestled the stories from them, sometimes through pain and torture and too much caffeine-fueled long nights.

So, yeah, I’m taking the credit. If the rest of them have a problem with that, they can worry about publishing themselves. It’s A LOT of work.

Anyway, you (meaning the reader, of course) might not know who we are, or even what the Scribbler Collective is. This is meant to be a, hopefully short, explanation of us.

We are a group of, currently, young writers, who banded together in a world of too many options for publishing. As a group, we form the Scribbler Collective, a group dedicated to self-publishing and hopefully helping other teen writers to publish.

There are several of us, around six or seven, I think. The numbers tend to fluctuate. Shoot me an email if you are interested in joining a group of random, interesting, wacky writers who like to proofread and stay up way too late. We also write sometimes.

I’ll let each member introduce themselves before their compilation of stories, because if I try to introduce them here, it won’t be me compiling the next group of stories.

So, enjoy the stories. Alice is up first.

Jillian

Alice Salvage

Hi, Alice here!

You might know me from the blog, teenagewriter123, which I have taken control of. I tend to write fantasy stories, eat cookie dough ice cream and cuddle with my cat, the fluffy moron that I love.

I have several books in the works right now, one that is getting rather close to publication. It’s about a pirate who becomes a gladiator, and I have another about a princess who can turn into a dragon.

Anyway, you’re probably sick of reading about the stories. Let’s get into it.

Achlys is first. Enjoy.

Alice

Achlys

Not all princes are charming. The fae shared stories of men who are all kind and good, handsome and honorable. They lied to us.

My prince was not what you would expect, if the stories are to be believed. Scars from a childhood accident marred his face, twisting his body and his mind. Children shied away from him and even dogs would run when they sensed him coming. Something about him whispered of hidden evils, of danger that was barely contained. When I first encountered him, his manner sent a shiver down my spine.

But for all that, I loved him. Deep down, he was kind and good, though he trusted very few with that softer side of him. A ruler had to be strong, especially in a war torn country such as ours. It wasn’t anywhere special, but it sat directly on several important trade routes. That meant any military advances along those trade routes had to march directly through our lands. Foreign soldiers were responsible for more deaths than Achlys ever was, though he was the only one who ever faced punishment for it.

His brother was first in line for the throne, the heir apparent. If something were to happen, Achlys was next in line, but he was content with merely watching his brother rule from the shadows, where no one could see enough of his features to be afraid of him. I first met him in those shadows, and, until the day his brother died, our relationship was hidden by the same.

Duyen was tragically killed by raiding soldiers, as he tried to defend our country. Many would say that his death was honourable. Of course, honourable death or not, he was still dead.

Achlys was suddenly yanked from his shadows, and I with him. He had watched his brother prepare to be king for years, and knew much of what he had to know. However, there was something he’d never be able to learn, and that was how to earn the love of the people. Years of being tormented over his appearance meant that he was cold and cruel, to everyone except me. He was even cruel to me sometimes, but I forgave him. I knew why he was the way that he was.

Perhaps I should’ve given up on him then, but I couldn’t. The scared little boy he showed me when he was alone needed someone to depend on. Because of that little boy, I stayed by his side, quietly accepting his anger and his love, almost in equal measure.

His lack of honor, made Achlys exactly the king that our country needed. He was willing to do what no one else did, reforming the army, pushing the men harder than they’d ever been pushed. My prince also ordered that all able-bodied young men join the army, something his brother had hesitated to do.

Achlys was the one who finally stood up to the armies that marched through our lands. The men in our army learned to ignore the unspoken rules of fighting, instead using the methods that were previously considered too cowardly to emply. But Achlys ordered it, and it saved our country.

Many of the decisions he had to make tore at him, but he was willing to sacrifice what little bit of his humanity was left. Especially if it meant saving the country he loved. Some might say that it was his honour that drove him to make the sacrifices he did, but it wasn’t. He lied and cheated and twisted his way to peace, and the people hated him for it. They hated that he’d taken their sons and sent them back broken, that he’d betrayed every moral they held dear in order to secure peace.

Looking back, I suppose the uprising was inevitable, but it shocked me at the time. Perhaps that was because I saw how he truly felt, the horror at what he did and the immense guilt he felt over every battle. But that was the side of himself that he kept locked away, deep within.

As all new kings will, my prince had made his people a promise. When he was crowned, Achlys had sworn an oath before the people, declaring that he would secure peace for them at all costs. Maybe he even knew that the cost would be his own life.

When the rebels broke into the palace, he turned to me, a dagger in his hand and sorrow in his eyes. I won’t fight them, he declared, I cannot. They’re my people.

I only nodded, fighting back tears.

They’ll tear me apart if they find me, he whispered, his voice trembling a little. Even princes feel fear, after all. Please, Tsillah. I need you to kill me.

Like a coward, I refused. His eyes held mine, begging me to do it.

I know you’ll make it quick. They won’t. Please.

Now I was trembling. My hands shook as I took the knife, and my breath rattled in my lungs.

When the rebels reached the heart of our sanctuary, they discovered me standing over the lifeless body of the man I loved, his blood permanently staining the floor where he lay.

For my act of betrayal, the rebels crowned me queen. I had the most legitimate claim to the throne, and apparently had proven myself to them with a single act.

The country prospered under my reign, thanks to Achlys. His willingness to do what needed to be done meant that the countries around us feared our military. Even bands of marauders avoided our nation, as any man they encountered knew how to defend himself ruthlessly, much the same way the bandits themselves fought.

They see me as a hero, but I know better. I am no hero and he was not a villain. Not all princes are charming, not all villains are evil. Not all heroes are good. Most of all, not all princesses get happy endings.

Blood and Ash

Ten thousand years of searching , he thought, and still not trace of her.

Ten thousand years. The world had changed since the day he’d started his search, since he was charged with the sacred duty of finding the Queen’s Granddaughter. Back then, he’d ridden a horse, or walked, or begged farmers for rides in their wagons. Ships hadn’t even begun crossing the oceans, or the airplanes that made weeks of travel into nights or even hours.

And the Collapse.If not for the protection spells he had learned on his long search, he would’ve been ripped apart by the creatures that came from the seas, from the outer reaches of space. Humanity had fought them off, but only barely. They’d been forced to destroy their own infrastructure when it was discovered that the creatures fed off the strange information sharing system that had been called the internet.

Ten thousand years is a long time, and he was starting to feel it. Though spells and magic kept his body young until he completed his search, his mind felt the fatigue. Years of trekking across the earth had taken their toll, and he no longer had the energy or will to complete the mission he had been so eager to begin.

But the Queen waited for him. She, too, was immortal until her granddaughter was found. Until there was a successor for her line.

When her daughter disappeared into the streams of time during a routine training session, the Queen outlawed time travel, in an effort to safeguard the lives of those under her. But she hadn’t anticipated the magic of the throne, which kept her and her entire court alive long past the time they should’ve died. A successor was the only thing that would free them from eternity.

Excuse me, sir? a young woman approached him, her steps slow, her arms and legs impossibly thin. Do you have any food to spare?

He stared at her, wondering why she’d chosen to approach him. Though he took care to keep himself clean, his clothes were in the same shape hers were, and his