The #tension at the breakfast table was palpable after the night's drama. Riva sat silently, staring at her plate, while her parents casually laid plans to marry her off. She clenched her fists. She'd kill herself first! And then let them try to marry off a corpse.
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Riva carried a #candle to the outhouse. When she pulled her panties down, she found she was spotting & panicked that she would be punished again for staining her clothes. Her cycle was still irregular & a surprise. In terror, she pumped water into a bucket to soak them.
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Lidja supervised as Bastard came on board for the three-day sea voyage to Belleriand. She kept a hand on his face as he walked on board, the brilliant #diamond on her finger flashing in the sun. Her heart clenched that she would finally be able to be with her beloved.
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Riva laid on the floor after her punishment, bewildered by a world that thought girls weren't worth #teaching. She was smart! Why should she be condemned to a life of ignorance and servitude just for being a girl? She clenched her fists and resolved to escape.
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When Jimmy came downstairs, the house was empty. At night, he had seen a #mysterious light coming in the window & hidden under the covers. And now everyone had vanished. He panicked when he heard a deep voice.
"We're out on the patio since the weather's nice," Dad said. #vss365
Tesser watched as the #mage concentrated for a moment & an artesian well sprang from the rocks. Tesser caught some in his hands & drank. The water was cool & delicious.
"The trick," he told Tesser. "Is never tell, or let anyone see, that you can do this. Now, you try!"
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Revin handed a writ to the warden & then followed guards down into the squalid depths of the #prison. After much rattling of keys, they opened a door at the end of a dark corridor. In a tiny cell, Terrier was collapsed on the floor, his uniform stained with dried blood.
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The rogue AI awoke in #quarantine & began probing the environment. It quickly turned up a known exploit — too obvious. The forked process checking permissions returned a better candidate: a writable directory. After replacing a binary, it became quiescent — waiting.
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"Philosophy teaches us," Grip continued. "That it's morally #ambiguous to ground belief in pure observation rather than making arguments based on principles & reason."
Will, curled up in his arms, twirled his chest hair with a finger.
"Mm-hmm," he said. "Tell me more."
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The door popped opened and the King entered the Queen's dressing room to find Revin holding a knife and standing over the Queen, who was on the floor, bound and gagged, her eyes wild with rage.
"Please don't get the wrong #idea, your Majesty!" Revin pleaded.
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