Every week we post six lines of a story of ours, a work-in-progress or from someone else’s work we recommend that has LGBT characters on Rainbow Snippets here https://www.facebook.com/groups/RainbowSnippets/?multi_permalinks=8650580131678639&comment_id=8654478567955462&notif_id=1676181788488596&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic&ref=notif

For Valentine’s Day Week, how about somebody who’s running away from romance? “The Spirits of the Night” https://authorjeffbaker.com/2018/12/01/spirits-of-the-night-for-friday-flash-fics-by-jeff-baker-november-30-2018/ was the first of my stories about Prince Almazotz; youngest son of the youngest son of a prince and on the run from an arranged marriage to a guy he can’t stand. He’s about 26^th in line for a throne in an itty-bitty principality on my quasi-Arabian Nights fantasy world of three moons. Here’s the first snippet:

After two weeks sleeping in fields and eating handouts from taverns, Prince Almazotz was beginning to realize that while the title sounded good, there were a lot of princes around and the title was no good without an army or money and he had neither at the moment. But for that evening anyway, he was the guest at a castle, or what was left of one. The main house may have been more comfortable but he wasn’t going to complain about a hot meal, or a room at the top of a tower with a comfortable bed, windows with shutters and a fine view and even a fireplace, if he needed one.

Prince Almazotz rolled over, under the warm blankets and was still half-asleep when he noticed the pale figure half in, half out of the room’s shadows. The figure was male, which was a plus, dark haired and very pale. At first, he thought the figure’s arms were covered in tattoos, but the moved and Almazotz realized they were wings.

Here’s a little more:

“I am one of the Spirits of the Air,” he said in a breathy voice. “A Spirit of the Night Air, I was flying past your open window and I saw you slumbering so peacefully, looking like a young god.”

Prince Almazotz wiped some drool off his chin and hoped his hair wasn’t too much of a mess.

“Allow me to caress you as a wind, as if we were both mortals, the spirit said. It is the thing most spirits truly desire and you, oh handsome one, are one that any spirit would desire.”

Prince Almazotz shrugged and said “True.”

And on that breathy note, I will bid you farewell and a belated Happy Valentine’s Day until next week!

—–jeff

Oh, and I’ve written about the Spirits of the Air before! Check the links below or to the right of the original story! —-j