“Verbum caro factum est….” Ursula had always thought of the Christmas hymn as far too glum for the happy news it bore: The Word has become flesh and dwelt among us. But today to her ears the music sounded joyful. It was funny how that worked, she thought with a smile: if you were sad,Continue reading “Advent Calendar Story: Day 25 (Epilogue)”
Author Archives: mourningdove
Advent Calendar Story: Day 24
Mother and Child Leo. Wake up! Leopold sat bolt upright in his bed with a gasp. He looked out the window. Snow was falling; he could see it in the light from the castle bonfires, lit for Christmas. It was sometime in the night before the first day of the holiday. For a moment heContinue reading “Advent Calendar Story: Day 24”
Advent Calendar Story: Day 23
The Birdcage It happened so fast: Sidonie’s feet slipped out from under her, and she went down in a flurry of skirts. The gilded birdcage she had been carrying flew out of her gloved hand, bounced, rolled on the icy cobblestones in the square. The door popped open. Two of the finches stayed where theyContinue reading “Advent Calendar Story: Day 23”
Advent Calendar Story: Day 22
A Lord at His Dinner Leopold pushed his lamb tagine around his plate with his spoon. It was one of his father’s favorites: Graf Friedrich von Regensburg had hefted home trunksful of brightly glazed crockery and sacks of spices from his stint in North Africa during the Crusades, and Leopold always had the cooks prepareContinue reading “Advent Calendar Story: Day 22”
Advent Calendar Story: Day 21
Stars Sidonie von Neubeuern sat in her family’s chapel in Saint Hildegarde’s and looked up at the ceiling, where an artist hired by her grandfather had painted the Virgin coming down from heaven surrounded by clouds and stars. The stars had been painted in real gold, and they glittered in the late light streaming throughContinue reading “Advent Calendar Story: Day 21”
Advent Calendar Story: Day 20
The Man in the Moon “I’m surprised how few patients you have now compared to when we returned from the battlefield,” Leopold said quietly to Ursula as they finished the rounds of the ward and stood by the fire watching the patients getting their soup before settling in for the night. “Is it true thatContinue reading “Advent Calendar Story: Day 20”
Christmas Cookie Crime Scene
Advent Calendar Story: Day 19
The Laundry Ursula laughed out loud to herself as she hung out yet another set of sheets in the drying room above the hospital ward in the castle. She was working just as hard now if not harder than she had in the tower. And yet the work felt so much easier. It was warm,Continue reading “Advent Calendar Story: Day 19”
Advent Calendar Story: Day 18
The Letter Leopold sat down at his desk and looked at the letter lying on it in front of him. Bernard had given it to him as soon as he had returned from Regensburg. Leopold recognized Sigismund’s own spidery hand in the address. He shook his head. Things were not going well. He was notContinue reading “Advent Calendar Story: Day 18”
Advent Calendar Story: Day 17
The Cradle Bernard looked up from Leopold’s letter to watch his youngest granddaughter Elsa play with her doll, tucking it into its wooden cradle, singing it “Leise Rieselt der Schnee.” He smiled. “Is the baby sleeping?” he asked her. She frowned at him and held a finger to her pudgy lips. “Shh, Opa,” she said.Continue reading “Advent Calendar Story: Day 17”
The Rookery 