Surprise! I have some big news! As promised, Dominion is finally continuing. *squeals and throws confetti* I'm excited to share it with you, but you'll have to make a couple of clicks to get there.

Dominion of My Heart will be a stand-alone story, and I noticed some of you were following Dominion but not me, so I wanted to make sure none of you who wanted to read the continuation missed out.

I'll be posting weekly, on Tuesdays. It's a little more than half written at roughly 60k, so it'll be a longer one.

So, without further ado, here's a snippet of the prologue, which has just posted. Click on over to my profile and then to the new story for the rest!

The screams echoed off the stone walls of the corridor as one of the queen's handmaidens rushed from the room. She carried yet another bundle of blood-soaked linens in her arms. The looks she received from the men stationed along the hall as sentries were ones of shock and fear. They had witnessed woman after woman carrying the same load, and they wondered how the queen had any more blood in her veins.

They were also fearful of their king's reaction. They all knew King Charles was anxiously waiting for word of the arrival of a son. After two daughters, no one wished to know how the king would react to the birth of another. The worried faces of the handmaidens as they fled down the hall, though, made them fear the news they might have to deliver would be grave.

Inside her chambers, the queen continued to wail and moan, all while tears streamed down her face. They were not at all the normal sounds of a laboring woman. Her sounds were constant and seemed to come from the depths of her soul. Everyone knew all was not well.

"Your Majesty, you must calm yourself." The midwife wiped a cool, wet cloth across the warm forehead of Queen Renee. "The babe may choose to stay in your belly, for all the noise you are making is surely enough to make him hide." She tried to smile down at the woman lying abed as she fought to bring her child into the world. For all the pomp and circumstance that usually accompanied the queen, on this day, she was like any other woman bringing forth a child— exposed and vulnerable.

Renee shook her head furiously. "You must ... please make sure my children know I—"

"Hush now. Do not speak as though you are leaving us, My Queen. All will be well. You will see." Her hand brushed the tears from the queen's cheeks. "You will bring a new life into the world, a prince who will one day rule this land. 'Tis hard work for any woman, but doubly so for you, Your Majesty." The midwife firmly believed her words as she said them, but as she gazed down at the woman struggling to survive the ordeal, she saw the pallor of her skin and the dimming light in her eyes, and she wondered for a moment if she should.

Love it? Hate it? Click over to my profile and then to Dominion of My Heart for the rest of the prologue and tell me what you think!