Baroness Marian

Baroness Marian

a sequel to my retold fairytale Red Robin Hood

robin goes to a lot of fancy parties full of rich and privileged people. to steal from the rich, she has to get close to them.

this means she spends a lot of time pretending to be something she’s not.

often, she is a servant, moving silently and invisibly between everyone, using her light and quick fingers to take purses from men’s belts and jewelry from women’s necks. but sometimes, if the party is big enough and the wine is plentiful enough, she goes as guest. she puts her red coat aside for the evening and puts on a dress made for a woman far above her station. she blends into the crowd in an entirely new way.

she always wears red.

her skirt is long and full, all the better for filling her voluminous pockets with her stolen treasure, and there are more people here than she count, all moving around and next to her. it’s perfect. she’s almost sorry she didn’t wear a bigger skirt.

everything’s going normal, as expected, just another night of high stakes robbery. if she’s caught, she’ll be hanged, but it’s been over a decade, and she hasn’t been caught yet. either she’s very good, or those that are after her are very bad.

since fairness is kind of her thing, she graciously tells herself it’s probably a little of both.

she’s almost gotten to the point where it’s time for her to make a quick exit, before people start realizing what they’re missing, when she hears a laugh. it’s loud, full bodied, rolling across the crowd of loud, drunk people like a wave crashing against the shore.

robin turns her head in search of its source before she can think to stop herself, and her breath catches in her throat.

there’s a woman with skin so dark it looks like she’s been cut from the night sky. her bald head shines in the candle light, and her gold dress should looks gaudy, should look tacky, and on anyone else it probably would. but on her it’s glowing. she has on dangling ruby earrings, and more studs cut from precious stones curve up the shells of her ears. she wears a small fortune on her ears, which is what makes her necklace so perplexing.

it’s copper.

copper buffed to shine, and hammered into a wavy, interlocking pattern along the base of her throat, but copper just the same. a peasant couldn’t afford the quality of work, perhaps, but the materials are easily bought, or even scrounged up from a trash heap. a copper pot with a crack down the middle would do just fine.

it’s strange, because her dress is spun gold and her ears are glittering with wealth, but around her neck is necklace that’s worth is no more than a child’s pocket money.

a man beside her says, contempt grumbling beneath each word, “the baroness is in fine form tonight.”

“excuse me?” robin says, and she doesn’t usually talk to people, she’s not usually around long enough to talk to people. she should go. she needs to go.

he jerks his head towards the woman. “here, dressed like that, and without her husband. talking to everyone like she is!”

robin looks, and doesn’t get it. everyone who’s around the baroness seems delighted to be there, leaning into her as if she is the sun on their faces. she likes the dress too. or maybe just the way the baroness wears it. “excuse me,” she says, instead of answering, and melts into the crowd, turning her back to it all.

she finds a corner of the castle and empties her pockets into a leather drawstring bag. next she takes off the dress, kicking it into the corner. she never wears the same dress twice. the last thing she needs is for someone to recognize her because she was too lazy to steal a new dress for a party. underneath she wears tight, black hose and a low cut black undershirt. it’s the middle of winter. her soft slippers are going to get soaked as soon as she steps outside.

oh well.

either someone in the lower villages will lend her some clothes, or they won’t, and she hopes musta and his pack is close enough that she won’t freeze to death in the forest. she left her cloak with him, knowing she wouldn’t be able to double back unless she wanted to bring suspicion onto her poor hosts while she was in this city.

“you should have locked the door,” says a low, amused voice, and robin curses as she turns on her heals.

it’s the baroness, somehow just as glittering in this dark corridor, as if all the bits of moonlight are clinging to her. “i – i was just,” she stutters, mind blank. she’s never been caught before. she’s never had to come up with an excuse before.

“miss hood, i presume?” she murmurs, stepping closer. she runs the back of her knuckle against robin’s cheek, and she suddenly finds it difficult to focus on the very immediate danger that she’s in. she needs to run. people are depending on her. she has too much work left to do to die now. she doesn’t move. “you’re certainly red. should i be flattered?”

she’s flushed all over, and she can’t control it, doesn’t know what to do about it. “why haven’t you screamed yet?”

“well, we just met, it seems a little forward,” she tilts her head to the side. “are you interested in making me scream, miss hood?”

she is so, so unprepared for this conversation. maybe the noose wouldn’t be so bad. “my name is robin.”

why did she tell her that? it’s not like it’s a secret, it’s the opposite of the secret, but why is that what she chose to say?

“robin,” she repeats, and tucks one of robin’s curls behind her ear. “i am the baroness of this county. but my friends call me maid marian.” when she smiles, robin forgets to breath. “i think we would make good friends. don’t you?”

“your friends call you a maid?” she asks, instead of addressing the latter part of that sentence.

marian tilts her head to the side, and she’s so close, when did she get so close? “well, i was a maid, when i was younger.”

“how does a maid become a baroness?” she asks, and she can’t believe she’s doing this, she shouldn’t be asking questions, she should be running.

“do you want me to tell you?” she murmurs, “or do you want me to show you?”

before robin can answer, marian grips her thighs lifts her up, slamming her back against the wall and pressing her body against robin’s. she’s strong. deceptively strong, easily holding robin pinned against cold castle wall with her searing hot body pressed along hers, and this is at once a worse and much better way to die than beheading.

marian shifts so she can speak directly into robin’s ear, and robin has no way to prove that marian drags her lips against her earlobe on purpose, but she really doesn’t see how that could be an accident. “do you like my dress?”

“what?” she says, trying to pull her attention away from anything but marian’s fingers digging into her thighs or her hot breath on her neck. “yes. it makes you glow.”

robin can’t see her smile, but she can feel it. she’s warm all over and her heart is beating too fast in her chest, and part of her wants to run, but most of her wants stay pinned beneath baroness marian.

“do you think,” she whispers, “that i would look better with it off?”

there’s so many reasons not to answer that. she has a bag of stolen jewels and coins on her. the baroness is married. they don’t even know each other. the list goes on.

“yes,” she says, and she’s ready when marian’s mouth finds hers.

marian reaches into her hose, pressing her fingers inside her, and robin lets out a broken sound at the back of her throat. her orgasm comes too fast and too intense, leaving her trembling and clinging to marian. the baroness licks over her fluttering pulse point and says, “that’s one,” smug and anticipatory all at once, and robin’s dizzy just listening to it.

not enough time later, robin’s on her back and she has her head between marian’s thighs, her hands gripping fistfuls of robin’s hair, and she can’t even mind, she just doesn’t care, she’s still not completely clear how she ended up having sex with a baroness in an abandoned corridor, but it seems blasphemous to question her good fortune. then she hears the yelling, and her fortune’s definitely mixed. it seems everyone just found out they were robbed.

marian curses and get up off of robin’s face, which is obviously the responsible thing to do, but she feels a little cross about it anyway. she wasn’t done yet! “you have to go,” she says, pulling her dress back on. robin gives herself one more second to mourn her loss before scrambling back into her own clothes. she grabs her bag of stolen wealth, and marian says, “wait, not yet.” she pulls off her dangling ruby earrings and slips them into robin’s bag. “it would be suspicious if i wasn’t stolen from.”

“right,” she says, and she wants to kiss her goodbye, at least. is it weird if she kisses her?

marian undoes her copper necklace, but instead of putting it in her bag, she reaches around and places it on robin’s neck, the metal warm against her skin. “here. this too.”

“why copper?” she asks, “it’s not even valuable.”

marian smiles, running a hand through robin’s hair. “i know. i wanted to give you something that you wouldn’t feel bad about keeping.”

“you wanted–” she blinks. “were you looking for me?”

marian presses her against the stone wall again, still so warm. “of course. why do you think i wore gold? i heard that’s something you’re interested in stealing.” she presses their foreheads together. “i’ve heard stories of you, red robin hood.”

before robin can respond to that one way or another, marian is kissing her, and robin could demand an explanation that she may or may not get, or they could keep kissing. she chooses the latter. obviously.

the yelling gets closer, and marian pulls away, walking briskly down the corridor while robin is still leaning dazed against the wall. “run!” she calls over her shoulder. “i’ll stall them as long as i can.”

robin scrambles up to the window and them shimmies outside, landing in the soft, cold snow, just as she’d planned to do before marian found her.

robin’s spent almost half her life running across the country, riding on the backs of her giant wolf friends and stealing from everyone who had more than they need, and she’s never met anyone like marian before. this is new. this is interesting. this is fun.

she touches the cool copper necklace against her throat. she’ll give everything else away, but this? this she’ll keep. just like marian wanted her to.

she hopes she has a reason to come back to this city soon.

she hopes she has a reason to find marian again soon.

read more of my retold fairytales here

YA SFF Books by Black Authors 

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow: About the strength of black sisterhood set in Portland, OR, best friends Tavi and Effie discover their true supernatural identity when Effie starts being haunted by demons from her past, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical siren voice during a police stop.

A Chorus Rises (A Song Below Water #2) by Bethany C. Morrow: Teen influencer Naema Bradshaw is an Eloko, a person who’s gifted with a song that woos anyone who hears it. Everyone loves her — well, until she’s cast as the awful person who exposed Tavia’s secret siren powers. When a new, flourishing segment of Naema’s online supporters start targeting black girls, however, Naema must discover the true purpose of her magical voice.

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown: Inspired by West African folklore in which a grieving crown princess, Karina, and a desperate refugee, Malik, find themselves on a collision course to murder each other, despite their growing attraction.

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor: Sunny Nwazue, an American-born albino child of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back to Nigeria, where she learns that she has latent magical powers which she and three similarly gifted friends use to catch a serial killer.

Akata Warrior (Akata Witch #2) by Nnedi Okorafor: Now stronger, feistier, and a bit older, Sunny Nwazue, along with her friends from the the Leopard Society, travel through worlds, both visible and invisible, to the mysterious town of Osisi, where they fight in a climactic battle to save humanity.

Bad Witch Burning by Jessica Lewis: For fans of Us and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina comes a witchy story full of black girl magic as one girl’s dark ability to summon the dead offers her a chance at a new life, while revealing to her an even darker future.

Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi: After he eats the sin of a royal, Taj, a talented aki, or sin-eater who consumes the guilt of others whose transgressions are exorcised from them by powerful but corrupt Mages, is drawn into a plot to destroy the city, and he must fight to save the princess he loves and his own life.

Beasts of Prey by Ayana Gray: Two Black teenagers, talented Beastkeeper Koffi and warrior-in-training Ekon, must trek into a magical jungle to take down an ancient creature menacing the city of Lkossa, before they become the hunted.

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton: In the opulent world of Orléans, where Beauty is a commodity only a few control, Belle Camellia Beauregard will learn the dark secrets behind her powers, and rise up to change the world. 

A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney: A whimsical and butt-kicking Alice in Wonderland retelling featuring a black teen heroine who battles Nightmares in the dark and terrifying dream realm known as Wonderland. 

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves: 16-year-old Hanna reunites with her estranged mother in an East Texas town that is haunted with doors to dimensions of the dead and protected by demon hunters called Mortmaine.

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury: Set in near-future Toronto in which, after failing to come into her powers, 16-year-old Black witch Voya Thomas must choose between losing her family’s magic forever or murdering her first love.

The Bones of Ruin by Sarah Raughley: Set in Victorian England, African tightrope walker Iris cannot die; but soon gets drafted in the fight-to-the-death tournament of freaks where she learns the terrible truth of who and what she really is.

The Cost of Knowing by Brittney Morris: A gripping, evocative novel about Black teen Alex Rufus, who has the power to see into the future, and whose life turns upside down when he foresees his younger brother’s imminent death.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi: 17-year-old Zélie and companions journey to a mythic island seeking a chance to bring back magic to the land of Orïsha, in a fantasy world infused with the textures of West Africa.

Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Legacy of Orïsha #2) by Tomi Adeyemi: After battling the impossible, Zélie and Amari have finally succeeded in bringing magic back to the land of Orïsha. But with civil war looming on the horizon, Zélie finds herself at a breaking point: she must discover a way to bring the kingdom together or watch as Orïsha tears itself apart.

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron: 16-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia flees, hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all.

The Cost of Knowing by Brittney Morris: A gripping, evocative novel about Black teen Alex Rufus, who has the power to see into the future, and whose life turns upside down when he foresees his younger brother’s imminent death.

Crown of Thunder (Beasts Made of Night #2) by Tochi Onyebuchi: Taj has escaped Kos, but Queen Karima will go to any means necessary–including using the most deadly magic–to track him down. 

A Crown So Cursed (Nightmare Verse #3) by L.L. McKinney: Alice is ready to jump into battle when she learns that someone is building an army of Nightmares to attack the mortal world, before she learns of a personal connection to Wonderland.

Daughters of Jubilation by Kara Lee Corthron: In Jim Crow South, black teen Evalene Deschamps finds her place among a family of women gifted with magical abilities, known as jubilation - a gift passed down from generations of black women since the time of slavery.

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland: The Civil War is over, but mostly because the dead rose at Gettysburg—and then started rising everywhere else. Fighting the undead is a breeze for Jane McKenne, an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. But the fight for freedom? That’s a different story.

Keep reading

just a reminder:

if you send people hateful and toxic messages anonymously, i don’t want you to follow me or talk to me. this community is supposed to be a safe space to share our stories with each other. juvenile hatred has no place here.

So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix (2021)

Four young Black sisters come of age during the American Civil War in So Many Beginnings, a warm and powerful YA remix of the classic novel Little Women, by national bestselling author Bethany C. Morrow.

North Carolina, 1863. As the American Civil War rages on, the Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island is blossoming, a haven for the recently emancipated. Black people have begun building a community of their own, a refuge from the shadow of the “old life.” It is where the March family has finally been able to safely put down roots with four young daughters:

Meg, a teacher who longs to find love and start a family of her own.

Jo, a writer whose words are too powerful to be contained.

Beth, a talented seamstress searching for a higher purpose.

Amy, a dancer eager to explore life outside her family’s home.

As the four March sisters come into their own as independent young women, they will face first love, health struggles, heartbreak, and new horizons. But they will face it all together.

by Bethany C. Morrow  (Author)

Get it now here

Bethany C. Morrow is a recovering expat recently returning from six years in Montreal, Quebec, to live and write in north country, New York.

A California native, Bethany graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a BA in Sociology. Following undergrad, she studied Clinical Psychological Research at the University of Wales, Bangor, in Great Britain before returning to North America to focus on her literary work.

She is the author of the adult novel Mem (Unnamed Press) and the editor of the young adult anthology Take the Mic (Arthur A. Levine Books). A Song Below Water is her debut standalone young adult novel.

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Mexican Gothic (2020)

From the author of Gods of Jade and Shadow comes a reimagining of the classic gothic suspense novel, a story about an isolated mansion in 1950s Mexico—and the brave socialite drawn to its treacherous secrets. He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemí. You have to save me. After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.   Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemi’s dreams with visions of blood and doom. Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness. And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia  (Author)

Get it here

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the author of Gods of Jade and Shadow, named one of the best books of summer 2019 by Publishers Weekly; Signal to Noise, named one of the best books of the year by Book Riot, Tordotcom, BuzzFeed, io9, and other publications; Certain Dark Things, one of NPR’s best books of the year, a Publishers Weekly top ten, and a VOYA “Perfect Ten”; the fantasy of manners The Beautiful Ones; and the science fiction novella Prime Meridian. She has also edited several anthologies, including the World Fantasy Award-winning She Walks in Shadows (aka Cthulhu’s Daughters). She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

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