So a couple of things.
1. I reached 30k!
Not as nice as the desired 35k, but it still puts me in the lead, which is good because I have a feeling that this story will run about 80-100K and I'd like to pretty much finish by end of NaNo.
2. Olivia and Artemus are fogging up my goggles.
Yes indeed, it seems love is blossoming between the pair. I had not intended to get so romantic, but you know how characters like to do what they want. It's very clear to me that Olivia has a crush on Artemus, but I don't know if he feels the same way yet. You know how oblivious boys can be. :)
3. Excerpt of steamy goodness!
After all that writing, I figure I should share some of it. Not much editing was done, so be gentle. Anyway, here it is:
Olivia did not feel fine as she found herself alone and clinging to a bit of railing numerous miles above the ground below. In fact, all she could think about how and when she might fall out of the airship and tumble to her death.
You won't fall out. She thought to herself as she stared at her hands instead of the view below. People don't fall out of airships.
This thought would have been comforting if she did not remember that she had, in fact, fallen out of one herself. And that her falling out of an airship was the very reason she was standing on that balcony this very moment. The girl suddenly felt a knot tighten in her chest, making it incredibly hard to breathe. So she closed her eyes.
"I promise you won't fall." A voice said in her ear and she opened her eyes. Another set of hands rested upon her own, which had relaxed their death grip on the railing a bit. Her heart beat began kicking up again, but not because she was afraid to fall. Her heart was responding, as it often did, to the presence of Artemus Doyle who was standing behind her.
"Artemus." She said softly, but did not turn to look at him.
“Just look down,” he said and reluctantly the girl did as she was told. She allowed her eyes to look away from the railing to the ground below. Below the airship was something that looked like an intricate design etched into the land. The circular form rippled outward and branched out with intricate twists and turns. At the edge of the pattern was a field of green and yellow.
“Is that the city?” She asked, turning to look at Artemus.
“Yes.” He smiled, his eyes unreadable behind his goggles. “That is your father’s design. He and the Orvilles built this city as a mecca for innovation. And the city itself is its own masterpiece.”
“It’s amazing.” She said, still looking at it in awe. Her fear of falling a distant memory.
“You see that structure over there?” He asked, pointing towards something in the distance. Olivia shook her head. “One second.” The boy took one of his hands off of hers and leaned forward, moving her body with him. Surprised, Olivia straightened her arms and stopped him from leaning forward any further.
Artemus laughed and he wrapped one of his arms around her waist.
“Still scared?” He whispered in her ear. Olivia’s heart fluttered. “I promised you that nothing will happen. Just trust me, for once.”
“Okay.” Olivia swallowed hard and relaxed her arms. Artemus leaned both of them forward slightly over the railing and pointed down to something that was much closer to their view.
“See that structure?” He asked again.
“Yes.” The girl could clearly see the large domed structure. Now that they were closer, she noticed that the roof was made of a prism of glass. Everything in the intricate pattern that mad up the city seemed to spill out from there.
“That is the heart of the city. The factory your father and the Orvilles started. It was once one of the most important places in this country.”
“And now?”
“Now it’s not doing so well.” George said as he approached the pair. He glanced down where they were looking and then back at the two of them. Olivia suddenly felt very conscious of how close she and Artemus were that moment.
“Oh, really?” She said, taking a step towards George and out of Artemus’ arms. She didn’t look behind her to see how her actions had affected her companion, if at all.
“Yes...” George said with a brief glance over in Artemus’ direction. “Was I interrupting anything?”
“No.” Artemus said, his voice blank.
“Artemus was showing me the city,” Olivia said, turning back to look at Artemus, who was still looking down at the city below. She gently touched his shoulder, but didn’t get a response. So she placed her hands on the railing next to him and then turned back to address George.
“So what happened to the factory?”
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