M is for Melly of Halitor the Hero #AtoZChallenge

 

#M is for Melly

But first, a bonus M character.

Mariusz:

In a nutshell: bullishly confident ruler of Castle Hattan, and head of the Wozna cola 'global' enterprise, explorer of time tunnels and places he shouldn't put his nose into.  Strong sense of right and wrong, as long as right is in his favour.

Biggest secret: he's really very kind and considerate, especially with his employees, as long as they don't notice.

Mariusz is from the Princelings of the East series. 

 

Now for the featured character!

In a nutshell: Melly is a kitchen-wench in a village in Duria, where Halitor meets her under difficult circumstances. She has a mission to accomplish and she’ll do whatever she must to do it.

Biggest secret: her real name. (What? You think I'm giving that away?)

Favorite line:  Halitor is worried that Melly might be a princess, since she's just needed rescuing from an ogre. She responds, "Princesses don't peel potatoes. I'm a kitchen wench. Besides, princesses have long blonde hair."

Melly joins forces with Halitor for the adventures in Halitor the Hero.

Excerpt
From the opening of Halitor the Hero:

Halitor’s career as an apprentice Hero ended with a girl’s scream.

The cry echoed through the woods of Loria where the young Hero and his apprentice-master rode, looking for trouble and hoping not to find it. The two riders turned toward the sound, drawn by duty to somebody’s doom.

As they neared the source of the disturbance, Bovrell the Bold waved Halitor forward, and the boy spurred his horse toward the screams. His sweating hands could scarcely hold the reins as his Master shouted instructions. Halitor burst into a clearing and reined to a halt so abrupt that he nearly flew out of the saddle.

A girl with dark hair and a torn gown struggled in the grip of an ogre, and it was Halitor’s job to set matters right. Under his breath Halitor muttered, “I am a Hero. I am a Hero,” over and over in hopes of convincing himself it was true. He thought of the Hero’s Guide in his saddlebag. He’d memorized the section on fighting ogres, but it didn’t seem helpful now.

As Halitor prepared to dismount, the monster turned its attention to him. When it did, it loosed its grip on the Fair Maiden, who pulled herself from the ogre’s grasp. Instead of running, she stood watching her rescuers. Fair Maidens, Halitor knew, were so often too frozen with fear to escape when they might.

“That’s right,” Bovrell the Bold called from where he sat on his horse, well away from the fight and ready to fly back down the mountain if necessary. “Fight monsters afoot, lest your horse spook and spill you.”

Halitor, distracted by his apprentice-master in the act of dismounting, landed with his legs tangled. He wobbled, nearly fell, and dropped his sword, clutching at his saddle to save himself. The ogre stepped toward him with an evil grin. Before Halitor could right himself, the Fair Maiden caught up the fallen sword, turned, and stabbed the monster between the plates of its armor. Green blood poured out and the ogre fell, twitching and thrashing as it died. The girl jumped back, looking rather green herself. She turned her back on the corpse and let the sword fall, swaying. Behind her, the ogre gave a final twitch, and the clanking of armor died away as the monster stopped breathing. Bovrell rode up and jabbed the ogre once with his lance.

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Following the suggestion of fellow blogger and amazing author Jemima Pett, I'm doing a very simple A to Z with characters from my writing and the books of my author friends! I'm just posting a brief profile, sometimes a quote, and the book cover with links. Though you may also see some of my typical reviews (when I feature other peoples’ books) and the usual Friday Flash Fiction.