(The words that I already knew I marked with asterisks and guessed at the definitions. The definitions I guessed right are in italics, and the ones I got wrong are crossed out. All other definitions are either copied or paraphrased from Dictionary.com, except for "factionalism," which is from Wiktionary.)
| 01) | accolade* | praise, award, or honor |
| 02) | acerbity | sourness or astringency; harshness or severity, as of temper or expression |
| 03) | attrition | a decrease in numbers, size, or strength; wearing down or weakening of resistance; abrasion |
| 04) | bromide* | a compound of the element bromine; a platitude or trite saying; a platitudinous or boring person |
| 05) | chauvinist | someone who is aggressively or blindly patriotic; someone who believes one gender is superior to the other |
| 06) | chronic* | lasting for an extended length of time, for example a chronic illness, for example chronic hiccups *looks around nervously* |
| 07) | expound* | to talk at length about something; to explain in detail |
| 08) | factionalism* | a state in which people are divided into factions/groups; conflict between factions |
| 09) | immaculate* | pure, unblemished |
| 10) | imprecation | a curse or the act of cursing; slander |
| 11) | ineluctable | inescapable |
| 12) | mercurial | associated with the element mercury or the god Mercury; changeable, volatile, or erratic; animated, lively, or quick witted |
| 13) | palliate | to relieve or lessen without curing; mitigate or alleviate; to try to conceal the gravity of an offense by excuses or apologies |
| 14) | protocol* | a set of rules or customs, especially dealing with diplomatic formality, precedence, and etiquette |
| 15) | resplendent* | magnificent; shining brilliantly or gleaming |
| 16) | stigmatize | to mark with disgrace or infamy; to mark with a stigma or brand |
| 17) | sub rosa | confidentially, secretly, or privately |
| 18) | vainglory | excessive pride over one's own achievements, abilities, etc.; boastful vanity; empty pomp or show |
| 19) | vestige | a mark or trace of something no longer present; surviving evidence or remainder of some condition, practice, etc. |
| 20) | volition | the act or power of willing or choosing |
"Shut up, Cinnamon Bun!" hissed Flame Princess.
"Okay!" said Cinnamon Bun loudly.
Flame Princess seethed, but said nothing. She knew she'd have to control her mercurial temper, or else being discovered by one of the Lemons would be ineluctable, and she hoped to keep their infiltration of the Earldom sub rosa for a little while longer. Cinnamon Bun had a chronic propensity to say the exact wrong thing at the exact wrong time, but his chauvinistic loyalty to the Fire Kingdom made him rather useful.
Flame Princess took a deep breath to palliate her frustration. "Okay, Cinnamon Bun, now WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING," she emphasized, "give me a boost up to that window!" She scrambled up to the ledge using Cinnamon Bun as a step, stigmatizing him with the charred outline of her foot on his forehead. He didn't seem to mind.
She knew she'd gotten the right window when she saw Lemongrab inside, resplendent in his black-and-white robes. The last vestige of poor Lemonwhite was merely some scraps of fabric.
Lemongrab was expounding a speech into a mirror, presumably rehearsing for an address to the Lemon Children. As their leader, he was filled with vainglory, and would not perform a speech that was anything less than immaculate. He never wasted his breath on bromides, either; everything he said was strong and to the point.
"Lemonwhite was weeeeeeeeeak!" he screamed in his usual Lemony acerbity. "He would not follow Lemon protocol, and so he was not a Lemon! He could have changed of his own volition, but he did not! He required reconditioniiiiiiiing!!"
Flame Princess covered her ears. His speech won't win any accolades from me, she thought.
Lemongrab continued, "But this is the end of factionalism in the Lemon Earldom. You will all follow me now! Lemon Children, rejoiiiiiice!"
I've heard enough of this, thought Flame Princess. She wasn't going to waste her time on a war of attrition, either; she knew if she took out Lemongrab himself, the rest of the Earldom would follow. Her magic was strong enough that a simple imprecation against him would do it, but she wanted him to see her face. It's more evil this way, she sneered.
Flame Princess climbed in through the window, ready to claim the Lemon Earldom as hers.
(To be continued....)
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