FIERY ROSES (WIP)
by Pat McDermott
Prologue

     The older I get, the more I realize that my family is unique, and not because my parents are the king and queen of Ireland. I've met so many people whose families are somehow fractured, I find myself wondering if it's an accident that I'm such good friends with my parents and brother and cousins and uncles and aunts. Whether we're united against a common enemy or dancing after dinner, our sense of clan is powerful.

     "The Strong Hand Rules" is our clan motto. My father always adds: "There is no strength without unity," and I'm sure the old fella knows what he's talking about. Our lineage has held the Irish throne since the first Brian Boru became High King of Ireland ten centuries ago. "Bare is the shoulder without a brother's arm," my father often says, and, "A man never fails among his own people."

     I've learned that some people don't have their own people. Spite and grudges stretch for ages and run so deep that families die out, or their members move clear across the globe and never see each other again. So sad.

     Please don't misunderstand. My family has had its share of sin and cracked pottery. Still, the strong hand rules because our clan is united.

     It's a simple concept, really.