‘Her Mother’s Smile’ by JM Landels

Shared Traits

From Pulp Literature Issue 49, find the first section of ‘Her Mother’s Smile’ by JM Landels, a new story set within the Ilmar which takes place just after the events of Allaigna’s Song: Chorale. Enjoy this return to the world of the Allaigna’s Song trilogy, seen through the eyes of Allaigna’s sister, Lauriana. To read the rest of this story, be sure to pick up a copy of Issue 49, Winter 2026.

Her Mother’s Smile

by JM Landels

The sea is no more, nor less, choppy on the return crossing than it was when Lauriana arrived in Rheran a quarter moon ago. But this time she is far more seasick. She rolls out of the berth she shares with her little brother Vardry, careful not to wake him. They grew closer over the last months when their mother was ill and then absent, and she feels more sisterly than ever — perhaps even motherly — toward him. She staggers down the steep stairs to the deck and runs to the rails to donate her dinner, yet again, to the fish.

She loved the sea voyage the first time. She stood at the prow, wind in her hair, imagining herself a queen of old. But, returning home to Teillai’s winter, the sparkle and revelry of Rheran life behind her, she is bitter. She should have come to Rheran before this. She should have had the opportunity to be a page, like her older sister Allaigna. Even their younger sisters, Branwen and Irdina, were sent ahead, on this very ship, over a moon ago. Her mother, father, grandmother, and older brother Allenry followed, and they were party to the stunning events that put her sister on the throne. Meanwhile, she was left at home to be chatelaine of Osthegn in her mother’s absence. Only for the coronation were she and Vardry summoned: a ten-day sea voyage each way for a week of festivities, and now here she is, shipped back like a bundle of silk or a cask of wine.

The thought of wine makes her retch again, but she forces herself to stand and turn her back to the wind. She wishes she’d gone by horse, like Irdina, Branwen, and Allenry. No one even asked her how she wanted to travel. There was simply the assumption that she, the dutiful one, would accompany their mother.

“You’re so much alike,” everyone says. And certainly she looks much like her mother. She draws eyes, and she returns smiles in the same gracious, sometimes flirtatious, manner. She has a way with children and servants that makes her liked and listened to. She is the perfect ducal daughter, set to marry Rorach, the Duke of Theiron’s son.

For an arranged marriage, it is everything she could hope. Rory is kind, attractive, and modern-minded. They get along well. And if he doesn’t make her heart flutter, well, neither did her father for her mother’s heart. And yet here Mother is, sailing back to Teillai with the Duke when, as the Princess High Mother, she could easily make a case to stay at Rheran, where her lover (and Allaigna’s father) is captain of the Rangers.

That was more that she had in common with her mother: they were both dutiful. And practical.

Lauriana stays at the rail long after her stomach settles, watching the sun come up over the growing silhouette of the port of Orey and wondering where her siblings are on their ride far to the south.

Find the full story in Pulp Literature Issue 49, Winter 2026

JM Landels is the author of the bestselling Allaigna’s Song trilogy as well as the spy novel The Shepherdess, returning to these pages in serialized form next issue. This story, featuring Allaigna’s sister Lauriana, takes place just after the events of Allaigna’s Song: Chorale. When she’s not writing, editing, or drawing, you can find Jen teaching people to swing swords and ride horses at Academie Cavallo in Langley, BC. You can find @jmlandels on most social media platforms, or at jmlandels.stiffbunnies.com. This story is a sequel — of sorts — to the novella Their Grandfather’s Chair, which appeared in the 2025 issues of Pulp Literature.