fantasy

Homecoming

Lord Galt’s return to the Castle of the Mountain Kingdom was sudden and unexpected. It had to be so. The King had been vocal in his criticism of his uncle. His words stopped short of condemnation, and yet were poison in the minds of his loyal subjects. He may as well have pronounced the Syllables of Doom. But Galt made it through, and brought with him the Board of Inspection, rescued from a garbage heap in Maldenar, each of its seventy hooks still bearing an iron latchkey. The King, delighted at the retrieval of his keyboard, forgave his uncle everything.

I wrote “Homecoming” in response to the Story-a-Day Challenge (storyaday.org). The prompt for today required using ten specific words in a story. I chose to write a drabble, a story of exactly 100 words.

Here is the story with the ten words bolded in the text:

Lord Galt’s return to the Castle of the Mountain Kingdom was sudden and unexpected. It had to be so. The King had been vocal in his criticism of his uncle. His words stopped short of condemnation, and yet were poison in the minds of his loyal subjects. He may as well have pronounced the Syllables of Doom. But Galt made it through, and brought with him the Board of Inspection, rescued from a garbage heap in Maldenar, each of its seventy hooks still bearing an iron latchkey. The King, delighted at the retrieval of his keyboard, forgave his uncle everything.

Her name is Future

By Jim Anderson

The streets of Kal teamed with festival-goers. Nothing draws crowds like the prospect of burning a woman at the stake.

Even a good drawing-and-quartering runs a distant second.

“Her name is Future,” Proffer said as we made our way back to the inn.

I knew he was referring to the accused. The anguish in his voice surprised me. “You know her?”

Proffer nodded. “As do you. She’s the baker’s daughter, the girl you flirted with our first day here.”

“I do not ‘flirt’!”

“You do. And you marked her by it.”

“But –”

“It’s clear they know what you are.”

I wrote this fiction for the 100 Word Challenge “Future” at Thin Spiral Notebook.

Also see Part I of this story: If the gods be merciful.

If the gods be merciful

By Jim Anderson

The good people of Kal were fixing to burn another witch. The event would close the Festival of the Tyrant’s Demise. “Third one this week,” Proffer said as we watched the wood-stack grow. “They must like the smell. The evil–”

“Judge not, lest you be judged,” I said hastily. And in a lower voice: “Be careful, my friend.”

Proffer narrowed his eyes, but spoke more softly. “You’re right, of course. I’m sorry.”

“We’ll move on before the lighting.”

He sighed, and glanced toward the great temple. “Do you think she has confessed?”

“If the gods be merciful,” I said.

I wrote this fiction for the 100 Word Challenge: “Tyrant” at Thin Spiral Notebook.

See Part II of this story: Her name is Future

The Demon and the Friar

By Jim Anderson

On the last day of his journey, Friar Tom trudged along the river path, leading a donkey as hungry as he was. Ahead lay the ford, and beyond that, the easy trail to the village, his favorite inn, and food.

Tom stopped short at the river’s edge. On the far bank, a woman sat on a boulder. Her skin was silver, her dark hair cut like a boy’s.

“Demon,” Tom whispered.

Just a woman, said a voice in his head. Come forward, dear friar. You’re starving!

“No, I won’t.”

You will, though. Eventually.

Mute with hunger, Tom could only nod.

I wrote this story for the 100 Word Challenge #358 at Velvet Verbosity.