Five Sentence Ficlets
I know this isn't the proper format, but as i'm posting to my LJ and not the community, i'm ok with that. I'll repost, probably when its done, to the community in the proper format. I'm using this as a world building exercise.
Table One
Original Characters: Virginia and Mara
#01 - Melts in the mouth
Its been nine days hard ride from River Crossing, and the food there was terrible. Here at King's Keep, I wanted to find something better, but the I hadn't had time to stop at the inn. No, I'd gone on to find Judith, the Watch Captain and instead found her daughter, who served me fresh hot bread with creamy rich butter. Oh if it wasn't for the fact that her mother would object, I'd kidnap her and make her my page, insisting that she make me lunch like this every day. Then again, what was stopping me?
#02 -Breaking bread/fast
My father had a the habit of prayer over breakfast when leisure allowed him to afford it. I agreed in principal with the idea of devotions, but as we'd ridden hard through the night and the previous day we were breaking a fast, yes, but the dough-wrapped vegetables were more like a third supper. Then again, he would have had evening devotions over them too, so maybe a midnight snack was a better idea. Mara on the other hand, didn't seem to have any qualms about praying or not, she just ate.
#03 - Pin drop
#04 - Measure of a man
#05 - Death and taxes
It surprised Mara that I had an estate, surprises a lot of people. Its not that I'm not proud of my land, I won it through my own skill though I admit there was some luck involved, and long years of service. It has more to do with the fact that I am an absent regent, and of far more service to my crown on horseback than I am managing the people who owe me allegiance. After all, I am a good swordswoman, and rider, but a lousy administrator. Well that and I'd rather fight a gang of armed bandits to the death than deal with the new set of tax laws that was recently issued.
#06 - Pushing forty
Its been a hard few weeks, and to find an inn that has a bath with real heated water and oils and soap is a delight. Mostly we've been making do with springs and brackish water near the coast, but now we're salt free, and both of us are invited to a feast at the Mayor's house. I watch Mara fit on one of my older dresses, one that no longer fits properly though i'm a long way from having lost my shape. As she pins my hair up in a far more elaborate style than I can create, I can see that i'm pushing forty.
#07 - Two-part harmony
One of the things that surprised me about Mara was the fact that she can sing. She's in key too, unlike myself, but when the roads are empty and the rides are long and slow, sometimes singing is a good way to pass the time. One night she gently suggests teaching me the basics of voice control, and I cede as gracefully as I can. There are several times I want to curse her in frustration, but in the end we end up singing in a two part harmony.
#08 - Almost too late
Weaving the magics as I am, I am hit by wave after wave of nausea and pain. I am not a natural spellcaster, only having a tiny innate amount of power, but right now I'm taking every bit I can get, beg, borrow, steal or otherwise lay my hands on. Including some dark artifacts. I was almost too late to save Mara, and I can't cure her, but I'll be damned if I let her die. Not like this.
#09 - Total eclipse
#10 - Morning dip
It was very early in the morning when I used a fallen branch to break through the thin layer of ice at the side of the stream. The centre was still running but the sides were testament to the temperature. Nonetheless, I would see it in as tradition dictated, by washing as soon as I woke. Its just a shame that we hadn't made it to anywhere civilised, as I know Mara wasn't going to love me any more for making her wade out into this any more than I liked it. Holding my nose I dunked my head under, fulfilling at least part of the solstice ritual.
#11 - Police, freeze! (caveat)
People think our profession is a glorious one, but it isn't. We sleep out in the open, camp in the rough, get dirty, hurt, and travel around. Its rare one of us makes it to retirement age, and its even rarer that the offer of retirement is actually taken. The guards would be a far safer option, and were Mara's original plan before I took her as my ward. To hear her bellow out 'Guards, freeze!' as she leads them now, a warrior in her own right, makes me proud.
#12 - Paperweight
#13 - White room/yellow hand print
#14 - Stay with me
Its been four years since I made my deal with the vampire. Four years since I succumbed to his touch, his bite. Four years since my ward saw me. I wish there had been some way she could have stayed with me, but she has learned my teachings well. She'd kill me on sight.
#15 - Walking tall
As an eleven year old, Mara had been slender, and slightly unused to the hight her last growth spurt had put her through. As a fifteen year old she'd grown into her height, but not yet into her curves. As an eighteen year old, she'd grown used to them, learning how to fight and shoot with them as well as anyone can. And as a twenty year old I saw her walking tall and turning around to one of the snooty traders daughters who had made fun of her for years and smile gently, not responding to the snide comments with anything else than kindness. After all, she knew as well as I did that it wasn't their fault that they were now trapped in their lives while we were free to roam.
#16 - Crazy like a fox
#17 - Years of erosion
#18 - Interruption
#19 - Just the beginning
I tensed as I felt a sharp, throbbing pain where teeth tore at my skin, at my pulse and drank my blood. I always thought it would be quick, they bite you and you're gone, or one of them, but from way things were feeling this was just the beginning. I grasped the edge of the bed, willing myself not to squirm, or fight back, but it was inevitable. I think he knew that, but luckily he didn't hold it against me. With a murmured shush he comforted me, holding me down and soothing me at the same time as he drained the last of my blood and my life.
#20 - Box of crackerjacks (caveat)
#21 - Proud as a peacock
#22 - Sandpaper eyes
#23 - Cup of coffee
#24 - Drop in the ocean
#25 - You’ve got a friend
