Abecedarian Game Drabble, 7/9: STU
The folx in my profic writers' group and I play the Abecedarian Game: any three consecutive letters can serve as prompt inspiration, and "running the letters" means answering nine prompt sets in abecedarian order (the final set is either a YZ or YZA one, depending upon preference). My group tends to select a specific dictionary from which we all pull prompts. Below, you'll find the seventh of nine little stories using words that I took from Phrontistery's Dictionary of Unusual Words.
My seventh three prompts, sciomancy, thanatography, and ultimogeniture, inspired the ficlet,
A Young Witch with Her Own Estate and Entire Life Before Her (G; original Yaxley, original portrait; 215): Mistress Yaxley is the only one left.
"The house is mine through 'ultimogeniture'," Yaxley related, running her hand across the mantel and sniffing at the cloud of dust that arose. "I'm the only one left, you see."
"Do you want the place?"
Yaxley moved towards the terrace doors and looked out. "The grounds are lovely."
"Yes, but the house . . . ."
Giggling, Yaxley turned her gaze to the ceiling. "Do shut up."
The weeping ghost clutching her breast shrieked and disappeared through the wall nearest to her.
"Yes, one could indulge in long evenings of sciomancy here, couldn't one? Of course, I don't need any form of divination to understand what happened to my people."
"Oh?"
"Greed. Stupidity. Inbreeding. That's the pureblood story, isn't it?"
"You may have left out one or two items of the essential narrative-a curse, perhaps?"
"Perhaps, but then," Yaxley murmured, "I'm not planning to commision a thanotography."
"No need."
Yaxley glared at the portrait. "What was that? What did you say?"
Snick!
Stopping the rolling of his quill, the old painted gentleman with the sharpish smile replied, "Indeed, Mistress Yaxley, there's no need for you to do something as silly as that."
"Writing the story of my death?" she asked, glancing up to see that several familiar-looking spectres were clustered above her.
"Exactly. A young witch with her own estate and entire life before her, why on earth would you contemplate anything so grim?"
My seventh three prompts, sciomancy, thanatography, and ultimogeniture, inspired the ficlet,
A Young Witch with Her Own Estate and Entire Life Before Her (G; original Yaxley, original portrait; 215): Mistress Yaxley is the only one left.
"The house is mine through 'ultimogeniture'," Yaxley related, running her hand across the mantel and sniffing at the cloud of dust that arose. "I'm the only one left, you see."
"Do you want the place?"
Yaxley moved towards the terrace doors and looked out. "The grounds are lovely."
"Yes, but the house . . . ."
Giggling, Yaxley turned her gaze to the ceiling. "Do shut up."
The weeping ghost clutching her breast shrieked and disappeared through the wall nearest to her.
"Yes, one could indulge in long evenings of sciomancy here, couldn't one? Of course, I don't need any form of divination to understand what happened to my people."
"Oh?"
"Greed. Stupidity. Inbreeding. That's the pureblood story, isn't it?"
"You may have left out one or two items of the essential narrative-a curse, perhaps?"
"Perhaps, but then," Yaxley murmured, "I'm not planning to commision a thanotography."
"No need."
Yaxley glared at the portrait. "What was that? What did you say?"
Snick!
Stopping the rolling of his quill, the old painted gentleman with the sharpish smile replied, "Indeed, Mistress Yaxley, there's no need for you to do something as silly as that."
"Writing the story of my death?" she asked, glancing up to see that several familiar-looking spectres were clustered above her.
"Exactly. A young witch with her own estate and entire life before her, why on earth would you contemplate anything so grim?"