Peanut Butter. Ambrosia. Whipped Cream. (Horizon Tales)
AUTHOR: Shrimp
CHALLENGE: Peanut Butter 3. air/wind; Ambrosia 27. "But the sky was bright, and he somehow felt he was headed in the right direction" ; whipped cream
WORD COUNT: 398
RATING: PG
NOTES: This is a pretty important point in Vala's life. Essentially if this didn't happen none of the story would!
Vala paused when she got to the end of the bridge. She took the corner of her lip between her teeth and bit down. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. The compulsion to do just that kept her in place. The air was warm and still and heavy with the prospect of rain. She shifted the pack that held the possessions she had decided to bring with her and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath to calm the tumult of emotion that was bearing down on her. Despite herself she turned her head and looked back at where she had come from.
Shore Shine loomed behind her. The bridge that led from the island castle to the shore was illuminated by lamps that burned at intervals. The moon was full and hung brightly in the blue-black of the spring night sky. Even without the light she could have made out the outline of Shore Shine. She knew it backwards and forwards in her mind and heart. The turrets and walls of the castle, the fields and forests of the island. Her chest swelled. This might be the last time she ever saw her home. Her determination wavered. What was she doing? Was she really going to run away? Guilt stabbed in her stomach. She was abandoning her family.
No. Her grip on her pack tightened and her mouth worked its way into a frown. She remembered the conversation she had overheard between her mother and father. She remembered the overwhelming sense of betrayal at their plan to force her to marry. All the freedom she had been allowed had been a lie. Something to keep her stuck there until they could arrange to cart her off to someone. Anger began to manifest around the guilt and uncertainty. She may have been leaving Shore Shine but they had been the ones that abandoned her.
Vala turned back towards the road, walking in the direction of Port City and the docks. Uniss held nothing for her. She would find a life somewhere else, somewhere where she wouldn’t be held back simply because she was a girl. As the island that held the only home she had ever known dwindled behind her a small breeze began to pick up. She forced herself to smile even though tears of anger and sadness threatened her. Her life was about to begin.
CHALLENGE: Peanut Butter 3. air/wind; Ambrosia 27. "But the sky was bright, and he somehow felt he was headed in the right direction" ; whipped cream
WORD COUNT: 398
RATING: PG
NOTES: This is a pretty important point in Vala's life. Essentially if this didn't happen none of the story would!
Vala paused when she got to the end of the bridge. She took the corner of her lip between her teeth and bit down. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. The compulsion to do just that kept her in place. The air was warm and still and heavy with the prospect of rain. She shifted the pack that held the possessions she had decided to bring with her and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath to calm the tumult of emotion that was bearing down on her. Despite herself she turned her head and looked back at where she had come from.
Shore Shine loomed behind her. The bridge that led from the island castle to the shore was illuminated by lamps that burned at intervals. The moon was full and hung brightly in the blue-black of the spring night sky. Even without the light she could have made out the outline of Shore Shine. She knew it backwards and forwards in her mind and heart. The turrets and walls of the castle, the fields and forests of the island. Her chest swelled. This might be the last time she ever saw her home. Her determination wavered. What was she doing? Was she really going to run away? Guilt stabbed in her stomach. She was abandoning her family.
No. Her grip on her pack tightened and her mouth worked its way into a frown. She remembered the conversation she had overheard between her mother and father. She remembered the overwhelming sense of betrayal at their plan to force her to marry. All the freedom she had been allowed had been a lie. Something to keep her stuck there until they could arrange to cart her off to someone. Anger began to manifest around the guilt and uncertainty. She may have been leaving Shore Shine but they had been the ones that abandoned her.
Vala turned back towards the road, walking in the direction of Port City and the docks. Uniss held nothing for her. She would find a life somewhere else, somewhere where she wouldn’t be held back simply because she was a girl. As the island that held the only home she had ever known dwindled behind her a small breeze began to pick up. She forced herself to smile even though tears of anger and sadness threatened her. Her life was about to begin.