The Tapestry
Title: The Tapestry
Author: Sasha Honeypalm
Fandom: Feminist Fairy Tales
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 289
Inspiration: chapter 13, "The Weaver"
Warnings: rape, character death
Summary: A sexual predator meets a... different sort of predator.
The Baron was known throughout the land as a lover of tapestries and fine art. In his own barony, he was feared as a cruel lover of the female body. Beautiful weavers and broideresses was "invited" to his castle to make the colorful, intricate tapestries that covered the walls, or decorate the richly-dyed robes filled his closet. And in the weeks and months it took them to finish their work, the Baron would take them to his bed, with or without their consent. Few dared refuse such a powerful lord.
No one in the castle was quite sure who the black-haired girl was. No one was quite sure where she had been summoned from, or what her name was. The girl herself talked little, concentrating on the absurdly simple design she was weaving as if it were the most intricate portrait or battle-scene.
The Baron could not quite remember summoning her either, but something captivated him about this dark girl with the long, thin fingers. There was a wild, frightening beauty to her; for perhaps the first time in his life, he found himself hesitant to bed a woman. But as she was finishing the last few strands of her silly cloth, his courage came back to him. That evening, he grabbed her shoulder and commanded her to his bed. She smiled (oh that unnerving smile! he fought a brief urge to step back from her) and followed him to his room.
The next morning, the chambermaid found the withered husk that had been the Baron. It was a gruesome sight; it was almost as if his innards had been sucked out of his body. The black-haired weaver was gone, too. No trace was left of her but her simple tapestry, a black square with a red hourglass.
Author: Sasha Honeypalm
Fandom: Feminist Fairy Tales
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 289
Inspiration: chapter 13, "The Weaver"
Warnings: rape, character death
Summary: A sexual predator meets a... different sort of predator.
The Baron was known throughout the land as a lover of tapestries and fine art. In his own barony, he was feared as a cruel lover of the female body. Beautiful weavers and broideresses was "invited" to his castle to make the colorful, intricate tapestries that covered the walls, or decorate the richly-dyed robes filled his closet. And in the weeks and months it took them to finish their work, the Baron would take them to his bed, with or without their consent. Few dared refuse such a powerful lord.
No one in the castle was quite sure who the black-haired girl was. No one was quite sure where she had been summoned from, or what her name was. The girl herself talked little, concentrating on the absurdly simple design she was weaving as if it were the most intricate portrait or battle-scene.
The Baron could not quite remember summoning her either, but something captivated him about this dark girl with the long, thin fingers. There was a wild, frightening beauty to her; for perhaps the first time in his life, he found himself hesitant to bed a woman. But as she was finishing the last few strands of her silly cloth, his courage came back to him. That evening, he grabbed her shoulder and commanded her to his bed. She smiled (oh that unnerving smile! he fought a brief urge to step back from her) and followed him to his room.
The next morning, the chambermaid found the withered husk that had been the Baron. It was a gruesome sight; it was almost as if his innards had been sucked out of his body. The black-haired weaver was gone, too. No trace was left of her but her simple tapestry, a black square with a red hourglass.