almost done!
Strawberry #10. Mask
Rating : PG
Timeframe : fall 1254 - immediately follows a very old piece - humility and relates to the whole double brownie business of the night before, longing, and passion
Word Count : 717
I'm not entirely happy with this (I generally don't like it when I get stuck with one character all alone and thinking - I like action) but I had a hard time filling the prompt, and I still did it metaphorically.
Also, if I'm confusing anyone, I'd like to point out that my story spans an awfully long time and can be divided into a few phases, and I jump all over the place, so just look at the timeframes.
If any of you new folk are interested, I followed Sly's lead and made a list of my prompts and the order they go in. I would, of course, be thrilled if you want to read them, and tickled to get comments on old stuff. The list is here and I will continue to update it with my new pieces and keep links to it in my journal and profile.
Ski stuffed the empty vial back into her skirt pocket and headed down the hall. The tread of her boots on the floorboards reverberated off the bare stone walls, steady and hollow. She groped the same pocket in search of a watch and frowned as she came up empty handed. She’d barely had the wits to find clothes that matched; who had time for a watch? It wasn’t as if they wouldn’t wait for her anyway. Her skirts tangled between her legs as she drew to a halt. She ran a hand down one leg, eyeing skirt and blouse, as it occurred to her that she couldn’t even assume she’d done that much right.
Convinced that the blue skirt did not clash with the white shirt, though neither seemed suitably formal for a meeting, she continued on her way. She wondered if Rune had been as much at a loss when he woke, not that he had a choice as far as clothing went but to pick up what was strewn about the floor.
Her hand slid back into the pocket where the empty vial bounced against her leg. Fingers closed over glass. Saved by Lyssa. She shook her head. That was not something that would happen again. Her fingers slid down the cold, smooth curves of the glass. None of the past day bore much chance of repeating. There was no sense in thinking otherwise. She let the vial fall and pulled her hand back from her pocket to thwart the temptation to toy with it further.
Ski rounded a corner and left the dormitories for the busier halls of the central palace. Nobles and servants alike ducked in and out of doors, rushing by on errands of their own. The hall had been silent when she crept out of her room. Whether that meant the others had left already or still slept, she couldn’t say. What state Rune might have found things in, on the other hand… Her fingers gave her temple a forceful rub as she prayed to every one of the gods that the man had enough sense to make a quiet exit. It wasn’t as if she’d have long to wonder, the meeting room was just ahead now.
As if on cue, Rune‘s voice carried from around the corner. “What makes you think I have any idea where she is?”
Her breath caught in her throat. “It was just a question,” came Ilya’s response, and Ski let out a sigh. “Are you alright?”
“Fine,” said Rune, a bit hastily for her liking.
All eyes turned as she came into view. Tess and Farran picked themselves up from where they slouched against the wall. Ilya smiled. Ski hoped no one else spotted the faint color that touched Rune’s cheeks as his hand made the predictable dive for his collar. Her stomach gave a twitch. Medication hardly made a satisfying breakfast.
“Good morning,” said Ski, all of her energies focused on keeping as straight a voice and face as possible.
“Morning,” said Ilya, all but bounding to the double doors that marked the end of the hall. She wrapped a slender hand around the knob and pulled one open.
“You were waiting for me?” Ski said, looking from Ilya to Tess and Farran as they passed.
“We weren’t about to go in without our leader,” said Farran on her way through the door.
Rune grabbed the edge of the door. Ilya looked at him a moment in confusion, then shrugged and ducked under his outstretched arm and into the room.
Ski pressed her tongue between her teeth as she tried to hold her composure. She trained her gaze on his hand, the door, anywhere but those deep blue eyes. “Where were you this morning?” he asked in barely more than a whisper.
Her stomach lurched again and the hope that the meeting would include food crossed her mind. “I… had something I had to attend to,” she said.
He glanced through the open door, as if to reassure himself that no one was watching. “I-”
“We should be going.” She dodged the hand that reached for her arm and swept past him through the open door, holding her lack of expression as she pretended not to notice the look of confusion that followed her.
Rating : PG
Timeframe : fall 1254 - immediately follows a very old piece - humility and relates to the whole double brownie business of the night before, longing, and passion
Word Count : 717
I'm not entirely happy with this (I generally don't like it when I get stuck with one character all alone and thinking - I like action) but I had a hard time filling the prompt, and I still did it metaphorically.
Also, if I'm confusing anyone, I'd like to point out that my story spans an awfully long time and can be divided into a few phases, and I jump all over the place, so just look at the timeframes.
If any of you new folk are interested, I followed Sly's lead and made a list of my prompts and the order they go in. I would, of course, be thrilled if you want to read them, and tickled to get comments on old stuff. The list is here and I will continue to update it with my new pieces and keep links to it in my journal and profile.
Ski stuffed the empty vial back into her skirt pocket and headed down the hall. The tread of her boots on the floorboards reverberated off the bare stone walls, steady and hollow. She groped the same pocket in search of a watch and frowned as she came up empty handed. She’d barely had the wits to find clothes that matched; who had time for a watch? It wasn’t as if they wouldn’t wait for her anyway. Her skirts tangled between her legs as she drew to a halt. She ran a hand down one leg, eyeing skirt and blouse, as it occurred to her that she couldn’t even assume she’d done that much right.
Convinced that the blue skirt did not clash with the white shirt, though neither seemed suitably formal for a meeting, she continued on her way. She wondered if Rune had been as much at a loss when he woke, not that he had a choice as far as clothing went but to pick up what was strewn about the floor.
Her hand slid back into the pocket where the empty vial bounced against her leg. Fingers closed over glass. Saved by Lyssa. She shook her head. That was not something that would happen again. Her fingers slid down the cold, smooth curves of the glass. None of the past day bore much chance of repeating. There was no sense in thinking otherwise. She let the vial fall and pulled her hand back from her pocket to thwart the temptation to toy with it further.
Ski rounded a corner and left the dormitories for the busier halls of the central palace. Nobles and servants alike ducked in and out of doors, rushing by on errands of their own. The hall had been silent when she crept out of her room. Whether that meant the others had left already or still slept, she couldn’t say. What state Rune might have found things in, on the other hand… Her fingers gave her temple a forceful rub as she prayed to every one of the gods that the man had enough sense to make a quiet exit. It wasn’t as if she’d have long to wonder, the meeting room was just ahead now.
As if on cue, Rune‘s voice carried from around the corner. “What makes you think I have any idea where she is?”
Her breath caught in her throat. “It was just a question,” came Ilya’s response, and Ski let out a sigh. “Are you alright?”
“Fine,” said Rune, a bit hastily for her liking.
All eyes turned as she came into view. Tess and Farran picked themselves up from where they slouched against the wall. Ilya smiled. Ski hoped no one else spotted the faint color that touched Rune’s cheeks as his hand made the predictable dive for his collar. Her stomach gave a twitch. Medication hardly made a satisfying breakfast.
“Good morning,” said Ski, all of her energies focused on keeping as straight a voice and face as possible.
“Morning,” said Ilya, all but bounding to the double doors that marked the end of the hall. She wrapped a slender hand around the knob and pulled one open.
“You were waiting for me?” Ski said, looking from Ilya to Tess and Farran as they passed.
“We weren’t about to go in without our leader,” said Farran on her way through the door.
Rune grabbed the edge of the door. Ilya looked at him a moment in confusion, then shrugged and ducked under his outstretched arm and into the room.
Ski pressed her tongue between her teeth as she tried to hold her composure. She trained her gaze on his hand, the door, anywhere but those deep blue eyes. “Where were you this morning?” he asked in barely more than a whisper.
Her stomach lurched again and the hope that the meeting would include food crossed her mind. “I… had something I had to attend to,” she said.
He glanced through the open door, as if to reassure himself that no one was watching. “I-”
“We should be going.” She dodged the hand that reached for her arm and swept past him through the open door, holding her lack of expression as she pretended not to notice the look of confusion that followed her.