ABC Ficlet: 'Stars'
rewritten_since wanted June Lisbon and "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead" by Stars. This is a little wackier than I originally intended, but I like it.
Stars
“This is your idea of a holiday?”
“You said you wanted to wander off into the wilds of Morocco.”
June pushed her hat up off her face so she could glare at Hayden more effectively. “I said absolutely no such thing.”
“You did. Over dinner, in the dining room at The Rock. Despite the Bordeaux, I remember it quite clearly.”
They were south of Marrakech and it was well past midday, the sun very high and hot above them, and Hayden had just given their guide an extra forty dirham to lead them out further into the sand dunes where he wanted to spend the night.
“It will be gorgeous. We’ll sleep under the stars.”
“With the snakes and the scorpions.”
“Oh, I doubt they haves those here.” A pause. “Do you think they have those here?”
“I never in a million years would have imagined this,” June said. Behind her, one of the camels snorted as though in agreement. “You said, ‘Travel with me, darling. Won’t it be fun?’ And I, stupidly perhaps, took you for the sort of man for whom traveling meant five-star hotels, room service and port on the veranda after supper.”
“That is how I like to travel, six days out of seven. But today, my darling, we’re going to have an adventure.”
“I don’t think I want an adventure.”
He looked up at her, surprised. “You ran off into the middle of a war, but you’re afraid to spend the night with me on a sand dune?”
June pushed the brim of her hat back into place in defeat. “In the war, I had a gun.”
“And we do now, as well. I have my father’s old Webley. It’s probably rusted through, and I’ve no idea whether it could actually kill anybody anymore, but it’s probably enough to make your garden variety desert brigand think twice. And if we find ourselves in truly life-threatening danger, we can always just curse whatever it is into oblivion.”
“Assuming you can still shoot straight with a wand. When was the last time you actually had to cast a spell for yourself?”
“Oh, shut up and get on your camel,” he said, good-naturedly.
for rewritten_since
Stars
“This is your idea of a holiday?”
“You said you wanted to wander off into the wilds of Morocco.”
June pushed her hat up off her face so she could glare at Hayden more effectively. “I said absolutely no such thing.”
“You did. Over dinner, in the dining room at The Rock. Despite the Bordeaux, I remember it quite clearly.”
They were south of Marrakech and it was well past midday, the sun very high and hot above them, and Hayden had just given their guide an extra forty dirham to lead them out further into the sand dunes where he wanted to spend the night.
“It will be gorgeous. We’ll sleep under the stars.”
“With the snakes and the scorpions.”
“Oh, I doubt they haves those here.” A pause. “Do you think they have those here?”
“I never in a million years would have imagined this,” June said. Behind her, one of the camels snorted as though in agreement. “You said, ‘Travel with me, darling. Won’t it be fun?’ And I, stupidly perhaps, took you for the sort of man for whom traveling meant five-star hotels, room service and port on the veranda after supper.”
“That is how I like to travel, six days out of seven. But today, my darling, we’re going to have an adventure.”
“I don’t think I want an adventure.”
He looked up at her, surprised. “You ran off into the middle of a war, but you’re afraid to spend the night with me on a sand dune?”
June pushed the brim of her hat back into place in defeat. “In the war, I had a gun.”
“And we do now, as well. I have my father’s old Webley. It’s probably rusted through, and I’ve no idea whether it could actually kill anybody anymore, but it’s probably enough to make your garden variety desert brigand think twice. And if we find ourselves in truly life-threatening danger, we can always just curse whatever it is into oblivion.”
“Assuming you can still shoot straight with a wand. When was the last time you actually had to cast a spell for yourself?”
“Oh, shut up and get on your camel,” he said, good-naturedly.
for rewritten_since