On the Day of the Hunt (VII)

I aim to write these so that you can enjoy them as stand alone stories, or one after the other. If you'd like to do the latter (they're all very short):

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

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It feels right, but not real. Like an echo of what is. Everything far away and close up at the same time. I'm a little doll, I see myself from far away. Look, I stand. I walk.

Just like the boy did, last night. Chin up. To meet his fate.

Do I swallow in fear? Do the flagstones feel hard under my feet? I can't tell from all this distance away.

The guards march me away without touching me. I'm carried along on the force of their will. The sounds of cheering, music, and dancing fade away behind me.

When I speak, my courage fails and my voice comes out as a squeak.

"Y-your Majesty?"

The Queen turns that hard, hard stare onto me. I want to flinch under it.

"Am I to be turned out on the mountainside in this dress?"

She blinks very slowly, her face hard, and I wait for the consequences of speaking so plainly. She says nothing, and a madness grips me.

"Will the boys be dressed like this? To make it a fair test?"

That odd curling smile, creeping slowly over her mouth and never reaching her eyes. Her voice pitched low for my ears, she says, "Perhaps they should." Louder, "You are permitted a change of clothes."

I'm shown to a cell, where a woman brings me a tunic, and helps me to change. She moves little and quick, like a mouse. Her eyes don't settle on anything, least of all on me. She presses a knife into my hand.

"It's terrible, what they're doing," she mutters, meeting my eyes at last. Then she turns and hurries away.

I feel dull and heavy, like I've lead in my belly. When I step into the boat, I'm surprised it doesn't sink. The swishing of the oars goes on forever, yet I'm stepping onto the other shore in a blink. They walk me up the stony path, which becomes more stones and less path with every step. Their discipline dissolving, they are halfway not here. I'm bound with a thick rope to a post.

My task then, is simple. Just get free, evade the dragon, and return to the castle.

Simple.

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Word count (excluding notes): 366

Submitted on 21st March at 22:32

*Quick Author's Note*

First, and most importantly: thank you for reading!

Leave me a link to your own latest story, if I haven't already seen it!

If you enjoyed this story, the best compliment you can give me is to share it, or read another.

A Year of Stories: I'm writing a story every day this year. This one makes a 81 day streak. I'm also putting them in my Index post.

Thank you

Thank you again! I do my best to reciprocate all reads.