To Be Beautiful Again
A Microfiction Tale
“Where…are…they?”
Saliva splattered the peaman’s blue-green skin.
The peaman’s rainbow plumage rose. With a thunderous screech, his captor flew into the wall.
The deformed fae cackled and dragged his leg to the peaman.
“Spirited. How fun!”
The peaman hissed as the fae approached him again.
“I will never tell you where they are,” he spat.
The fae shook his bulbous head as his chapped lips twisted into a crooked smile, exposing rotting teeth.
“You will not need to tell me a single thing. You will show me.”
He ripped out the peaman’s beating heart and held it in his clawed hand. He stared at it for a moment, admiring the throbbing organ, before he devoured it.
His violet eyes glowed. Images of peamen hiding in caves flashed through his mind.
“Yes,” he whispered, “they will all be mine.”
As the vision faded, the fae’s gaze fell upon the dead peaman. He had put up a good fight. He truly had not wanted to give up his family.There had been a time when the fae would have done the same. That time had long since passed.
The fae’s mind drifted to memories of his terrified clansmen running. His former self stumbled. An icy darkness entered him. His once-green eyes burned violet as purple veins throbbed against his skin.
The fae stared down at the half-eaten heart.
“Today, I will be beautiful again.”
About the Creator
Stephanie Hoogstad
With a BA in English and MSc in Creative Writing, writing is my life. I have edited and ghost written for years with some published stories and poems of my own.
Learn more about me: thewritersscrapbin.com
Support my writing: Patreon
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Comments (4)
You paint a vivid picture with your words, Stephanie. I have found microfiction to be especially difficult, but you have provided a masterful example.
The ripping out the heart reminded me of Regina from Once Upon A Time. Your story was so dark and I immensely enjoyed it!
That's what you think! Those who long so for beauty as to go to such lengths will never truly find what they are looking for. Great micro-fiction, Stephanie!
Brilliant! A lot of world, a lot of history and just the right amount of gory crammed into so few words 😁