Hello! Let's jump
right into things, shall we?
Prompt: He’d never noticed a door
there before.
From: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/writing-prompts-101/
I'm going to try and find (or come up with) playful creative
writing prompts. This one appealed to me
because I've just finished reading Suzanne Collin's "Underlander"
series, and it reminded me of how her main character, Gregor, finds a doorway
to a different world. Your doorway
doesn't have to lead to a new world. In
fact, I think my character may find the door locked …
**************************************************
My response:
It was behind the blackberry bushes that rose, large and
overgrown, at the back of the garden.
Blackberry jam had been her favorite, but since she'd been gone, the
gardener had found other things to occupy his time. Still, Alec glanced around to make sure no
one was watching before he tried the handle.
He had to push several of the branches aside, and the thorns
caught on the sleeve of his wool coat.
The door was wooden, made with thick planks that looked like they might
be oak. The brass handle was cold in his
hand. It wouldn't turn.
Alec jiggled the handle, then looked up around the door
frame. It looked like it should open
inward, so he pulled. Jiggle, pull. Pull, jiggle.
The door didn't budge. Alec
furrowed his brow and frowned.
"What are you doing there?"
Alec startled at the voice behind him. He whipped around and pressed himself up
against the door handle. The knob and a
few thorns pushed into his back in his futile attempt to hide the door. He didn't even know why he was trying to hide
it …
"Alec? What are
you doing back here? A stable boy has no
business in the gardens. Get on back to
the barn, before someone else catches you and accuses you of stealing the
Master's produce!"
Relief flooded through Alec's limbs. It was just Gregor, the busboy.
Alec nodded, then launched himself away from the door and
sprinted back towards the stables.
***********
I wrote this a few days ago, and looking back at it today, I realized I use the word "look" way too much.
I'm also thinking I may post a list of names down the sidebar of the blog, just so I can pick and choose a name quickly. Sometimes my characters come to me with names, but sometimes I have to search and search before I find something fitting (and sometimes even then, I end up changing it again).
I'm excited to see what everyone else comes up with!
***********
I wrote this a few days ago, and looking back at it today, I realized I use the word "look" way too much.
I'm also thinking I may post a list of names down the sidebar of the blog, just so I can pick and choose a name quickly. Sometimes my characters come to me with names, but sometimes I have to search and search before I find something fitting (and sometimes even then, I end up changing it again).
I'm excited to see what everyone else comes up with!
It was a small door, one that would force a fully-grown man to stoop in order to pass through. And, there was no latch. Sildwin blinked in the coming dawn light of the twin suns. The door wasn't the main reason for his confusion. Until this day, there had been no door, because no wall had existed, either. Until now. Sildwyn rubbed his eyes. Could this be a dream? But when he opened his eyes, the wall was still there. The barrier was so tall the top could barely be seen by craning one's neck and squinting the eyes. Only yesterday the bare dirt path had led directly to the ruins of Altruin; Sildwyn's favorite haunt. He loved to climb the toppled statues of the kings of old, pretending to be a conquering hero who had vanquished a formidable foe; or to simply sit in the dust and ashes of the one remaining tower, listen to the cooing of doves in the eaves above, and dream of the home he barely remembered. But how had this forbidding wall come to be? Sildwyn stepped closer. The wall was smooth as a well-worn pebble from the river, dark as Arundel's Eve without the light of the five moons. The boy took one more step and placed a trembling hand on the wall, near the door. The metallic-looking surface felt warm; almost flesh-like to the touch. And it felt, in some way...alive. Yelping, Kayden pulled back, and then gaped at the back of his hand. The djin lines that scrawled across the skin of his hand and traced the way from his arms to his heart were normally only faint scratches that were best seen in moonlight. But now, Sildwyn's djin lines glowed a pale blue, as if his body were somehow lit from within. The glowing lines stood out in stark contrast to the boy's copper skin. Matching blue figures sparked suddenly, forming words that scrawled themselves across the door, which moments before had been a blank surface. The words were written in the ancient runes, which Sildwyn barely remembered. Feeling as if his heart were about to burst, Sildwin edged closer, and tried to read. He was able to make out the words: "Remember...times past, times to come...when he returns, the world will begin once more." Without warning, the form of a hand appeared in the center of the door, glowing faintly with the same blue light of the runes on the door and the djin lines on Sildwin's hands and arms. Without thinking, Sildwin placed his hand upon the print. It was a perfect fit. The door swung silently open.
ReplyDeleteOops, I called my character by two different names. :-/
ReplyDeleteOh Rebecca, I'm all tingly now! I didn't know you could write fantasy! Beautiful!
ReplyDelete"He’d never noticed a door there before...or so he says," stated the soldier's partner. It was a lie, but it would work.
ReplyDelete“What?” The Captain's fists slammed down on his desk. “After two years, he's never seen the soldier's gate?”
“Said he's only ever used the main entrance, Captain, that he thought that door was used for the royals' personal business.”
"Discharge him immediately," said the captain to his adviser . The adviser nodded while the Captain continued. "There is no place in the palace guard for idiots, especially now. Rowland,” the Captain's eye fell to the soldier's partner, “send Richard here once he reaches post."
"Yes, Sir." Rowland smirked as he left the stoney headquarters. He'd disliked Richard from the beginning. It could have been the confidence he had or possibly his good looks that caught the eye of many of the young maidens, but in any case, Rowland had finally found a way to get rid of him. He was about to show him who was really the real man, the better man.
Rowland strutted arrogantly to his post. As he waited, he tightened his belt a little and pulled at his boots. The uniform never fit him right. Apparently, they only came in two sizes, and “short” wasn't one of them. It wasn't long before the Richard joined him. He was at least a head taller than Rowland and unlike his partner, Richard's uniform fit him like a tailored suit.
The soldier smiled at him. “Good eve, Rowland. How's your mother?”
Rowland's teeth ground together.
“The Captain wants a word.” His tense jaw relaxed quickly. He was about to be rid of his hated partner for good.
“Oh?”
“It's urgent.” A sly grin oiled its way to the surface.
I love the intrigue! What a wonderful villan!
ReplyDelete