qwill's challenge

[qwill.]

Welcome to my humble abode. Here, I will be sharing with you my short stories for The 100 One-Shot Challenge, a challenge shared with us here on CS by the lovely I'm Not the Only One.

Posting is welcome on this thread, and I am definitely open to critiques.

A few notes about my characters:

Sorrel tells the story in terms of warm colors.

Nicholas tells the story in terms of cool colors.

A few notes about the setting:

the time is mythical-medieval (think Merlin or LotR)

nicholas is the heir to the ruler of Elsaíra, although his father is a tyrant who put the kingdom into war a few years after nicholas was born

sorrel is of a race of people known as the magicae, though she doesn't know it. the current king of Elsaíra drove them out into the north, but keeps it a secret.

completed challenges
I - injured
II - sinking
III - father

[qwill.]

injured

The only possible option I could see was to keep running. Run forever, and never look back. I forced myself to train my eyes on the trees ahead, pretending like this was just another morning jog. Just a morning jog, where I'm about to be eaten by some unknown beast! I shook off the feeling and kept going, dodging branches and bushes in the dimming light.

I could hear the thing behind me, which was not adding to my sense of security and regularity. It sounded like...well, I really have no words to describe it, because I don't think anything that has ever been alive has resounded with so much terror. It screamed with a volume and intensity that made me want to curl up in a ball and clench my fists until my skin broke and blood trickled down my hands. It was a high, cruel scream, almost as though it were enjoying the chase, like it knew the only possibility was for me to run out of steam and fall into its waiting jaws.

As I flew throughout the woods, my measly leather boots caught on a thick root, sending me flying forward onto my forearm, which gave a sickening crunch. I bit back the scream of pain and tried to push myself to my feet, but I buckled from the shock of the break, my vision blurring. I could hear the thumps of the beast behind me and closed my eyes, curling up into a ball.

Looking back on this moment, I find that I can never recall exactly what the thing's face looked like. I have a picture in my mind, but it changes and shifts, almost like a nightmare you know you had, but can never quite remember. One thing that was real and will always stand out to me is the feeling of pure terror that hung about the thing like a fog, drenching the air in a sort of evil tension. I do know that the thing was probably about eight feet tall, and its skin was as black as the night. It was bulging with muscles, and its reptilian tongue flickered in and out of sharp, ridged teeth, dripping with acid. I also remember the way it spoke to me.

I am Keth. Give to me the stone, and I will spare your life. The voice spoke not out loud, but within the walls of my head, echoing painfully off of my skull. I was frozen with terror, unable to move and trapped within myself. And what stone was it talking about? I had no stone, and I didn't plan on getting a stone. I didn't even want a stone! Stone was just another word for rock. What use did a girl on the run have for a rock? It would only weigh me down.

But the being was insistent. Its ever-changing face drew closer to my own, and I remember hearing the sizzle of foliage as black saliva dissolved the greenery that was already dry with the summer heat. Give it to the brotherhood. Give it to Keth, and you will be spared in The Coming, it said, its tongue whipping in and out.

As my vision started to fade from sheer shock and terror, a lightning flash lit up the side of the forest. As the keth was distracted, I was able to break free from its enchantment, rolling away from its great talons. I couldn't hear what had taken its attention away from me, but all I know is that I had to run. I was back where I started. Running, and never looking back.

About a second later I heard a shout and a screech, and then a voice called to me "Hey! Hey, stop!" Was I going to stop after what I had just seen. Hell. No. I sped up, my injured arm screaming with pain. I powered through it, my eyes watering and my head dizzy. Despite my injury, I had to at least get out of the forest. If this even was a forest. I honestly wasn't sure any more.

Shapes were beginning to enter my field of vision, popping out from behind trees and calling my name. Sorrel....Sorrel, they lied to you. They lied. Did I breath in too much of those poisonous fumes? Probably. Was I about to go down because my adrenaline rush had left me? Yep.

For the second time in the space of about ten minutes, I fell on my face, but, thankfully, nothing cracked this time. However, something new stood out to me. I wasn't flat on the ground, as I had been the first time I tripped, but stranded in a pit of...something. Something incredibly viscous, yet it was also dry. And the person who had either stopped the keth or been controlling it was only a few steps behind me. I was screwed. And to make matters worse, either I was shrinking, or the mysterious substance in which I had been ensnared was starting to tug me down.

__________________________
wc
844
characters
sorrel; keth
overall feelings
I wrote this using entirely my own voice, and I planned nothing. I like Sorrel's character, and I hope she will reveal to me herself over the course of this project.

[qwill.]

sinking

Damn it. Damn it. I turned side to side, trying to free myself from what I now saw to be a large pit of black sand. The substance was rare across the countryside, and with my luck, I had managed to find myself in probably the only pit in a whole league. The thing about black sand was that it acted like a weight; it wasn't really sand at all, but teeny tiny plant-like organisms that fed on human flesh. The good thing for me was they had to suffocate you first. They did that by pushing in on you and pulling you down into a cavern full of the nasty little boogers. The process was made faster by struggling; I knew that, and most people knew that, but did that stop me from trying?

I needed to fins a way out, and fast. I was already up to about my waist in the stuff, and I could feel the slippery mass of black sand tugging at my ankles and pulling on my boots. The trees around me were all tall and coniferous: no vines or anything. I was really starting to panic. My broken arm still throbbed, and my head swam from the keth's poison and the adrenaline from the past hour or so. Come on, Sorrel. Think clearly. How do you get out of situations like these?

The voice in my head was telling me to calm down, but I had no idea what to do. I couldn't see any sort of leverage to keep me from going under, and I was going down at an alarming rate. Probably an exponential one. I'd never been good at math. As I flailed around, I failed to notice the crunch of footsteps enter the clearing with the black sand pit. It wasn't until I saw the figure in the sunlight filtering through the trees that I even recognized the danger. But I thought it best to warn him first. "Get back!" I said, waving my arms out for him to stop. "Black sand!"

"I knew that was there," cam a snide reply, instantly making me dislike whoever was currently standing above me. I didn't deal with snobs, especially high class ones. And this man was obviously out-classing me. In only the birthright, of course. His green hood did a poor job of hiding the fact that he was at least a member of the kings court, if not a member of his family. Then again, there wasn't much difference. "If you want to get out, you're going to have to listen to me," he said, kneeling down to meet my panicked eyes.

I looked up at his face, but couldn't make out many details because of the shadows. He reached out an arm to me, his hand encased in a fingerless leather glove. "Why should I trust you?" I asked, my voice shaking a little bit. The sand was up to my chest now, and I had no feeling in my toes. I wasn't even sure if I still had my boots on.

"I didn't say you had to trust me, just that you needed to listen. Grab my hand, and relax," came the reply. Realizing that there was no use arguing, I clasped his gloved hand in my own, uninjured one and let my shoulders relax, feeling the tension melt away. "That's good. Now close your eyes."

"What? No!" My muscles tensed again as I glared at him, trying to meet his eyes under the hood.

"Just do it!"

Feeling the sand at my arm pits, I closed my eyes, and gripped his hand. He began to murmur something, then tugged me out as though pulling someone out of a pool of water. I rested on the ground in front of the pit, breathing heavily, my eyes still closed. I had already been through so much that I didn't have the energy to worry about what might happen to me know that I had been caught. As I let my eyes slowly open, I found myself looking up at the face of a young man, his forest green hood on his shoulders. He had a handsome face, I guess, with a clean shave, and an unruly mop of light brown hair. His blue eyes looked down into mine, and his mouth moved as though he were talking. 'Sorry, what?" I asked, sitting up. My ears were ringing.

"I asked if you were alright." He placed a hand on my shoulder, which I immediately shrugged away.

"Fine," I said, wincing as I moved my arm. It was purple and blue around where I knew the crack must be, though I couldn't see it from the outside. Damn. I had no way to bind or set it.

Seeing my trouble, the man in front of me pulled a selection of bandages from a leather pouch propped up on a nearby tree. "Allow me."

I begrudgingly held out my arm, figuring that if he had wanted to kill me, he would have done so by now. "Who are you?" he asked casually as he attached a splint to my arm and wrapped it several times with a bandage.

"Who needs to know?" I snapped, grinding my teeth as he set my wound. "I'm nobody important."

"They don't send the keth after just anyone."

I looked up, meeting his deep, yet clear eyes. "Who are they?"

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wc
903
characters
sorrel; nicholas
overall feelings
I think Sorrel's character really starts to come out in this one, as well as Nicholas's. I'm excited to go into the next one, which will be told from Nicholas's point of view.

[qwill.]

father

I had orders to find the girl. I didn't know where she was from, or even if she would be worth finding. But they were orders, and I had to follow them. Especially when they came from him. He was a tall man, arrogant in even the way that he placed his feet, one in front of the other like a strutting peacock. It disgusted me. I couldn't deal with him for more than a few minutes at a time, despite the fact that he issued all of my instructions.

Have you ever met a person so incredibly different from yourself that you just don't understand them in the slightest? That's how it was for my father and me. He was vain and conceited, whereas I had always tried to see the best in people. Which was why my least favorite task was to kill people. Even though I was the crown prince of Elsaíra, my father used me like an assassin because he was too weak to enter the sunlight. Strange daily dynamic, I know. But I guess I had never really known any better. But at the point where my story begins, I really didn't know any better.

I watched the keth chase her, staying behind for a few moments. I had to become the hero in order for her to trust me, and that wasn't going to happen until she absolutely needed it. To be honest, I wasn't expecting her to run away when I got there, but I have to admit, she was a strong one. I rushed as the keth closed in for a kill and let loose a battle cry of epic proportions. "Aaargahargargh!" I drew my sword, pointing it at the slimy beast.

These things were crazy intelligent, which is why the empire of Elsaíra used them as goons. They were sort of our secret weapon against the people; everyone trusted us, to a point. They had no idea what the king truly had planned. This keth was a really nasty one. It didn't like taking orders, and the king knew it. That's why it was always doing the dirty work. As the girl ran off, I pretended to brandish my sword at the monster. Am I still needed, Master? it asked, flicking its tongue in and out, boredom spread across its distorted features.

"No. Be gone, and let me finish the task. Your help will be rewarded." With slaughtered cows and blood money, I thought bitterly. The keth want nothing out of life than raw meat and gold. They don't even buy anything with the gold; they only like it because it's shiny. Watching as my target scrambled through the woods, I had to admire her resolve. Not many could make it that far with a shattered forearm, especially where she was headed.

My father's voice echoed through my mind as I trotted after her, calling "Hey! Hey, stop!" Find the girl, get the stone. I don't care what it takes. Kill her, if you have to. I had always just sort of done what he told me; making no personal attachments was fine with me. And besides, this was going to be easy. From what the keth had gleaned, she knew nothing of the prophecy. The blanker the slate, the easier it would be for me to manipulate her into thinking that the only possible way to solve the problem she was soon to encounter was to, of course, entrust me with the stone. Like I said, easy.

I stalled for a moment, catching my breath and listening to her as she screamed for help, giving me time so as not to seem too suspicious. But the effect was lost on her as she saw me in the shadows. "Get back! Black Sand!"

I have to say, I was caught off guard that her first instinct was to ward me away. I would have lured my pursuer closer in hopes to trap them and maybe escape myself. The girl was either very noble, or incredibly dull. Either way, I panicked momentarily, and ended up saying "I knew that was there." Really. Stupid. I didn't like to sound arrogant and rude, but sometimes it just slipped out. I guess that's what you get when you grow up around royalty, even the tyrannical kind. "If you want to get out, you're going to have to listen to me," I told her, kneeling down to face her. She was pretty, in a different sort of way, with large brown eyes that shone almost a chestnut color, and dark, reddish-brown hair that stood out against her pale skin. A few freckles graced her small nose, which wrinkled at my comment.

"Why should I trust you?" she said, though I detected a small quiver in her voice.

Because you're about to die from suffocation and then be devoured by microorganisms, I felt like saying, but instead, I settled on "I didn't say you had to trust me, just that you needed to listen. Grab my hand, and relax." Pulling her out of the pit was the easy part. It was the conversation that came afterwards that would really define whether or not I could get her to trust me.

After binding her wound, I watched her, leaning my back up against the tree. Her movements, labored from the pain of a broken arm, were still very defensive, as though she wasn't used to direct contact with people. It was very strange. She looked sophisticated enough; she wore a simple red blouse with leather leggings and worn hunting boots. Definitely not the clothes of a street person, but not the outfit I would expect from a child of prophecy, either. Who is this girl? I had never seen anyone really like her. Most people from Elsaíra had my light brown hair and blue eyes. She had much darker features, and a stronger bone structure. Maybe she was from a northern colony. "They are the Elsaíran Empire," I said, finally answering her question. I figured that the best way to hide my own intentions was to disguise it with the truth. I would tell her everything, save for the fact that I was the son of the Elsaíran King. That would come later, or not at all, if I could avoid it.

"I'm Nicholas," I said, watching her pretty face. "I should like to know your name, nobody important."

__________________________
wc
1071
characters
nicholas; sorrel
overall feelings
This is basically the first two challenges from Nicholas's point of view. I tried to demonstrate, in fitting with the theme, his relationship with his father, which is a very unhealthy one. I like Nicholas's voice, but not as much as I like Sorrel's. We'll have to see what happens with the next one.

[qwill.]

exploit

Her eyes told me so much, and yet kept the point of the story hidden. She was scared, but proud that she could stand her own, and relieved that I was not going to kill her. "I'm Sorrel. Just...Sorrel." She rubbed her forearm and shrugged away from my inquisitive gaze, looking instead at the ground. Brushing her hair out of her face, Sorrel stood up. Her footsteps faltered and she immediately stumbled. I lurched forward to catch her shoulder, but she would have none of it. "Get off of me. I'm leaving now."

I stepped back, not wanting to push it. "You can hardly walk, and you don't know where you're going." I pulled my knife off of my belt and started shaving layers of bark off of the tree I had leaned against. "Just tell me how I can help you."

"Look, I'm just a petty thief. The Elsaíran Empire, or whatever, can go to hell. I don't have any stone, and I'm not in the mood to deal with false charges. It's better to just...just run away." As she spoke these words, Sorrel began walking in the direction she had been running before falling into the pit of Black Sand.

A petty thief...I can use this, I thought. I just needed to play it right. "What if I told you this stone that they want is worth a lot of money," I said casually, watching her walk away and then tense as I spoke.

"Look, Charming, I have my own problems. Find another burglar for your job." Gods, even her voice was sexy. I couldn't handle her sass, or even the way she looked at me. This was just too good.

"I don't need a burglar. I'm a good enough one myself. I just--"

That was it. "I'm the best around. Whatever this rock is, I can steal it, no questions asked. And if you don't believe me, I'd even say I'll charge you no sum if I don't get it by the end of the month." At this point she had whipped around to face me, her eyes filled with fire at the challenge.

"Make it the end of this week, and we have a deal, Princess."

I could sense that her pride had gotten the better of her. "Give me t



wip c:

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wc
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characters
nicholas;
overall feelings
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