A picture says a
thousand words. Write them.
Mission: Write a story, a description, a poem, a
metaphor, a commentary, or a critique about this picture. Write something about
this picture.
Be sure to tag writeworld in your
block!
http://writeworld.tumblr.com/post/98850296083/writers-block-a-picture-says-a-thousand-words
The crowd watched the slim,
pale-skinned girl walk towards the light. She wore a flower crown of small red
blooms. Her long blonde hair was scented and recently crimped; it flowed loose
around her shoulders, her feet were bare, and her arms thin and delicate. Her
dress was transparent lace that barely covered her thighs.
The crowd sighed with anticipation as
she walked towards the glowing light. The hopes of the city went with her on
this special day of the year, the only day that the path was open.
Two girls stood near a guard. One of
the girls snorted. It sounded derisive. She was nearly as tall as the guard she
stood behind.
“Shhh,” the guard hissed at them. “Show
some respect.”
“Uh, huh,” said the smaller one. It
also sounded disdainful.
“What?” the guard asked, seemingly
despite himself.
The girl pointed at the pale figure,
stepping as she nervously approached the end of the path. “She’s
the chosen one?”
“So the soothsayers said.”
“I’ll give her ten minutes - no fifteen
‘coz she’s pretty. Bet you a copper piece.”
“Five,” the taller girl countered.
“You’re on.” They shook hands.
The guard shook his head. “The seers
are never wrong.”
“They got it wrong every other
time,” the smaller girl pointed out. “And we need better luck this year with
the war coming.”
They both looked at him expectantly.
His mouth opened and then shut again. “They know,” he insisted, but it sounded
less sure somehow. He’d watched this ritual before as well. Each year the
chosen one was rejected and the city survived, but did not flourish. “Ten
minutes,” he added.
“Deal,” they chorused before turning
back to watch the spectacle.
He watched them out of the corner of
his eye. They were obviously young women of the local people. He guessed they
were about marrying age - they looked it, but he often had trouble telling with
the locals - they matured early. Their bodies were in stark contrast to the
waif that had walked into the light; they were full bodied and muscular. “Why
do you think they’ve got it wrong?” he asked.
“Gran says the seers have got soft
and-”
“-forgotten the old ways. He’s an-”
“-animal and he wants a mate-”
“-not a twig that will snap when he
touches her. And besides-”
“-it’s supposed to be about progeny
and-”
“-she doesn’t have any hips.”
He thought about it. Maybe they were
right. But that would mean the seers were wrong. He glanced towards the path
the girl had walked. He could still see her back.
“Two minutes,” said the tall girl.
“She’s nervous,” the other noted.
“I remember my gran’da saying the old
nursery rhyme,” the guard said, his voice low. He recited, “Some gave him
flowers, and some gave him meat but what he really wanted was a pear from the
street.”
They said the last line with him.
Another guard shushed them all. The girls chuckled.
“Haven’t heard that one for years.”
“She didn’t take a pear.”
“Pear,” the guard repeated. The girl
vanished. “Do you think they meant pair?”
“You are not making any sense.”
“Pair,” he said, louder now.
Silence for a minute. There was a loud
scream from up the path.
The crowd groaned as the flower crown
was thrown out.
“That’s it!” The guard grabbed both
girls. “He wants two; a pair,” he said.
“Oh…”
“And you’re right. Run. I’ll cover
you.” He started dragging them towards the entrance.
“Are you nuts?” the taller girl almost
shouted at him.
“Do it for the city.” He glanced around
but nobody was trying to stop them… yet.
“What?”
“He can’t be worse than your current
beau,” said the shorter girl.
“Now is NOT the time to discuss my love
life.”
“No,” the guard interrupted. “The worst
that can happen is that he throws you out.”
“You think? What if he keeps us?”
“Well that could be-” he searched for a
word “- interesting.”
“You try having sex with the beast.”
“He doesn’t want me!” the guard
argued. “And he doesn’t want her.” The blonde girl stumbled down the
path, crying. “Quick! Before the path closes.”
“Let’s do it!” The shorter girl said as
she grabbed her friend’s hand. “I’ll race you. Tell Gran bye from Aubine and
Elaina.”
Hands clasped they dashed down the
path, their long legs pumping and both were laughing as they ran. They were too
fast for most of the guards. He ran after them and pushed away people who tried
to stop them. It took the commanding officer too long to realise that he wasn’t
trying to stop them. He had to tackle one guard that almost reached them.
The crowd shouted encouragement and in
a moment the girls were gone.
The guard was arrested and held with
too much force by his previous companions.
Everyone waited for the outburst; the
blonde girl still sobbed loudly.
The guard started to think that he had
made a terrible mistake, but then the thorn trees on either side of the path
trembled and shifted and the path was closed.
The representative of the seers slapped
him across the face. “What have you done?” he screamed at him.
“He doesn’t want the girl you
want to fuck.”
That earned him another slap.
“You don’t fight in the war; we do.” He
appealed to his commander. “And we need the beast to fight on our side.”
The commander looked astonished. “You
sneaky little-”
“-He’ll fight to protect his women and
his children,” he added, “if he has any.”
“You will go to the dungeons for this,”
the seer threatened.
“No, he won’t.” The commander made a
sign to release the guard. “You don’t fight. You’ll be safe in the temple.” He
raised his voice, “The offering had been accepted!” he shouted.
The crowd repeated it and the seer
huffed in frustration.
The freed guard looked at the thorn
barrier and prayed that the girls would be okay.
~~~~
© AM Gray 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment