Expendable [A 50-Word Short]
This week's prompt for @jayna's #fiftyword challenge is chase. I knew I had the perfect scene in "The Shard of Myrsi", but it was going to take some work to fit it into 50 words.
The scene is originally from my protagonist's point-of-view, Sina. Her birth father Darad, who was banished from Emtia fifteen years prior for killing a unicorn, has brought an army back to invade the kingdom and usurp the throne. Sina and her knight make a run for it and Darad sends his men after then, with explicit instructions to kill the knight, but bring his daughter back unharmed.
For the sake of the 50 word challenge, I knew it would be better to show this particular moment from the POV of Darad's soldier. I even gave him a name for this!
It was a lot of fun telling this scene from the view of a minor character. I love how exercises like this give me insight into my fantasy story and the characters within. Reeve might even become more of an important character if I can figure out how he fits into the greater story.
A huge thanks to @bex-dk and @poetrybyjeremy for their help in editing!
Expendable
Reeve swung his sword toward the knight’s neck. He needed Sina, but the man was expendable.
“No!” She blocked the blow, screaming as he slashed her back.
Darad’s warning echoed in his head and he fought the urge to vomit. Injuring her was a death sentence.
Reeve stepped back. “Go.”
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://therosepatch.com/expendable-a-50-word-short/
Oh, wow, that is powerful, @therosepatch! I'm sorry I missed it when you first published it! (But thank goodness you are on my auto-upvote list, so I didn't miss that opportunity.) I'll add this to the review post for the "chase" prompt.
Thank you! I had a lot of fun with this one and am glad you liked it! :)