The fifteen minute novel writing experiment is a attempt to write a complete (and very rough) draft of a novel by writing for fifteen minutes each day. I have taken a timed writing from one of the daily prompts done in 2021, cleaned it up a little and used it as my jumping off point into a story. Each day I will take the last line of the story written the day before and use it as my sentence starter and write for fifteen minutes, growing the story as the year progresses.
Day 13: If she stayed on a westerly path she was bound to run into a road at some point.
If she stayed on a westerly path she was bound to run into a road at some point. ‘And a road will lead me somewhere,’ she decided. Once she found a place, she could figure out where she was in relation to home and then decide what she should do about it.
As far as plans went, it was pretty basic. While the people who kept her might figure out the direction she took, they would have no idea which way she took the road. Anya felt that might further delay them.
Anya let her body rest, even if her mind was too active to go back to sleep. When she started to see the gray edge of light through the open door way, Anya took out a small portion of her rations, ate it and slung her pack back onto her shoulders. The bruises from her escape through the tunnels stiffened her body but loosened up as she began her walk for the day. The day was warm but not hot, which she appreciated. The mild weather was a blessing she would take as long as she could. While she found shelter the night before, Anya wasn’t sure if there would be more along the way.
Around midday, Anya found her pathway intersecting a road. The dead was dry and hard packed earth but there were places where the grass was overtaking it. Even if it didn’t look like a well-traveled road, it was a road where she expected to find it and Anya found herself relieved.
The road ran straight from North to South. For a long while Anya stood on the edge of the road trying to decide which direction to take. Finally she chose to walk North and turned to face that direction and continue her journey. When she was with the caravan, they too were heading North when they left Tyrin. The caravan was heading to a city and even if she didn’t rejoin the group and become a servant in one of the great houses, she was certain she would be able to loose herself in the city. Hope filled her as she continued walking. She was young and strong and had a number of skills that might make it possible to find a position. She might not end up at the great house, but she was certain she could find something that would help her while she was hiding.
Satisfied that she would be able to survive if she reached the city without being recaptured and reasonably certain that she could reach the city, Anya began to wonder how she would know if what the guard and those who employed him were waiting for came to pass. As she walked she ran through all of the conversations she had with her guard, looking for some clue as to what they expected. No additional information came to mind, but it let her occupy her mind as she walked.
While the road was wide and open, even if it was disused, Anya decided to stop when it grew dark. This time there was no handy ruin to camp in for the night so she stepped off the road and huddled against one of the larger trees. It was quiet with the leaves rustling only in the wind. It took a while but gradually Anya fell asleep.
Ten til Midnight 