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 44: ‘Probably best to avoid it,’ she decided.
‘Probably best to avoid it,’ she decided. Anya climbed the stairs to her room and let herself in, bolting the door behind her. Even if she managed avoiding being sent to the star that still gave her two weeks to figure out what to do with herself.
She set her sewing basket down and looked towards the waiting book. Earlier she had been shown where the well was and Anya decided that it might be best to refill her pitcher before settling in with the book. ‘That way I can be clean before I dress for bed and then read while in bed.’
Anya picked up the pitcher and unlocked her door. She stepped into the hallway, closing her door behind her. The path was a straightforward one and Anya reviewed what she knew as she walked. She knew she was taken, but not why.
‘Or on whose orders,’ Anya thought. ‘It could have been Lord Mathis or he could have been working for someone else.’
She shook her head as she walked. ‘The who only matters if they try again.’ There were two things she needed to keep them from trying again. The first was a place to hide where they couldn’t find her. At the moment she had that.
‘At least for two weeks.’ Anya reached the well room and saw she was not the only one waiting to refll her pitcher. She took her place in line and waited.
‘Finding out why will go a long way towards possibly not getting taken again.’ Anya moved forward as the line progressed. ‘And finding out what they expected to happen would help. Which means information about the Haversdown will help.’
Anya reached the well and refilled her pitcher from the bucket, she stepped aside so the girl behind her could begin to fill her pitcher. Anya started back to her room. She was halfway there when a thought hit her. Those here were waiting for the Star. Whoever held her in the tower was waiting for something as well. What if those things were connected.
‘But the thing that is going to happen here is in two weeks. But they didn’t leave me enough food to last another two weeks. ‘
Anya made it back to her room, opened the door and stepped inside. She closed the door and latched the lock. ‘What if they needed me weak with hunger by the time what they were expecting to happen, happened?’
Anya took a deep breath. She blinked in surprise. There was a strange smell in the room as though someone or something had been here in her absence. Anya looked around. The room was small and there were few places anyone could hide. She walked over to the wash stand and carefully placed the full pitcher down next to the basin. The only two spots for anyone to hide were behind the curtains or under the bed. There were no other hiding places.
‘And even those are slight,’ she thought as she turned. Anya shook first one curtain and then the other. There was nothing and no one behind them. She looked to the bed. There was a small book settled on the coverlet. Still Anya bent down to look underneath. There was no one hiding there. She walked over to the bed.
Ten til Midnight 