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 58: She needed to know if she was to move forward.
She needed to know if she was to move forward. Anya drifted through the room, her eyes drifting from map to map. Names caught her eyes and fanciful drawings piqued her interest. Thoughts about visiting then arose and as always the thoughts were silenced by the fact that she didn’t know of Lord Mathis, his purpose and plans.
‘If I knew he wasn’t seeking me,’ she told the voices in her head. ‘I might consider it.’
‘If I knew why he took me, I might think of what I wanted my future to look like,’ she told other thoughts when her mind tried to cast future plans into her mind.
‘After all,’ she added to herself. ‘If I don’t know why then someone else could grab me and put me in a harder to escape tower.’
After that bit of logic the thoughts in her mind grew silent. Anya frowned and continued to look at not only the frames maps but various bits of art work stationed around the room. The pieces were generally small and occupied wall space between book cases. As the book cases took up most of the space, the mounted art was few and far between.
Even though she had no more answers to her questions than when she started, Anya felt more at peace with herself when she left the library. She closed the curtains thinking it was getting close to supper time. Even if all she was given was another cup, Anya figured she needed to put in an appearance. As she descended the stairs she wondered at the unexpected questions her mind cast up. Was this what her thoughts were like when she didn’t have a task occupying her hands and most of her attention?
It felt strange and less like arguing with herself than usual. Anya shook off the feeling and went down to the dining hall. She timed it well and arrived at nearly the same time as the others. Anya accepted her cup and moved to her usual spot. As she and the others settled and she took her first sip, figures clad in robes arrived. From their size, swish of skirts and long braids hanging down, Anya guessed them to be women. The cowls were pulled so low that their faces were obscured. Even when no one was speaking there was an indrawn breath at their arrival. All eyes watched them.
Anya saw the first robed woman stop by a table and place her hand upon the shoulder of a seated woman. The woman nodded, gulped back her drink and placed her empty cup upon the table. She then stood and followed the robed woman from the room. One by one each of the robed women stopped by someone, singling them out from the group. Each of the women selected drank and stood, looking pleased to go. Anya blinked as the last of the robbed women stopped beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Anya swallowed hard.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. All eyes were on her. Anya nodded, swallowed back the last of her drink the way the others had done and placed the empty cup on the table. Her hands were shaking and she pulled back her fingers quickly hoping the others didn’t notice. Anya stood. Her heard was racing as she followed the robed woman out of the dining hall.
They walked through the empty corridors and finally reached a staircase Anya had not used before. They climbed to the upper floor. There were no windows and the woman paused to pick up and light an oil lamp before they continued.
Ten til Midnight 