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 83: Anya wasn’t certain what the protocol for ending silence was but suspected that once the order for silence was lifted, the woman’s words would pop forth in a torrent.
Anya wasn’t certain what the protocol for ending silence was but suspected that once the order for silence was lifted, the woman’s words would pop forth in a torrent. The thought made her smile as she drank her midday drink. Well aware that she was more than likely being observed, Anya tried to keep her mind empty and not focused on what she heard in the library.
Since her talk with Marta, the woman on the tower, there had been no intruding thoughts. Even though the thoughts were only to bring questions to her mind, Anya still found herself pleased not to have anyone delving into her mind.
‘That I know of,’ Anya thought. ‘Although she did say her skills were waning for the year.’
Anya wasn’t certain what that meant. Surely if someone had an ability they had an ability, it didn’t go away simply due to the time of year. Realizing her thoughts were drifting back to dangerous ground, Anya thought about those around her. Marta said that the younger woman wouldn’t be chosen this year and that the older woman was only coming here in gratitude.
The numbers of the women in the space were dwindling, each meal time presenting fewer and fewer people to sit at the tables in the dining hall. She wondered how many of those left were going to be sent away.
‘We only have the rest of today and tomorrow for the silence and choosing,’ Anya thought. She wondered what would happen when the silence was broken. Would all of the others depart or would there be some like her who would stay?
She knew there were those who stayed, but didn’t know if they stayed away from the main group when they arrived or if they were mixed in. ‘Marta made it sound as though there were different quarters.’
As with most of Anya’s questions, she had no way to get any answers.
The small meal ended and the robed women came to get a few of the women, subtracting them from the number. There were fewer chosen than before and Anya wondered if most of those left behind were destined for disappointment. When the choosing was over, Anya and the others drifted out of the hall. While everyone dispersed again, Anya wasn’t sure what to do with herself. She didn’t want to go back to the library, not at the moment.
She knew she had a book in her room that she could read. That thought didn’t appeal at the moment either. ‘Maybe later,’ she decided. The book seemed like a good way to while away the time after dinner and before bed.
With few options left, Anya decided to wander through the rooms, studying the space. During her time here, she spent her days in the same room with the others, and had periodic visits to the well and to the library. ‘I’ve also seen the Matron’s office a tower and two dusty studies.’
As the building seemed a veritable warren, she knew there were many rooms she hadn’t seen. Anya slowly walked the corridor, looking into all of the front rooms. These were the spaces others gathered to work on their stitchery and socialize during the day. As many of the others were also wandering from room to room, Anya excited no notice. Some of the women she passed looked deep in thought, others looked almost as though they were pacing worriedly. Some seemed to simply be walking because there was nothing else they could do. On many of these women, Anya saw fingertips twitch as though they longed to take up their work once more.
There were a few who looked somewhat exasperated.
Ten til Midnight 