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 113: Lord Mathis nodded.
Lord Mathis nodded. “It seems a sensible precaution.”
The Matron smiled. “There are much fewer of us when it is not in season as you can see.”
There was a silence and in her hidden chamber, Anya imagined Lord Mathis surveying the dining hall. Having so recently seen the crowded spaces during the season, Anya thought it looked sparsely occupied. Would Lord Mathis see the same?
In the silence drifting up from the dining hall Anya hardly dared to breath.
“And is this the entirety of the off season community?” Lord Mathis asked.
“We all gather here for meals each day three times a day, We are as you see us. Did you expect to see a greater number?”
“I expected to see one in particular,” He admitted.
Anya wrapped her arms more tightly around herself, feeling a chill from his words.
“Did you?” the matron asked.
“Yes there was a girl traveling this way,” he said. “I thought surely she would seek shelter with you.”
“Perhaps she did and has now left,” the matron said. “Many seek shelter with us during the season and many leave as the season closes. It is why our lowered numbers move to the winter quarters. There are fewer of us left behind. Most find places.”
“Ah yes, you do seem to have a knack for finding places for people to go,” Lord Mathis said. “This one had family who worked as laundresses, perhaps you saw someone settled in that capacity?”
“Several, I believe,” The Matron said. “The palace laundry was looking for several reputable women.”
“And you sent several on to the palace?”
“Yes,” the matron said. “We do most years. The girls sent there work for a few years or so, most to earn dowery’s and then they leave to marry. It seems the palace looses a few each year and requires a steady stream of replacements.”
“I see,” lord Mathis replied. “Perhaps I shall look there when I journey north to the capitol. However I would not have expected this girl to be so placed. I would have expected her to stay here.”
“Really?” the matron asked. “And why is that?”
“It seemed as though she had something in her that might have suited her for life in the House of the Star.”
“I see and you came here seeking her…why?”
“It is a long journey for a girl alone. Had I known she was determined to make the journey, I would have sent an accompaniment. When I learned she left on her own, with few provisions, I thought to make sure she reached here safely, especially as my path was taking me past here anyway.”
“How kind of you Lord Mathis,” the matron said.
Ten til Midnight 