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 119: She looked shocked by the Matron’s actions.
She looked shocked by the Matron’s actions. Marta stared at the matron in disbelief. The matron’s cheeks colored. “Is this because she could see parts of the citadel you couldn’t?” Marta asked. Her vice lowered and sounded harsher. “You knew that was a possibility due to her abilities, her potential, despite your position.”
The matron’s cheeks deepened in their color. “I…I thought that if Lord Mathis saw her and we came to her defense then maybe…maybe it would encourage… her …to stay.” Her voice lost force as she spoke, the end of the sentence sounding weaker than the start.
Marta pinched her mouth shut. “And now?” Marta demanded. “If she wasn’t in the space then she found a way out and might now believe that you led Lord Mathis directly to her.”
“I am the matron of the House of the Star,” the matron said. “Why would she think I would deliberately lead an enemy to her.”
“She asked about your displeasure, your…wrath since she could do something you couldn’t,” Marta said. “You think she isn’t going to put that together?”
“I told you it was to convince…”
“Do you honestly think Lord Mathis would see her and then be convinced to go away?” Marta said. “He would stay here until he managed to take her. He has found no replacement. He feels he needs her.”
“Yes,” the Matron said. “I suppose you are right. It was probably a good thing that Anya managed to get out of the room.”
“Where is she now?” Marta asked. “She must be hungry at the very least as well as scared that Lord Mathis is still searching for her.”
“I…I don’t know,” the Matron said. “The door was locked but she wasn’t there and…I locked it again when I left. If she is in one of those hidden spaces she might come out of there and well she’d still be locked in the room.”
Marta held out her hand. “I’ll need the key.” She said. The matron pulled the key from her pocket and handed it to Marta.
“I wouldn’t have let him take her,” The Matron said.
Marta said nothing. She took the key and turned away walking away. The flush on the matron’s cheeks deepened and She went away. In the hidden room Anya realized there was nothing really left to watch. Lord Mathis was gone and Marta was going to get her. At the moment the matron didn’t seem to be much of a problem. Anya opened her eyes, seeing double as the physical room and the layout of the House overlapped. The orb was warm beneath her hands, almost hot. She lifted her hands and felt a cool rush of air as the image of the layout of the building faded and she only saw the room in which she stood.
The vision was illuminating in many ways. Before dinner she was almost convinced that staying was the right choice, now she wasn’t so sure. At this stage she could see rooms the matron couldn’t enter and open books the Matron couldn’t read. How much worse would such things be if she was to start learning other things. Anya glanced at the sphere. She could see the marks of her hands on its surface. They were rapidly fading from sight, disappearing even as she watched. Anya’s belly rumbled loudly.
Ten til Midnight 