The fifteen minute novel writing experiment is an 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 214: The thought led Anya to wonder about the current mistress of the house.
The thought led Anya to wonder about the current mistress of the house. From what she heard of Perov and his questioning of the maid, he expected one of her sisters to be the mistress of the house. That sounded strange to her. From what she saw in the basin, Anya thought the house was sold along with anything else and the wealthy brought back to Tyrin with the three of them. She had been a baby at the time, but that was what she thought she saw in the basin of water Marta showed her.
‘But if that were the case, why would Perov think differently? Why would he even know of the house at all?”
That was the bigger question.
Anya frowned. Watching the others, Perov, Lord Mathis, even Marta and the Matron had its limitations. She could see what they were doing and overhear their conversations. It only helped however when they were doing or saying something that was useful for her to hear. As important as they were to her, often times they had other things on their mind. Anya had watched Lord Mathis discuss his meals and the quality of cloth he could find in the market place on several occasions. She had watched Marta balance the account books on the House of the Star. She watched the matron read by the fire and Perov walk along lonely stretches of road.
‘Not once have any of them come out and spilled the details of their plans and schemes.’ Anya thought.
She could only watch them doing what they were doing and not see what she wanted to see. ‘Not like the basin,’ Anya thought. When Marta used it she could see whatever time she wanted as well as wherever. Distance seemed to have no more limitations on the pool than it did on the orb.
‘But the water basin is still empty,’ Anya reminded herself. While it was not as bitterly cold as it had been, the air was still cold enough up in the mountains that any water poured into the cold stone of the basin would turn to ice.
‘And Marta isn’t there,’ Anya added. She looked into the fire. ‘But the basin did show me an image when I looked into it without Marta present. I thought it was just left over magic, but I didn’t think I had magic then. Maybe it was me.’
Anya poured her tea and sat back in the chair. Her eyes looked at the fire, tracing the flames as her hand warmed themselves on the sides of the mug.
‘I wonder if it is that basin that needs to be used to see the visions.’ She mused. Anya took a sip of the hot tea. She felt it warm her mouth and swallowed, the warmth sliding down her throat and spreading out into her belly. She was colder than she thought. Even though she wrapped up well, she stood longer in the room with the orb than she intended.
‘I could never stand outside with a pitcher long enough to see anything, even if the water didn’t freeze.’
She took another sip and felt the pool of warmth inside her spread further. ‘Maybe I could use another bowl of some sort.’
Ten til Midnight 