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 240: These were the cleanest garments she had at the moment so wrinkles aside they would have to do.
These were the cleanest garments she had at the moment so wrinkles aside they would have to do. Anya realized she was brushing at the slight wrinkles out of nerves and stopped. She clutched her hands together took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Any hoped Arkaron, whoever he turned out to be was not too angry at the summoning and was amiable to the conversation. She also hoped he would prove to be an adequate advisor. While she knew that Bendesea was doing her best, there were clearly some gaps in her knowledge of people and their interactions. She was very good at convincing Marta and the matron to leave a false trail but she didn’t seem to realize that once Anya wasn’t found they would double back and look for her.
‘I hope the advisor is a little more prepared for the details,’ Anya thought. After all it was the details that she was having the most trouble with herself. ‘I wonder how much Bendesea told him about me.”
While Anya didn’t like the thought of the statue talking to a stranger about her, she also wasn’t certain how to explain herself. Anya began to pace, wondering what about herself she could reveal. Did he know where she was hiding or was that something she should keep to herself? Did he know of Tyrin and Lord Mathis or were those names she needed to keep to herself.
Anya would have liked to know, but the only way she would know the answers to those questions would be to question Bendesea and Anya still found talking to the statue representation of the Moon Goddess a little terrifying. Questioning her in detail was not something she was prepared to do.
As Anya waited for the appropriate time she alternated between fretting over revealing too much and telling herself not to fret too much. When the appointed hour arrived Anya viewed it with both relief and dread.
‘If nothing else I will soon know something.’
Anya clutched the amulet that Bendesea gave her in her dream. The chain was still around her neck but Anya didn’t know if that would be enough or if she needed to hold it in her hand. She decided caution was the best defense and decided to clasp the pendant part of the necklace in her hand when she called out for Arkaron.
Before moving to the orb, Anya added more wood to the fire. She felt especially pleased at having moved the orb before the meeting so she could be comfortably warm while talking to the advisor. The thought that Bendesea waited until she moved the orb to tell her of the meeting flickered through her mind. She set it aside as something she could not control even if she didn’t like the thought of being watched.
Anya moved to the orb and before she touched it’s surface with her free hand she lifted her other hand to the necklace and clasped the pendant. Anya swallowed hard and touched the warm surface of the orb. She thought, ‘Arkaron.’ Anya focused her thoughts on the name and the person behind it.
She was whisked away to another room. Anya kept her eyes open this time and the sense of the room she was standing in faded and the other room took up her sight.
The room was opulently appointed. There were thick carpets covering the floor that looked far too expensive to ever be walked on. The furniture she could see around her gleamed from recent polishing and was upholstered in silks, velvets and costly leathers. Everywhere she looked there were touches of gilt, marble and onyx.
Ten til Midnight 