Morning all I hope you are having a fabulous week. My skull feels a little worse for wear with all the weather shifting, but it is spring so that is to be expected. A few ibuprophen will soon set me right. While I leave them to work, lets get started on the morning prompt. Timers at the ready, and off we go.
Could have used a non ticking timer today, but oddly I like this story start more than I have many in the past few weeks. I think I even have a story I can tie it to. Also helps that the headache is gone.
Wednesday April 16: She twisted the ring around her finger.
She twisted the ring around her finger. Every now and then the blue stone caught the light winking at her as she turned it. She blinked every time it winked at her, a reflex but as she caught herself, she wondered if anyone would think she was exchanging some sort of coded signal with her jewelry.
She shook the thought off. No one was watching her. ‘And if they were I doubt they think my jewelry is sentient.’
Still she stopped twisting, more because she realized her finger was going a bit ged and that if she wasn;t careful she would have worn a raw spot. Not only would that be painful but it would be an outward sign of her agitation. Marcus trained her too well for her to allow that. Emotions were always hidden behind a pleasant and calm mask. Twitching, fidgeting and other outward signs of agitation must never be shown. She must always appear serene and unruffled.
The lessons had been repeated and ruthlessly enforced throughout her childhood and now, even with Marcus gone and her old life faded to ashes behind her, the lessons were still ingrained.
She only allowed herself this small indulgence because she knew here she was still alone. When she left the tower, others would see her and they most never know. She must appear calm, decisive and unruffled.
‘Even if I have no idea what I am to do.’
She shifted moving to the window to look out. She placed her hands on the cool stone and leaned forward slightly gazing out across the vista. When everything went awry she was spirited of to the Granges. It was once a grand estate, the heart of which was an ancient castle. The estate was turned into an academy. At the moment the academy was on break, the students sent home for the holidays. She wondered if any of them went back to the city she just left or if their well-heeled parents decided it wasn’t safe. They might not have been targets but the city had not calmed. It was like large beast. While the worst of its anger had ceased, its angry rampages quelled, it was still irritated and danger was still likely.
As she shifted, she felt the letter crinkle in her pocket. It’s arrival was what sent her too the old tower in the first place. Not knowing what it would tell her, but knowing it would be of great import to her life, she stole away to read it in solitude. No one had seen her shock at it’s words nor study the pensive pacing and ring twisting that followed.
Her old life was officially over. While she was not to be held accountable for any of the actions of her family, she would not be allowed back in the city. She was given a set amount of time to put her affairs in order and then to leave the kingdom entirely.
It was cold, but direct, addressing her by name. She was given travel permits. They would allow her to leave the kingdom unhindered but denied her passage back. Despite the cold wording, Emily couldn’t help but feel as though the rejection was personal. She had a lot of experience with rejection, but she had never actually been rejected by an entire kingdom before.
It was more painful than she imagined.
‘But dwelling on the pain is not helpful,’ she reminded herself.
She tried to focus on the practicalities. She had funds, shipped out of the kingdom and placed in foreign banks. In fact as things became more and more unsettled in the past five years, more of her funds were shipped out. She expected that she was being allowed to keep what was hers now because she only kept enough for daily expenses on hand.
She could go anywhere that wasn’t here. ‘I just have to decide where to go,’ she thought. Across the vast stretch of lawn she saw a figure. It was coming towards her tower. She sighed. Apparently the others thought she had enough time to think.
Ten til Midnight 