For those just tuning in, this challenge is about taking a story idea from bare bones idea into a fully fledged story by writing consistently every week day for fifteen minutes. The sentence I end with on one day, is the sentence I start with on the following. Part one was Bob’s story and has nothing whatsoever to do with the story below. Part Two follows a character named Penelope. I have a few basic sentences to act as road marks on her journey. I am loosely calling that an outline. We will see where she ends up by the time the story is done. For now, we start Part two of the 2025 Fifteen Minute Writing Challenge.
Day 66: “Nor do I,” Penelope said.
“Nor do I,” Penelope said. She crunched through the gingersnap and wondered. “Why wouldn’t they mix and mingle?”
She set the journal down and took her empty tea things to the kitchen. She rinsed them out and set them out to dry. “Its not like anyone gets all their other traits from one bloodline. You can have your grandfather’s eyes, your grandmother’s smile, your three times great uncle’s laugh. Why would magic be different?” Penelope dried her hands. “Well, I suppose it is magic and magic might operate differently than other genetics. I don’t see why though if it is carried in bloodlines and passed through generations the same way.”
Penelope stretched out the towel on the handle of the oven door so it could dry. The dishtowel was covered in a riot of flowers. Oddly it reminded her of her dream.
‘Color blocked flowers slowly mixing and then becoming fully mixed,’ She frowned. “Maybe the abilities are like that. They were once separate but then over time they started to mix more.” Penelope shrugged. Genetics in general was not something she was all that familiar with and the magical version even less.
“But it is possible,” she decided. “I suppose we will see what Amelia finds out. After all until I find out who might want to harm me then I can’t really go around asking anyone can I?”
Penelope crossed the room and once again settled herself in the chair. Amelia was just as unconvinced by the explanation as Penelope had been and while she continued her studies, she began making a list of the blood lines that were a part of her genetic makeup. As there was an effort on the part of the bloodlines with magic to try and marry those from other bloodlines, to increase the strength of the blood and have a better chance of having children with magic, Amelia found she had a lot of different bloodlines. She also found out her family seemed to have an interesting trend.
“The more I study my family tree the more amused I become. While there is always talk of strengthening the blood, we tend to only bring in a new bloodline every two or three generations. Between that, we tend to marry those without magic. One would think it would lower the number of those with magic born into the family, the blood thinning out as it were. Instead we haven’t had a child born without magic in the family for quite a few generations. It is as though we were strengthened instead of diminished. While the strength of one’s family is not a decent topic with classmates I tried to discuss the strengthening of a bloodline and the ways it could be done. I was informed that is not a subject with which a lady should concern herself.”
Penelope smiled as she read the lines, practically hearing the irritation in Amelia’s voice.
Ten til Midnight 