Morning all and welcome to the Fifteen Minute Novel. Here I take the start of a story idea and work on it for fifteen minutes a day. I started with an old writing prompt that interested me, cleaned it up a bit to fit the basic outline of the story I want to write and then set aside fifteen minutes each week day to see it grow. Each morning’s writing starts with the last sentence of the day before. And so now we have the story of Kasca…
Day 108: She would have to brew a fresh batch and infuse it herself if that was what was called for.
She would have to brew a fresh batch and infuse it herself if that was what was called for. Kasca packed what she thought she would need, Slung her cloak over her clothing, leaving the apron in place and picking up her bag and the keys to her new domain. She locked the workroom door and followed the man outside, pausing to lock the main door.
A carriage was waiting and by the time she turned from the door, the man had the rood to the carriage open. She nodded and climbed in, well aware that everyone in the neighborhood was watching her. Kasca was followed into the carriage by the man in livery. His message had been delivered and he felt no need to add anything to it.
Luckily the drive was not a long one. Kasca tried not to frown as they pulled up in front of a grand house. There was a small stable yard attached to the side and as she stepped out of the carriage, the house returned the vehicle to the yard. While it was possible that the lord in residence traveled to a country estate often, it was more likely that the horse and carriage in the city were an affectation.
Drivers, with a horse and carriage could easily be hailed from nearly every streetcorner. Kasca saw them circling through the city whenever she looked in. To get rid of the small garden area simply to keep a city carriage was simply a way to brag for people with more money than sense.
‘Not my concern,’ Kasca thought even though she disliked the waste.
The front door was opened by a servant before her foot could reach the sidewalk. Kasca was shown in the front door instead of being asked to go around to the service entrance as was generally the custom. She blinked as she stepped inside and was rushed into the depths of the house. She was moving fast enough that she saw no details and of the house only a general feeling of luxury.
Every person she passed seemed to have a worried expression creasing their faces and no one seemed inclined to talk. She had the same feeling when the strong current took her small boat as she left the Sanctuary. Instead of washing up into the ocean and having to fight back to shore she was washed into an opulent bedroom.
The bed was enormous and had elaborately embroidered curtains of the finest material decorating it. In the center lay a small boy. As she approached she realized that he seemed much smaller as the bed was so large. In an inn the bed would have slept a family of six easily.
Everything about the room seemed adult. Thee was a writing desk and scrolls placed upon it, an ink pot at the ready. There were no toys or playthings. While she was willing to admit he could have a playroom elsewhere, there were no child sized things in the room.
Deciding the illness was more her concern than anything else, she moved close to the bed. She checked his breathing and looked into his eyes. They were slightly dilated. She felt his forehead and his pulse even though at a glance she could tell it was certainly the Halston Flux.
As she finished her examination she reached for her bag and became aware there was a man lurking near the doorway. She looked to him and he took a tentative step into the room.
Ten til Midnight 